Sounds like you've finally found someone with management skills.

I'm at a loss as to how you guys lasted this long without having a weekly production meeting.

. Oh, I'm not..... I've worked more than one job that was managed this way.  The only way he could have a 'more interesting ' workday is if both husband and wife assigned jobs to people that totally contradicted each of their orders.... in a small family business, been there , done that .....

The only thing I don't get is why it took her so long to take the reins. The fiasco with the house painter who varnished the interior wasn't the first costly mistake her husband made.

A good example of why it's never a good idea to have a significant other or relatives in the business. Difficult to go home at night if you only discuss the bad stuff the other partner did or didn't do. Working with your significant other and/or relatives is good way to bootstrap a business, but fails at creating a professional environment that employees can respect.
Tim

They used to own a boat rental company but that went bankrupt during the financial crisis. The shipyard they now own also went out of business and they took over. I guess her husband thought renting out boats is no different from building boats. And even though there is room for a lot of improvement in how the company is managed past clients have always been more than satisfied with the boats we built for them. We're also swamped with work and can't even take on new builds until the end of 2018. We have a 2 year waiting list for new clients.

And I will say this about them, we always have our salary on time. They'd rather make a supplier wait a bit longer on their money than be late with our salary. I have to give them credit for that.