Having a new boat built can be as stressful as construction of a custom home–so many choices, so many deadlines, so much money involved. People don’t have boats built very often so most of us never get very good at it.

But what happens when the boatshoe is on the other foot? Larry Polster is vice-president of Kadey-Krogen Yachts, and guess what? He and his wife are building their own Kadey-Krogen 50 but with the experience of years sitting on the other side of the desk.

“Building a New Boat: Easy as A, B, C” is the name of Polster’s seminar at TrawlerFest-Bay Bridge, which teaches what a buyer needs to know from contract to commissioning. He will outline a decision-making process designed to lessen the stress. Husbands and wives are encouraged to attend the seminar, which happens on Thursday, Sept. 28, 8:30-10:30 a.m. at Bay Bridge Marina in Stevensville, Maryland.

“Building a New Boat” is one of 28 seminars, which happen Tuesday through Sunday, Sept. 26-30. Dozens of new and used cruising power boats will be on display during the boat show portion of the event, which runs Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 28-30, and includes booths displaying marine products and services. 

REGISTER FOR SEMINARS  

Larry Polster is a life-long boater, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. As a child he explored the Great Lakes from Mackinac Island to Montreal, and became thoroughly hooked on boating the day, at age 12, he piloted his family’s 36-foot Pacemaker the last half of their voyage from Kingston, Ontario, to Rochester, New York, because both mom and dad were too seasick to run the boat. 

Polster became interested in sailing as a teen, and raced a bit during college. After graduating from Carnegie-Mellon University he went to work for a consulting firm in the D.C. area. His business travels took him to Florida where he purchased and lived aboard a 44-foot sailboat. Work eventually brought him back to D.C., and Annapolis seemed the logical spot to live aboard and commute. 

A few years later Polster met his wife, Janet, with whom he has a daughter, Hannah. As Hannah grew, He and Janet realized she was not going to learn how to sail aboard a hydraulically steered center cockpit sailboat, especially motoring most of the time, so they sold the sailboat and bought a Krogen 42–the beginning of Larry’s relationship with Kadey-Krogen Yachts. 

In 2002, completely in love with the Krogen 42 and all it stood for, Larry volunteered to help out Kadey-Krogen at the Annapolis Boat Show. At the conclusion of the show, he was made an offer to come work for the company in Florida, an offer he graciously turned down. A seed was planted which grew into his mid-life crisis: he left his consulting job of 17 years and opened the Maryland office for Kadey-Krogen Yachts. A few years later he became a partner in the company and currently serves as vice president. 

Here’s a recent video explaining one of the hull features on the Polster’s new boat.