Max and Doris Smith of Hodge's Cove are no strangers to hard work on, off and in the water
What started as a winter project — a floating wharf for their cabin — has become a livelihood for Max and Doris Smith of Hodge's Cove.
Friends and family coveted the convenience of Max's floating wharf and that's where the demand began.
"It got out of control!" Max Smith told The Broadcast.
The land-water connectors rise and fall with the tide and require far less maintenance than traditional sunken wharves. Max and Doris have installed them in bays, lakes and ponds all over the province.
"We go on trips sometimes and Max will say, 'oh look, that's one of my wharves' and I'll say 'one thing about you, buddy, you're leaving your mark on the world,'" said Doris.
It's not only private wharves. Max Smith has had a hand in building quite a few public wharves too, from under the water.
Inspired by 'Sea Hunt'
In 1969, he was one of a handful of commercial divers in this province. Inspired by the TV show "Sea Hunt", Max went on to wear out 19 dive suits in his 30 years down under.
"He did everything you could do underwater," recalls Doris. "Wharf building, breakwater construction, underwater drilling and blasting."
He even helped install the underwater line that brought electricity to Change Islands and Fogo Island.
I always look forward to getting up in the morning and going to work, rain or shine.- Max Smith
Since Max was so used to spending time underwater, when fishermen started to take an interest in the spiny sea urchin back in the early 80s, Max saw a hands-on opportunity.
"One fella came with a dip net ... and I said why don't you dive for 'em and pick 'em up? Well, he thought that was a good idea, so he threw away his dip net," said Smith.
Max would dive and Doris would be in the boat to haul up the nets full of urchins. "It's not a fishery for the faint of heart, I tell ya." said Doris who explained the harvest is best done in the winter, when conditions are usually harsh.
Sidelined by accident
When the urchin fishery slowed down, Max decided to take a construction job at Voisey's Bay in Labrador. Unfortunately, a bad accident brought that work to an abrupt end.
"I fell, I don't know between 20 to 22 feet onto a concrete floor," said Smith.
Max was airlifted him to St. John's and spent 18 days in intensive care and another three weeks in hospital.
"I broke all my ribs on one side. I broke my femur, it came out through my overalls and stuck out through. I broke my hip, and they bolted my hip together and bolted my femur together. My pelvis, they say, was broken in four places."
Construction in Labrador was no longer an option but Doris recalls that even in the early stages of recovery, Max was anxious to start work. That's when he decided on a winter project.
"He said 'maybe I'll do something to get going again, I think I'll build a floating dock for up in the cabin,'" recalls Doris Smith.
Team effort
Like the sea urchin fishery, the wharf work has developed into a true team effort. Doris said she's built so many with Max now, that she always knows what he's thinking.
"If he needs a drill or if he needs the counter sinker or a leg bolt or whatever he needs, I can keep ahead of him all the time and keep ahead of the sawdust."
Max, 73, and Doris, 70, would put most people's work ethic to shame.
"Sometimes I'll wake up early in the morning and I hear the hammer and saw and I say, 'oh no, he's not up in the shed again this early in the morning.' Some mornings I've seen him go up there at 4 o'clock," said Doris.
For Max and Doris, every wharf is a labour of love.
"We've had some nice thank you notes form people who appreciate their docks. It sort of makes you feel like you're doing something for the community and for people. It's very rewarding."
And if you thought the Smiths might soon be slowing down production to enjoy retirement, think again. Their son and daughters have joined the business now and Max and Doris have added space to their backyard shed to be able to build bigger and better.
"I got a bit of arthritis, but everybody got that. I don't complain about that. Nothing you can do about that. Clear of that I feels in good health for anybody living on borrowed time," said Max Smith.
"I always look forward to getting up in the morning and going to work, rain or shine."
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