Building boats in Alaska for Alaskans: Alaska offshore Marine builds 'em skookum for Alaska waters.

• Author: Lavrakas, Dimitra
• Position: MANUFACTURING

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It wasn't Scot Romine's first idea, but has turned out to be his best. He began working on boats installing electrical systems and high-end electronics, and saw a lot of boats when it occurred to him that none were built hardy enough for Alaska.

"Most of the boats people buy up here are imported from Oregon and Washington," said Romine, owner of Alaska Offshore Marine Inc., the company that builds Glacier Craft Boats. "They're made of fiberglass or aluminum, not what Alaska really looks for in durability."

The kind of boats his clientele order are meant to handle high seas in open water--"true offshore boats," Romine says of his crafts.

The tough, welded-aluminum boats are extremely durable and fit for the rough coastline of Alaska with their heavy-gauge corrosion-resistant, high-impact marine-grade alloy that Romine says will withstand high-speed impacts and still maintain integrity.

Aside from a good bottom scrubbing and occasional zinc change, they are free from maintenance.

Romine said because they're made of aluminum, the boats do not depreciate in value, but rather appreciate, because of the market appreciation of the metal itself.

Nine years ago, when he began the search for the boat he envisioned, he had several other boat builders give it a try.

"They weren't what I wanted," he said. "So I hired an engineer and had him reverse one of my own designs."

From there the designs have been further perfected through customers' ideas.

"They bring in articles and, make suggestions," he said. "Customer feedback has allowed us to build better boat. I can only come up with so many ideas, and there have been several really good ideas that we have incorporated into our boats all the time now."

Romine said he produces 15 to 18 boats a year that can take anywhere from three weeks to 30 days to complete.

They are turnkey, complete with a trailer that's included in the price, walking the customer through the boat and sea trials if the owner requests it.

He's so busy that he's selling for production in 2009.

Asked if the economy has hurt his business at all, he said, "The quantity is still there, but the size has come down."

His standard boats run from the 25-foot to 28-foot Coho Offshore to the 33-foot to 35-foot King Offshore, but he's not limited to those lengths.

"They go for $100,000 to $350,000 depending on size," he said.

GIVE ME A GOOD WELDER AND A BIG ROUTER

The ease in which he's able to craft his boats is due to two...