The lobster boat PAMELA B. from Beverly, Massachusetts got some hull repair and her annual maintenance done at John’s Bay Boat in South Bristol.
This Castine Class was being readied for the upcoming season at Hylan & Brown in Brooklin. She needed her regular annual maintenance and centerboard repairs.
Gamage Shipyard, South Bristol, Maine
Two years ago, the yard took delivery of a Mitchell Cove 35 hull. They had a customer that ordered a sportfish boat and two Christmases ago they began finishing her out. Down below she has a double berth forward, galley to port and enclosed head to starboard all trimmed in Sipo (Entandrophragma utile). The platform is stepped so they can get the engine, a Yanmar 38LV 370-hp diesel engine under it. In the shelter there are a helm seat and a double helm seat all looking forward. Out in the cockpit there is an aft bench seat and behind this there are rocket launchers. The shelter is about getting comfortable and the cockpit is more about fishing. This boat was launched in early May and sea trialed.
In the main shop they have a spoon-bow sailboat, which sank last summer due to an issue with a thru-hull fitting. They have replaced the engine, a lot of wiring, electronics, refrigeration, and other electrical components. The engine was ready to go back in the end of May and that meant she was almost ready for the water, which they thought would be late June.
The Holland 32 the yard finished a couple of years ago, KYLE G., was in the paint bay. They have extended the hard top about two feet and put in a winter back so there is more room in the pilothouse. This was a big project.
Along with finishing up these projects they are hustling trying to get all the storage boats ready for the season, which is a challenge due to the lack of help.
Hylan & Brown Boatbuilders, Brooklin
During May the main shop was being used to get the storage boats ready for the water. In was TOLLIE built in 1929 getting her annual makeover and a Castine Class having some centerboard work and maintenance.
Before this they had two projects in here during the winter. One was building a new Aubrey Runabout that was just launched, which the owners were thrilled with. The owners of this boat live right in Brooklin and this is the second boat they have built for them.
The other project was the pleasure launch VAGA, which was built on Great Cranberry Isle in the 1930s. Ellery Brown said, “She is in mostly pristine shape. She is galvanized clinched nail fastened but is not showing any rust and she has been properly stored out there for years. We converted her to an electric motor, put a solar array on an awning and did some new joinery. She is out in the harbor now. We have been sea trialing her getting everything dialed in with the new systems. That was a good winter project for us.” She will be heading to her owners in Sorrento when they are done.
In the other shop they are building a Matthew Smith designed power boat for another repeat customer. They had done a smaller powerboat for him a couple of years ago, which he uses to cross a Bay and feels he needs a bigger boat. The hull was nearing completion and they were hoping to roll her over the middle of June. Once the hull is rolled over, they will begin work on the interior. She has a walkaround configuration with a centre console pilothouse and is powered with twin outboards. In the pilothouse there is a single berth and head and back aft there is a horseshoe seat. The outboards are Yamaha 250s, with electric steering and joystick controls. These are scheduled to arrive at the end of summer.
Like a number of other builders, they work with Hewes & Co., who will cut out much of the pilothouse with a CNC machine. Ellery added, “It has been a while since we’ve done it any other way. When we first started doing this, I did do the math and found it was saving everybody money. It takes some of the skilled labor out of getting the boat started in the shop and puts it in the design office at the computer. It has become just a given for us. I am sure there’s other good CNC shops out there, but our history is with them. They know what we expect in so many ways right down to the finer details. You just build an understanding that is so valuable.”
This project might be completed late in the fall and they are hoping to do sea trials before the snow flies. Then bring her back in and finish her up for a spring launch in 2024.
Next, they will bring into the main shop the 1930 50-foot Elco Flat Top this fall. They have not worked on her in a couple of years. The last things that were done were putting in all new deck frames and getting the deck on. They also did some interior work up forward. They need to do work in the engine room and hopefully begin work on the superstructure. “Getting her stored with the deck on made her real stiff and kept her shape,” explained Ellery. “Hoping we get into her and she’s just as we left her and get right to work.”
