6 • May 2020
BUSINESS NEWS
Coast River Business Journal
Boatyard bustles amid covid-19 closures
While some recreational and commercial fishing seasons continue to be sidelined by
the coronavirus many are seizing the opportunity and staying busy at the boatyard.
Jerry Matzen III, 34, bought F/V Ocean Conquest in January, his
first as sole owner. The 40-foot, 25-ton boat, was built in Canada
in 1967 ‘by an old Finlander’. Matzen planned to replace the deck,
add a crab block, fix the roof, reconnect the steering, remove the
stabilizers and repaint the hull in preparation for the upcoming
commercial fishing season.
Harvey Cosky, 80, fished for more than 50 years before an
accident in August 2019. He was returning from a tuna-fishing trip
in the Ilwaco Channel, his final on the F/V Koko. “It was blowing
35 or 40 knots and raining heavy. We slowed down because we
couldn’t see anything. We were also having electrical problems
on the boat too. When we slowed down, the current and the
wind pushed us over into the pilings.
Story and Photos by Luke Whittaker
Coast River Business Journal
lwhittaker@crbizjournal.com
ILWACO — The Port of Ilwaco Boatyard had been bustling with
fishermen eager to get their vessels in shipshape for the upcoming
seasons.
Jerry Matzen III, F/V Ocean Conquest
Jerry Matzen III, 34, bought F/V Ocean Conquest in January, his
first as sole owner.
The 40-foot, 25-ton boat, was built in Canada in 1967 “by an old
Finlander,” he explained.
Matzen planned to replace the deck, add a crab block, fix the
roof, reconnect the steering, remove the stabilizers and repaint the
hull.
“They (stabilizers) were used to stabilize the vessel when it was
used as a sport boat, but we can’t run fishing gear like that,” he
said. The most labor-intensive work will be replacing the deck and
painting the hull, Matzen said, adding that he expects the repairs
to take about a month, finishing in June. Assisting Matzen in the
undertaking was Ross Kary.
The vessel has an International diesel engine, a platform that’s
powered everything from city buses to farm tractors.
“It was originally a tractor engine, it runs like a top,” Mazten
said.
The vessel, originally from British Columbia, will be homeported
in Ilwaco.
“The couple that bought it brought it here and moored it,” Matzen
said. “It was an older couple not living in the area that didn’t want
to handle the boat anymore and it had started to fall into disrepair.
The port helped me connect with them. The owners wanted it to go
to someone who was going to love it.”
Matzen is eager to get the boat on the water and begin earning a
bigger paycheck as a captain instead of a deckhand.
“It’s usually twice as much,” he said. “It makes a guy want to get
his own. This is a good one to start with.”
Harvey Cosky, F/V Koko
Under a warm April sun, Harvey Cosky, 80, worked to break
apart the boat he built and operated for more than 40 years.
“It costs too much for what it’s worth now. I’m tearing it apart so
they can finish breaking it up,” he said.
It was the final chapter for the F/V Koko, a 47-foot vessel named
after his pet parrot.
“All sea captains have a parrot don’t you know?,” Cosky joked.
“I made my first delivery to Jesse’s in 1969. I fished everything,
but mainly tuna for the last 15-20 years.”
Cosky built five boats over the course of his fishing career, he
said.
“I built my other boat (F/V EZ 1) for about $130,000. The
insurance company said I have to have a crew build it in the yard
now and it would be about $1.5 million. You have to follow new
regulations and have a Coast Guard approved plan certified every
step of the way. You have to do it in the boat yard, you can’t do it
at home anymore.”
The rising regulatory costs have made it harder for young
fishermen to pursue the profession as a career, Cosky said.
“There’s not much you fish for anymore and still make money.
With all the regulations and permits, you can’t even build a
boat because they make it so expensive. When I started fishing,
I started in a skiff. For a young man now, a salmon permit is
$20,000 in Washington alone. If you want to fish all three states —
Washington, Oregon, California — as most do, it’s $60,000 just in
the permission to go do it. You don’t have to have permits for tuna,
so that’s the only thing a young man can get into now and it’s spotty
at best. So it’s time for me to retire, I guess.”
Cosky fished for more than 50 years before an accident in August
2019. He was returning from a tuna-fishing trip in the Ilwaco
Channel, his final on the F/V Koko.
“It was blowing 35 or 40 knots and raining heavy. We slowed
down because we couldn’t see anything. We were also having
electrical problems on the boat too. When we slowed down, the
Rick Johnson, 65, is a commercial tuna and salmon fisherman
and makes a regular pilgrimage to the Port of Ilwaco Boatyard
ahead of each season.“I come down here every year,” Johnson
said. “We’ve been begging them at Westport. They had one,
then they turned it into crab processing. The Ilwaco Boatyard is a
godsend. This place is wonderful.”
current and the wind pushed us over into the pilings. It’s hard to go
forward when you can’t see anything. That’s life.”
Cosky was initially optimistic the vessel could be salvaged, but
soon discovered repair costs would be too expensive.
“I started tearing all the wiring out and we found it had gotten
moldy behind the paneling, so we had to pull everything out
including the tanks. It was just on and on,”
“The rising regulatory costs have
made it harder for young fishermen
to pursue the profession as a career.
With all the regulations and permits,
you can’t even build a boat because
they make it so expensive.”
Cosky estimated it would cost more than $240,000 in parts alone.
“I would have to pay for three new engines, and a tier-3 engine is
$50,000 a piece. You have more than $120,000 just in engines, not
including gearboxes and all that. Sonar would be another $15,000.”
He now plans to part out the boat before it’s crushed up and
hauled to the dump in the coming weeks.
“The two-inch shaft is desirable. The propellers are $1,000 each.
You start adding everything up.”
Rick Johnson, F/V Dove
Commercial tuna and salmon fisherman Rick Johnson, 65, makes
a regular pilgrimage to the Port of Ilwaco ahead of each season.
“I come down here every year,” said Johnson who lives in
Puyallup and homeports his vessel in Westport.
“We’ve been begging them at Westport. They had one, then