In 1997, long-time charterboat operator and Alaska fishing lodge owner, Larry McQuarrie, was looking for a new charterboat to replace his fleet of five half wood/half fiberglass 37 footers operating in remote Southeast Alaska.(Sportsman's Cove Lodge)

The boat he wanted, an all molded fiberglass vessel, was no longer being built - but he knew where the tooling and molds were located. He knew because in the late 1970's and early 80's his bustling charter operation in Westport, on the outer coast of Washington, operated a fleet of up to 15 such boats. They were the renowned "Delta" charterboat, designed by Seattle Naval Architect Lynn Senour and built by Delta Marine Industries. Federal court decisions had long since decimated the Northwest's offshore salmon fisheries and Delta had moved on to building megayachts for the rich and famous. McQuarrie knew the molds for the three well-known charterboats (37', 43' and 50') were languishing in Delta's back lot. Because of his his story in the charter business he was on a first name basis with the principals at Delta, Ivor and Jack Jones. He also knew that the Jones boys were reluctant to scrap the tooling for the fine vessels that had served them and the charter industry so well, and had been partly responsible for putting Delta on the map during it's formative years.

McQuarrie approached the Jones' to see if they would sell the molds for the 37 footer he needed. They refused. Then, to his surprise they said they would not sell just the 37' tooling, but if he would consider taking ALL of the molds for all three models, they would sell the lot. The lodge owner/charterboat operator was well versed on these Cadillacs of the charter fleet. He had first-hand of knowledge of their fine sea-keeping qualities and all around performance. His own personal experience had spawned a long standing love affair with these sleek greyhounds of the offshore charter fleet. He wasn't sure yet what he was going to do with them, but he could not let this opportunity slip by.

The five boats of McQuarrie's lodge fleet had been built in Blaine, Washington by a small boatyard called Fibercraft, Inc. (See "The History of Fibercraft"). McQuarrie had a ten year relationship with Dick Johnson and his versatile crew at Fibercraft. He knew the pride of craftsmanship that went into every one of their boats. And he knew the kind of common sense approach that went into boats built by people who had earned their living on them. In short order a working arrangement was established with Fibercraft, the molds for all three charterboats were purchased, and the first four custom boats were produced: a 37' commercial "light boat" for the California squid fishery; a 37' charterboat for McQuarrie's Alaska operation; a 53' fast trawler yacht, also for Alaska and a 43' fast trawler yacht for California.

While all this was going on, McQuarrie was working with a respected Seattle yacht designer named John Anderson, with whom he had shared a drafting table in the corner of Ed Monk's office in the old Smith Tower Building twenty-five years earlier, designing McQuarrie's first USCG certified charterboat. He had an idea in mind for a line of production fast trawler yachts based on the famed charterboat hulls. John Anderson had an eye for what he called "shippy looking yachts" that the rest of the world called trawlers. Within a few months Anderson had drawn up study plans for three fast trawlers based on the three Delta charterboat hulls (See "Future Coastal Passagemakers"). The concepts that Anderson came up with were so in tune with what McQuarrie had envisioned that hardly a line has changed since the Rigina.

Now came the decision. Which one to build first? Resources for the project would not allow all three to be developed at once. The decision was made to start with the middle ofthe line. The 43 foot charterboat hull had now become a 45 footer, the result of deepening the hull by raising the sheer (freeboard) abovethat of the charterboat which was, after all, designed for sportfishing, not passagemaking. Once the decision had been made tobuild the 45 footer, the services of Janicki Machine Design, in Sedro Woolley, Washington (See link to "Janicki Machine Design") were contracted. The technicians at Janicki would "map" the hull using incredibly accurate laser measuring technology in preparation for developing a computer model of the boat based on John Anderson's model.

Now came the decision. Which one to build first? Resources for the project would not allow all three to be developed at once. The decision was made to start with the middle of the line. The 43 foot charterboat hull had now become a 45 footer, the result of deepening the hull by raising the sheer (freeboard) above that of the charterboat which was, after all, designed for sportfishing, not passagemaking. Once the decision had been made to build the 45 footer, the services of Janicki Machine Design, in Sedro Woolley, Washington (See link to "Janicki Machine Design") were contracted. The technicians at Janicki would "map" the hull using incredibly accurate laser measuring technology in preparation for developing a computer model of the boat based on John Anderson's drawings. Once the computer model was completed to the satisfaction of Anderson and Janicki's experts, the information was fed into the gigantic computer controlled router that would precisely shape the "plug" that would then be used by Fibercraft to build the mold of the deck, topsides and bridge. This highly sophisticated technology ensured absolute accuracy and precision of fit and finish of the major components of each Coastal Passagemaker.