b'FOGHORN FOCUSJohn Scarano described the first boats he built in the 1970sThese are not theas a small dingy racing class of sailboats. At the time, there was a preference for wood in performance sailing and anwooden boats of a century acceptancethatthehighestquality,fastestboatsofthe day were made of laminated wood. Though some peopleago, John pointed out .were building with fiberglass, their boats didnt compete with the wooden sailboats, leading top racers to pay extraA modern woodenfor cold molded, laminated wood boats. They sought the light weight and stiffness that no other material then couldboat, he said, is a whole match. The decades cultural focus on nature added an ex-tra layer of allure to the material.different animal. Through the 70s, woods status in sailboat racing was un-diminished. Eventually, plastics would be developed that could match the stiffness, light weight, and lively feel that wood gave.thecostandperformancecombinationofaluminumis the right fit for a boat. Today, they continue to have clients PHOTO: MEGHAN HART / SCARANO BOAT BUILDING As other materials grew in popularity, the team at Scaranowho choose aluminum or steel. utilized them for different projects and for varying reasons. At one time they had an interest in establishing themselvesIn the past, there have been times that they have gone with as aluminum boat builders and crafted several vessels in thataluminum even for themselves when creating new vessels medium. In some cases, the clients preference may dictatethattheyplannedtooperate.FortheManhattanIand the substrate for a new build. A customer may already haveManhattan II yachts which are part of Classic Habor Line an aluminum or steel boat they love and want their newNYCs fleet, the team opted for aluminum based in part vessel to be constructed of the same. John explained thaton its popularity when the boats were made and potential there are also people that dont know or understand woodresale value. Today, a new iteration of these vessels is under-well or dont trust it enough for their project. For some,way, Manhattan III, and the team has returned to wood for FOGHORN 38'