May 19, 2026 — Although many Chesapeake Bay crab pot fishermen have switched from large wooden boats to small outboard fiberglass boats, there is still demand for deadrise boats 40 feet and over.
Wayne Hudgins, owner of Hudgins Horn Harbor Marina in Port Haywood, Va., is a commercial crabber and works the crab boat the Miss Violet II.
Hudgins has recently fiberglassed the 39′ x 11.5′ x 3.5′ wooden hull of the Miss Violet II and plans to install a new Cummins QSC 8.3-liter, 600-horsepower, 6-cylinder diesel engine. The boat was built by Jerry Pruitt of Tangier Island, Va., in 1986.
When finished, the hull will be coated with five coats of the West Epoxy System using 1708 biaxial fiberglass cloth with 3/4-ounce mat backing and 545 Awlgrip Epoxy primer. An Awlcraft 2000 acrylic urethane topcoat finish will be applied.
The boat also received four new salt-treated wood bulkheads, new spruce pine washboards and decking, and mahogany guardrails with a new brass rub rail.