At least two charter boat operators are spending the off-season productively -- building new vessels from scratch.

At one end of the Island in Dockyard is Hat Trick skipper Mr. Kirk Ward, who along with son Keith is building "the only purpose-built charter sail boat on the Island''.

And in St. George's boatyard, local charter captains Mr. Beau Evans and Mr.

Stephen McKey are building a custom-designed 58-foot glass bottom boat.

The duo are ambitiously aiming to put their boat in the water in April in time for the 1995 season, having started work on it last October.

New top-quality glass bottom boats can run as high as $500,000, notes Mr.

McKey. "It's much cheaper to build one,'' he says.

The hull is almost completed and the vessel is due to be "flipped'' on the weekend so work can begin on the inside.

Mr. Ward, on the other hand, is not in as much a hurry, shooting to have his purpose-built 46-foot catamaran, a sister to Bermuda's only trimaran Hat Trick , in the water sometime next year. He started on her two months ago.

His West End charter business was improving and he felt their was a need locally for a spacious catamaran -- the most popular charter vessels in the Caribbean -- that "can go places'' and move at a good speed.

And since it's custom-made, "Instead of sitting on cabins tops and hatches the passengers can sit in seats.'' He expects it to be licensed for up to 49 people.

Mr. Ward is making the boat using a new technique for Bermuda involving "vacuum-bag plywood and epoxy'' which will ensure the vessel is sturdy and lightweight.

He obtained the design from Seattle-based designer Kurt Hughes and shipped the materials to the Island.

GETTING THERE -- Contractor Mr. Peter Rego, at St. George's boatyard yesterday, applies filler to the hull of what will be a 58-foot charter glass-bottom boat when completed. Joint builders Mr. Beau Evans and Mr.

Stephen McKey are aiming to put her in the water in April, having started the project last October.