CHARLEVOIX The shop smells like varnish and wood dust. William Dreyer II paces anxiously, cell phone pressed to his ear. "You have it?" he says into the phone. "I just need one. Ship it ... Yes.

Brian Keen credits his uncle for getting him into boats. He owned five or six, and as Keen entered college, his uncle’s interest grew—and so did Keen’s. That interest, mixed with Keen’s love of old ...