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As many of you know, i have my boat for sale to try to have Bill at Judge Yachts build me a 27 Chesapeake (ti is probably the only boat I would trade my Maycraft for). I love his boats and the way Bill has treated me and my father, who owns a 2001 27 Downeast. If you havent had a chance to check out a boat manufacturing facility, I highly recommend going over and seeing them. Bill is building on his own molds and using the top self composite materials. His boats are also made of all hand laid glass. It is really cool to see the process. The shop seemed busy and Bill said they are in the process of growing and establishing a dealer network (good to hear in a slow market). I think his style hulls will become even more popular with the rising fuel prices as they are very fuel efficient yet ride well.
Someone come may me an offer on my MayCraft so I can get one in the production line!!!
Any how here are a few photos I have of some 27's being built. I hope you enjoy! (I wish one was
Well thanks to Jeff (MegaJack) and Harry (Judge's quality control/plant manager and all around GREAT guy), I have received photos of MegaJacks new boat being built. Hopefully this will give a better picture of how Judge constructs their boats. Notice that Judge builds their boats as 3 Piece hulls (Hull, deck/liner, cap) vs many massed produced boats that are just hull and caps (with the floor and decks molded as one piece). This allows for more interior space and a stronger boat as you can better bond the floor to the stringers in the hull.
Well Here they are:
Here are the hulls getting stringers. The stringers and transom are cored with NidaCore. It is an all composite honeycomb mater that is many times stronger than wood and/or other cores. It is also completely rot free. Notice how thick the transom is!
Here is the cap
Here is the liner
Here are some shots with the hull, cap and liner put together
Here is the cabin without carpet and as the carpet is being installed.
Here are some outside shots with the water line marked and the volvo QL tabs added
Now here is the good stuff... By having a builder like judge build you a boat you can get some personal customizations like this dinette set to port with tackle storage in the back and storage under the seats. Generally if you are willing to pay for it, Judge will build whatever you want. You can truly make the boat your boat with any options that could make your time on the water more enjoyable
Cool stuff. If and when my boat sells I hope to document from the mold to the water.
Good stuff Greg. Your Dad's boat still in Avalon? I stopped by last year to take a quick peek. I sure hope you get the chance to buy one of those Judge boats.
__________________ "Land of the free, because of the Brave"
We all know your boat is for sell and you really like the Judge.
And we all know you dont like your local Parker dealer and had a 100k budget to buy a boat (if you didn want to see photos of the production of a boat, dont read it - I thought it was cool )
Tim, at the open house they had this year the 27 Chesapeake was selling for in the 70's with some nice options and a single 225 Honda. I am hoping for 250zuke as they just became a zuke dealer too
haven't been on one yet, but they sure look nice (for those that like that classic style). unfortunately, the admiral thinks the 27 is too "work-boaty" looking and the 32 downeast is just a bit too rich.
Transom deadrise is like 10 degrees, similar to my Maycraft. Sharp entry with like 45 degrees of the "warped hull" design does the work in the slop. It gives stability, helps keep the bow down and economy when running. It is how you can push a nearly 27' hull very effectively with a single. Where fuel prices are going, my bet is that you see this style hull become more popular.
jw, I am all about the classic look. I dig it. (obviously from my Maycraft purchase). I havent really checked out the 32. It is out of my league and I want to be able to put on a trailer. I did check out the 34 as there used to be one docked just down from me and Judge had a few rolling through the shop when I was there. I should have grabbed some photos of their production for the "hard core" offshore guys (with a bigger wallet than me)
The owner of "Power Play" emailed me pictures from the day he took delivery through our local fishing board tidalfish.com. Here are some finished picutres:
(It would look a little better with "B-Faithful" on the side though ;-) )
MegaJack (Jeff) took delivery of his new Judge amd finally posted photos on Tida lFish. (this is the boat being built in the factory above) It is the first 27 Judge with a zuke. I hope mine will be next! Initial thoughts from the owner is that the boat is faster with the 250zuke but a hair less fuel efficient than the Honda 225. I would love to hear of a Honda 250 release!
Congrats on the new boat Jeff. I want a ride on yours and Power Play's (Jim, Contender21 here on THT) to compare the power/performance!
Dont get me wrong. I LOVE my MayCraft and will be very happy to keep it a long time. Every boat has its price though and if I can get a certain price for my boat I would love to step up into the Judge. The Judge is just a step up in quality IMHO. They are made of all very good composite and cored with top shelf materials like nida core and divinycell. Not that wood is a bad coring material but it requires more maintenance. Boats like Parker, Stamas, Albemarle, Grady White, along with Maycraft are still very tough and can last a lifetime but with these composites are lighter and stronger and not prone to rot if you dont keep things sealed and dry. (I still would prefer wood cored strings to just foam filled filberglass stringers that can breakdown over time) The Judges are also all hand laid glass whereas the Maycraft is laid glass and chopped glass. Judges also have a nice liner that make them appear finished a little nicer in the cockpit. The Judge is a little beamier and longer too. However the main thing that I like about the Judges are that they are a small builder who will make the little changes and customizations that can make the boat your own. Only buidling less than 100 boats a year I think there may be a greater attnetion to detail (just a gut feeling) The downside to the Judges are that they cost more. The construction materials cost quite a bit more so the boats are a good 15k difference in cost new. By me, I think a new Maycraft by us sells for around 58-62k and the Judges are in the 70's. Both are fantastic boats and suit all my needs well. It is just the little step up in quality and the chance to work with the builder as they build a boat that intrigues me so much. Judge is local to me so I have the advantage of working directly with them.
It would be cool to see some photos of other builders in their production process on THT too. Judge is just the closest to me and the brand that interests me most.
There actually is a ton of storage in the boat.. (Well, I use coolers or fish bags). You have the huge transom box that can be sectioned off, under the helm seats and dinette area, and in the cabin under the v berths.
When I called to get the performance numbers of the 250zuke last week (first boat with a zuke as they have been a only a Honda dealer), I actually had a conversation with Bill Judge about the hatches. He asked me if I thought it would be important for him to start making the hatches out of starboard or other composite material with some special hinge he was talking about. I told him that I personally dont mind the plastic hatches as they were cheap and easy to replace the way they were. Others may disagree but it is something he is considering on his future boats. Of course being that he is a semi custom builder I am sure you could get them now if you wanted. Since I dont troll with planer boards I personally would like a few smaller hatches as I would use the fishbox as storage and have a series of rod holders across the transom.
The use of the nidacore looks quite extensive. Must be pretty light for its size. I have not however ever seen the nidacore honeycomb used in the transom of a boat, can't say thats its the best application for it. Its probably actually the worst. They make a pourable transom compound, wonder why he isn't using it.
Judge Yachts Shop Shots 
(if you didn want to see photos of the production of a boat, dont read it 
- I thought it was cool 