Then they will build a hull for Brooklin Boat Yard, one of the Wheeler 55. Ellery added, “We are getting a whole kit from them. I mean not only the CNC work from Hewes, but they built two of everything…longitudinal stuff, stringers, engine beds, chines. It is just like the world’s biggest do-it-yourself kit. There is a little more to it than that, but in some ways it really is. We are doing this because they don’t have the space to get it started on the schedule they need. We have worked together before and it has always been good. We are happy to be involved with that project. We will start in on bulkheads and what not probably this fall and then deliver it sometime towards the end of 2024.”
They have another Albury, a little electric lake boat to do and some folks are talking about a cruiser for the West Coast.”
Some may remember the Rich boat they were rebuilding with a high-tech power system and then the owner had a health issue and they were forced to stop the project. She has been sold to someone in Freeport who is going to finish her out himself. Down below she is pretty much finished, but up in the shelter is empty. “We are actually looking to splash it,” said Ellery, “because it is seaworthy. We had it in the water for a sea trial before she was put up. It was a good project and it is a shame to see it go without finishing it.”
John’s Bay Boat Co., South Bristol, Maine
Currently under construction is a 44-footer. The hull is done and they are beginning to get the interior in. She has a forward cabin with v-bunks and some lockers, storage space. On the starboard side she has more storage lockers and then a head with a shower in it. In the shelter is the galley, a settee and helm seat station. The engine was sitting waiting for the reverse gear, which was due in May. Once that arrived the engine would be bolted in place. However, they are not working much on this boat as the railway is extremely busy like every spring and early summer at the yard. Due to the issue of finding help this boat will probably not go over until next spring.
At the end of April PAMELA B. from Beverly, Massachusetts needed to have her bottom stripped and was hauled out at Bittersweet Boat Yard in South Bristol so the mess could be collected and disposed of properly. The bottom was stripped by Aqua Terra Vapor Blasting and then the John’s Bay crew went over the bottom making sure the caulking, putty and bungs were all there. They also replaced a couple of planks and put the ice sheathing back on. When done she was relaunched and hauled up on the railway at John’s Bay Boat for the rest of the work. Unfortunately, by the time she got on the railway it began raining, which it did for three weeks. She was next scheduled to have a new lobster tank installed and paint the hull before going back overboard.
In the other bay in the shop there is RPJJ, which Bruce Farrin had built for a local fisherman 44 years ago. Her original owner fished her until he retired a couple of years ago and she was bought by a neighbor to the yard. They were asked to fix a couple of things and that turned into reframing her from the bulkhead back, rebuilding the stern and putting in 15 planks. They still have to put in the platform and patch the rails.
Next on the railway will be Mike Flannagan’s SALLY ROCHELLE from Portsmouth, NH. She will be up just for general maintenance.
The Landing School
Launches New “Boatyard Management” Program
The Landing School is pleased to announce the launch of a new academic program which will have a significant impact on the marine industry. Starting this fall, The Landing School will offer Boatyard Management, a program focused on management in the marine industry.
This program extends The Landing School’s “learn by doing” philosophy for students who have completed one of the other four programs. Boatyard Management is a second-year program in which students will learn management principles by actually managing the work of a simulated boatyard.
“This new program is the first of its kind, making the Landing School uniquely qualified to provide the marine industry with managers in training, essentially graduating a workforce that is ready to mentor other employees,” said school president Sean Fawcett.
To prepare for the new program, the Landing School has expanded its boatyard capabilities with the purchase of a Hostar hydraulic trailer, a one-ton pickup truck, and a forklift. The generosity of significant donors has made these purchases possible.
“As our Marine Systems program has evolved to provide students with practical, hands-on experience through meaningful project boat work, the school is looking more and more like a functioning boatyard,” said Sean Fawcett. “We will leverage this environment to teach business and project management principles by having students manage the work of a boatyard.”
The Boatyard Management program is open to students who have completed one of the other programs, including Wooden Boat Building, Composite Boat Building, Marine Systems, or Yacht Design. The objective is to teach the skills and knowledge necessary to be an effective manager in the marine industry. Through course work and hands-on management of projects taking place on campus, Boatyard Management students will gain first-hand experience managing all aspects of a project, from start to finish. This includes planning, estimating, executing, ordering parts, invoicing, and personnel management.
Jeff Stack of Maine Yacht Center said, “…the new Boatyard Management program will work to instill confidence in technicians as they rise through their boatyard careers, as well as bring structure to the many complexities unique to marine management.”
