Courtesy of the Fessenden Family (both)
Left—After recovering from an injury suffered while serving in the U.S. Navy in the mid-1940s, Capt. Phil Fessenden returned home to Ipswich, Massachusetts, where he built boats in the winter months and operated a fishing-charter business in the summer. Several of his boats are still going strong, 60–70 years after they were launched. Right—Phil prepares to launch the first of two boats named WEJACK that he built for his charter business. This one was built in 1955.
Working from his shop near the Ipswich River in Massachusetts from the early 1940s to the mid-1970s, Capt. Phil Fessenden built 10 large sportfishing boats. Most were for the local bluefin-tuna fishery, and some of them are still going strong, more than 60 years after launching. Several—FLYING SORCERESS and two boats originally named WEJACK—still hail from the Massachusetts North Shore.
The first WEJACK, a 37-footer launched in 1955, was for Phil’s own use as a charter-fishing vessel. She was planked in eastern white cedar on white oak frames and fastened with Monel clench nails—a durable fastening system. “I’ve owned the BLUEFISH (ex-WEJACK) for 35 years now,” Capt. Phil Pelletier told me, “so I’ve had a good amount of time to see how well Phil Fessenden’s workmanship and materials stand the test of time.”