Richard Nardone beams with pride when talking about his daughter, UD sophomore Adelle McCauley. She is the first in three generations of her family to go to college. "When I was 19, I couldn't decide if I wanted to be a rock star or a fireman," Nardone says. "I have one priority in my life, other than not hating my job, and that is seeing to it that Adelle finishes school and gets the chances that I should've taken."

While Nardone may not have enjoyed the same range of opportunities that a University of Delaware education can provide, he is certainly no stranger to taking chances. When his daughter was an infant, he worked in the music business as a guitar and keyboard technician, touring the country with a number of bands. When Adelle turned 5 years old, he decided it was time to "get a real job."

Nardone had enjoyed working on a small wooden powerboat he owned, so decided to turn his hobby into a career. He apprenticed with a local boatbuilder who had worked on the Pride of Baltimore II and the Spirit of Massachusetts. "He showed me a few of the ropes so I could get a foot in the door," Nardone says.

Earning his boatbuilding certificate through a one-year program at the Landing School at Arundel, Maine, Nardone sought work by driving around and looking at boat yards. "I ended up at a wonderful yard in Salem, Mass., that had been there since 1914, and worked there for three years to finish off my apprenticeship."

He then took his first stab at entrepreneurship--operating his own boat furniture and cabinetmaking business for six years--and then worked at another local boat yard for three more years. Finally, he decided it was time to strike out on his own with a boatmaking venture that would adhere to the highest standards of his craft.

Along with business partner Larry Langley, Nardone established Pilot House Woodworks in Gloucester, Mass., in June 2003. Their goal is to build custom wood sailboats based on traditional workboats of the 1920s­40s. "A traditional wood boat offers a comfortable, cost-effective way to get out on the water that is safe and reliable. We don't get all fussy with varnish and finishes. These are wholesome boats that come from the standpoint of earning their keep, like a draft horse rather than a thoroughbred," Nardone says.

"So many modern boats are ugly as sin," he adds. "We're looking for a clientele that appreciates the aesthetics, safety, performance and comfort of an old-fashioned boat. We have standards we're going to work toward, and it might take a while to find the people who appreciate those standards."

While accepting restoration and refitting projects to keep the business afloat, Nardone and Langley are each working on examples of the traditional working sailboats that they aspire to build on commission for clients. Nardone is crafting an 18-foot Norwegian sailboat designed in 1946, while Langley is building a 21-foot Sharpie based on the old oyster boats that used to carry mail in Southern Florida. "They were mid-19th century pickup trucks on water," Nardone says.

Located just a half-hour from Boston, Nardone says he hopes to attract commissions from boat-lovers who will enjoy making a short drive to check on the progress of their hand-crafted, wooden boats. They are not trying to compete with the "guys in Maine" who are building cruise boats with air conditioning and refrigeration. Rather, they are seeking to get their foot in the door with small, traditional craft that could've been built in the 1920s or '30s, he says, "but in an intelligent, nonmaintenance-intensive kind of way."