Hustler (IX)

Kyle Stubbs (Email to Nauticapedia 27/03/2022) reports that "OCEAN CAPTAIN (291167), built in 1963 by Ron Rawson Incorporated at Kirkland, Washington is mostly interesting in being one of the earlier hulls from one of the early prolific composite boatbuilders. I come across boats built by Rawson on a regular basis in the Pacific Northwest, so it eventually led me to dig into the builder's story. Apparently, Ron Rawson was as an organic chemist, and he used his science background to start what was supposedly one of the first builders of fiberglass boats in the US, circa 1959. His concepts, and the techniques learned by those that worked for him, presumably led into the establishment of the better-known fiberglass boatbuilders in Washington, such as Westport, Little Hoquiam, and Delta Marine as evidenced by the similarities in the fishing vessels and charter boats produced by all four builders."