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wo weeks. That’s the answer Paul Mascaro has been giving folks for years.

The question: “When is your boat going to be ready?”

For seven years Paul has smiled and answered "two weeks".

“Double Up” on land at Broad Creek, Paul Mascaro’s live-aboard home of 7 years. A nearby utility shed provided bathroom, shower and storage facilities.

For those seven years Paul Mascaro’s boat "Double Up" has been on the hard – with Paul living aboard most of that time. After hearing "two weeks" for so many years, many of his friends simply assumed that Paul didn’t want to put the boat back in the water.

After all, Paul spent not just every morning at The Bean – but most every afternoon too. Many have mentioned that they spot Paul’s distinctive VW van in the HarborCam picture almost every day.

Both retired engineers, Ken Brandon and Paul Mascaro® are often seen comparing notes mornings at The Bean. Ken (like most others) didn’t initially believe Paul when he said he would launch in December.
(Keen TownDock observers may recall that Ken and Paul were also the models for TAIL magazine )

One mid-November morning Paul mentioned that he was going to put his boat in the water. Soon.

We were not instant believers. OK. Sure. We’ll see.

But Paul grew increasingly insistant. We called Triton Yacht’s Paul Welles to verify. "I’m trying to believe it myself" Welles said, "but we have got all the permits. He says he’s going to do it."

Lets start at the beginning

In 1991 Mascaro purchased a 37’ catamaran, built as a performance cat by designer Bill Kennedy in Maine. He named her "Double Up" – and initially brought her to Annapolis, then down to Broad Creek (a few miles north of Oriental) in 1993.

It wasn’t until 1996 that the "Two Weeks" period began – that’s when Paul moved the boat onto land.

The home of "Double Up" for seven years

He had purchased waterfront property on Broad Creek – and decided that would be where the rebuild would take place.

“The boat was floated to the shore of my property. I built a railroad out of 2 × 10’s and 2 × 4’s, attached lines to some stout trees, and then pulled the boat up onto land using the primary winches.”

Using winches designed to pull on sails, Paul got the 8,800 pound boat almost to where he wanted it. A bulldozer was brought in to finish the job and get the catamaran in place.

And so, for seven years Mascaro has worked on the boat. While some folks say he may not have worked at a rapid pace, Paul would say he worked at his pace. This is a man who feels no need to have his project meet others expectations.

As he puts it, “I do different things, differently”.

Mascaro has a background as a Mechanical Engineer. In a previous life he traveled literally all over the globe building textile mills. Those engineering skills guided him in this rebuild – which included:

•A raised cabin top to provide more light & living space

•New foam cored rudders

•Twin outboard engines with remote controlled engine lifts

•Wheel Steering

•A complex instrument panel

•Composting head

•A hard canopy / quasi-pilot house.

•Even a custom built stainless BBQ

One thing that was not Paul’s priority was an outside paint job.

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Posted Monday December 22, 2003 by Keith N. Smith

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