Profile: Nor’Easter Boats

jan 26, 2016

Just like Stuart McLean’s fictitious “Vinyl Café”, Nor’easter Boats may not be big, but it’s small, and that’s the way owner Jens-Arne  Mayer-Rahlfs likes it. After first immigrating to Canada in the 1990s Arne made his way to Nova Scotia from BC in 1998. Today, along with his Cape Breton born wife Sandra, they operate a custom boat finishing shop on Blind Bay about a half hour drive from Halifax. Plans are in the works for a larger shop a few miles closer to town to allow for finishing of boats up to 40ft

Arne has made an arrangement with Wedgeport Boats to supply him with hulls for his 16’, 20’ and 24’ models. Wedgeport is a busy yard on the southern tip of Nova Scotia where they turn out the powerful beamy commercial boats so beloved by Maritime fishermen. Not many recreation boaters have a use for a 50’ x 28’ hull, but the well proven “Baby Capes” as they are sometimes, called make very useful and safe small recreation boats. If blinding speed is not your priority these boats provide stable and easy riding platforms for fishing and inshore cruising. A custom shop like Nor’easter is able to finish a boat to an owner’s specific needs at an attractive price. 

You can see a selection of Arne’s boats at www.noreasterboats.com.