During the first semester of the Boatyard Management program, students will take courses in safety and compliance, planning and estimating, ABYC standards, and service management. These courses will provide foundational tools and knowledge that students will need to become effective managers. In the late winter, students will participate in a full-time, three-week externship where they will shadow an established leader or manager in the marine industry. This will enable students to see the management principles they have learned put into practice and expose them to a career as a leader in the industry.
During the second semester, project management takes a front seat. The majority of the Boatyard Management students’ time will be spent managing small teams of Marine Systems students who are working on “project boats.” In addition to this direct experience managing real projects and teams, the Boatyard Management students will be introduced to financial management, marina management, and organizational behavior.
The Boatyard Management curriculum prepares graduates to find employment as entry level department leads, project managers, service managers, or yard managers in the marine industry. Equally important, it prepares students to enter the workforce as trusted mentors for junior employees.
Lyman-Morse Fabrication, Rockland
Lyman-Morse Fabrication announces the launch of our newest workboat project, the LMF 33 Landing Craft. The LMF 33 Landing Craft fills the niche for a high-quality and durable work vessel built to withstand the rigors of extreme marine environments. The aluminum hull allows operators to land the boat on rocky beaches without damaging the hull, while the wide-open bow functions as a stable and uncluttered work, cargo, or passenger space. Hull 1 of this series was commissioned by the University of New Hampshire’s School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering for work in their aquaculture research programs. This model features a deck-mounted 3300-pound crane for easy hauling of nets and traps.
The LMF 33 Landing Craft was designed by Response Marine, with whom we’ve worked to launch other commercial and utility vessels.
Whether you are looking to haul nets for aquaculture research or simply beaching your boat on a remote shoreline, the LMF 33 Landing Craft will deliver. Fitting a multitude of uses, the vessel is perfectly suited for: Transport/Remote Accessibility; Research Institutions; Heavy Industry; Fire Rescue; Patrol; Spill Response; Multi-Purpose/Utility and More…
The LMF 33 is offered as series-built model. With the heritage and expertise of a custom boatbuilding company behind it, the vessel can be customized to fit an owner or organization’s specific needs. Whether you are looking for a rugged commercial-use boat or something practical to get your equipment out to an island, the LMF 33 is the boat that can do it all.
The drop-down bow door makes transporting equipment to an area without a dock seamless. The vessel is offered with multiple propulsion options. Hull 1 features twin 250HP outboards with joystick control.
Lyman-Morse Fabrication has established itself as the source for custom-made metal fabrication projects throughout New England and beyond. We combine broad-ranging capabilities, state-of-the-art facilities and fine craftsmen and engineers to create projects of exceptional quality. With a foundation in constructing ocean going yachts and marine components, we understand durability, beauty, functionality, and practicality. Today, our fabrication shop has evolved to offer our services to meet the needs of a wide range of markets, from small prototypes to large-volume orders.
We pride ourselves on precision, innovation, commitment to quality, and cost-effectiveness. Our dedicated and skilled craftsmen have expertise in working with stainless, aluminum, bronze, steel, titanium, and plastics.
Shop to Shore, South Bristol, Maine
In the shop they have a Hodgdon 24, which is being rebuilt. They have replaced a few frames and planks, recaulked, replaced everything on the inside, installed a new engine, painted the hull and next they will be building and installing a centre console.
Outside in a temporary shed there is a 1950 Chris Craft, which is being rebuilt by and for the owner of the yard. This year he has redone the transom, painted the hull, installed new tanks, stripped all the varnish, stained it, and varnished it. He has also done a lot of painting inside trying to get that back up to where it should be.
Out by the road sat Glamour Girl, which they installed a new three-cylinder Yanmar in. They then discovered that they needed a bigger prop because it did just four knots wide open. They are just waiting for the prop now so they can take it back out for sea trials again.
They are still working on the Able 32 for a local customer. They removed the wheelhouse and put on a new teak windshield/pilothouse, redid the non-skid, built bench seats, made new cherry trim for the hatches, and redid the console area. They were hoping to get her over for Memorial Day.
Out in the yard are 15 skiffs that need to be repainted along with several others so that they are ready for summer, which is already upon us.
