About Lucky Finn

History of Lucky Finn

What is a bugeye?

History of Lucky Finn

Launched in 1982, Lucky Finn (ex. Jenny Norman) was built by legendary boatbuilder Jim Richardson of Lloyds, Maryland in his retirement. He had built and repaired boats of the Chesapeake's fishing fleets for years and felt it was finally time to build a boat for himself. He chose the bugeye because it was a simple rig to sail and the number of specimens still afloat was dwindling. Unfortunately, Jim Richardson had only a few years of sailing the vessel before he passed away in 1991 at the age of 85. After his death Lucky Finn was sold out of the family and sat neglected for ten years. Fortunately, in 2000, a knowledgeable and highly skilled shipwright named Mike Rogers and his wife Julie rescued the vessel and had it shipped to his home in Maine where it underwent a serious restoration and re-build.

Three years later after replacing the stem, nearly half of the planks and frames, installing a new deck and deck cabins, casting new lead ballast, rebuilding a husky old Sabb diesel, and obtaining the vessel's initial US Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection, the Rogers put Lucky Finn into service as a charter boat in July of 2003 in Rockland, Maine.

After many years of contemplating the idea of bringing a traditional schooner sailing experience back to our community, we stumbled across the Lucky Finn. So in April of 2010 we made the decision to purchase this beautiful boat and introduce her to the South Shore.