ROCKLAND – No sooner did the Lobster Festival tents come down than preparations began for the 12th annual Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Show, August 8-10.

The show is put on by the Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors magazine, which has been covering the coastal lifestyle in Maine for almost 30 years. John Hanson, the publisher of the magazine, says that same theme informs the show.

“That’s always been the basis of what we’ve tried to do with the show,” Hanson said. “’What is life on the coast all about?’ We try to do a little different spin on it every year, because it’s show business, you know, you’ve got to do something different.”

This year the show will offer a tribute to the “Genius of Herreshoff.” The Herreshoffs were a famous and well-respected Connecticut family of boat designers and builders.

While several Herreshoff and Herreshoff-inspired yachts will be on display at the show, the exhibit aims to memorialize a much smaller but well-loved vessel, the Herreshoff 12 ½. A 16-foot daysailer, 12 ½ feet on the waterline, the boat was originally designed for teaching young people how to sail. The design is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, and has been influential in boatbuilding.

“It has proved to be one of the world’s most popular boats,” Hanson said. “They’re sailed by young and old.”

The “Genius of Herreshoff” tribute will include several examples of the Herreshoff 12 ½ as well as what Hanson called “variations on the theme,” boats that were inspired and influenced by the Herreshoff design.

This year’s show will also include a look at “Smart, Small Homes.” The Maine chapter of the American Institute of Architects will be showcasing the work of 20 current Maine architects in the Thoreau Multimedia Center, a frame house the size and shape of Thoreau’s Walden, built by Rockport Post and Beam.

There will also be a display from GO Logic, a tiny house built on a trailer by Shed City, and an Op 200 tent designed by Bill Moss.

Students from the Midcoast School of Technology will showcase a tiny, shingled house they built.

Young volunteers, helped by members of Midcoast Habitat for Humanity, will be constructing a “pallet house” on the show grounds.

Pallet houses were designed by I-Beam Design for people that need shelter after natural disasters. They are built from wooden pallets, a ubiquitous material worldwide.

A highlight every year is the World Championship Boatyard Dog Trials, held this year on Sunday. This year the seven canine contestants and their handlers will have to complete a dock-themed obstacle course, climb in and out of a dinghy and show off a freestyle talent that incorporates the number 12 and ends with either dog or handler soaking wet.

Editor at Large Gretchen Ogden said that the best place to watch would probably be the walkway out to the Pearl restaurant.

As usual, the show will include lots of music, food, art, crafts and furniture from Maine creators and artisans. Ogden commented that the main tent this year is the largest they have ever put up for the show.

For Hanson, the chance to meet creative Maine people and view their work is one of his favorite things about the show.

“My favorite feeling that I get in the show is this overwhelming sense of the power of creativity that we have on the coast of Maine. I mean, everybody here is a maker,” Hanson said. “The place almost vibrates with that feeling of electric creativity. That’s my favorite thing about it. There are all these people who just do stuff.”

In addition to the exhibits on land, the Rockland Yacht Club’s launch will ferry visitors out to view some vessels that are too large for the dock, including Rich Wilson’s Open 60 Vendée Globe around-the-world racer. Yachts from Saber Yachts in Casco, Hinckley Yachts in Southwest Harbor and others will also be on show.

The Boats, Homes and Harbors show begins on Friday at 10 a.m. Admission is $12 per day for adults and free for children under 12. Dogs, aside from the Boatyard Dog competitors, are not allowed in the grounds.

For more information on the schedule of events and the yachts, boats, crafts, furniture and art on display at the show, click here.

To view details about the seven Boatyard Dog hopefuls, click here.