This is the 98-foot SYNERGY, which was in most of the summer having her
engine replaced by Front Street Shipyard in Belfast.
In the fore ground is a 26-foot launch being finished out for a customer from Florida, behind her is a 46-foot sailboat, which just had her decks redone and Awlgripped by York Marine in Rockland.
Front Street Shipyard – Belfast, ME
Almost every yard on the coast of Maine is already hauling boats for the winter. Front Street Shipyard is not only hauling boats to store for the winter, which is already over filled, but they are also hauling some and getting them ready for a trip south later this fall. What they do is haul about seven or eight boats over 50 feet in length, get them ready for a winter down south, and relaunch them after a couple of weeks and then haul another seven or eight boats and repeat the process.
Presently on the dock they have the Swan 78 OPTIMUS, which is getting warranty work done. The Nordhaven 76 TANGO and the 80-foot catamaran PRINCESS CHLOE are coming in to be hauled out, have their bottoms blasted and painted before they head south. The Swan 100 RED SKY is also coming in for a bottom job and a long work list. How much gets done will be determined by the availability of time. They are looking for lithium batteries, add four transducers, and add electric furling system just to name a few items on the list.
They have two new boats under construction. One is for the U. S. Navy, and the other is a Wesmac 46. The deck mould for the Wesmac 46 is almost finished and when done they will lay up the deck. Early this summer they built a mock-up of the interior and that is how a four-foot extension came to happen. The main bulkhead, fuel tanks and exhaust system is in as they work to get everything under the deck done.
The 96-foot sloop SYMMETRY has been in Building #6 the entire summer. They have repowered her with a new main engine, a new generator, and several other smaller projects. She is scheduled to get relaunched mid-September, step her rig, do sea trials, before she heads south for the winter.
There are lots of projects lined up already. J. B. Turner, president of the yard, said, “It is a whole variety pack, cutting off decks that are rotten; replacing bulkheads that are rotten to new teak decks to new engines and a bunch of paint work on lots of different boats. It is a good variety and since we have every trade it is important to keep them busy, maybe a little bit over-busy. It has worked out well that way.”
They are also getting ready to start building a carbon solar powered water taxi at their Bucksport facility. They are doing this for a company called Light Speed and Warden Marine. They have developed a catamaran water taxi, which Front Street is going to build for them. Presently, just one has been ordered, but this may turn into multiple orders.
Johanson Boatworks – Rockport, ME
Late in August they already had hauled out two boats for the winter and five more were coming out the first week of September. They have also been getting ready for the storage season by getting all their maintenance done. They are reconditioning their jack-stands by greasing, adding new tops when needed and painting. Also, they were moving a few boats around to optimize space.
They were also making some other improvements to the operations. They were putting together a new stockroom and using a barcode system so they could easily track everything. Another improvement was putting security cameras around the outside. They have not had any issues, but a couple times it has come in handy. Once a trucker said that they had not put the side window in a boat, but they looked at the security footage and when it left the window was there.
Inside the shop they have had some great projects over the last several months. They just finished redoing the interior on a Sabre 36 sailboat. They replaced the starboard side by rebuilding a bunk and adding custom storage lockers. She was now ready to head south for the winter.
Currently, they have an O’Day Wigeon in to be restored. They made fiberglass repairs to the hull and then Awlgripped it and put non-skid on the decks. The mast was stripped down and her standing and running was replaced. When completed she will head back to her owner at Mere Point in Brunswick or to Alfred Lake in Union.
A custom center-console runabout, which had been built by Rockport Marine about 10 years ago, was in to be repowered. The engine had no compression, so it was removed, rebuilt and re-installed.
A really nice Sabre 402 came in and was surveyed. They found that the rudder had some delamination issues and the moisture metre showed she was wet inside. They took a hole-saw and drilled into it and the water just poured out. They then cut the perimeter and split the rudder open. This allowed the foam core to dry out. They then filled some voids, re-glassed the outside and now it was going back together. Unfortunately, the owner has put this boat up for sale as he transitions from sail to power allowing him to continue boating.
A J-120 came in to have her crash bulkhead replaced, which was rotten, and then they stripped the bottom and put a racing finish on it with VC Offshore paint. This was then wet, sanded, and polished so it was perfectly smooth. She was relaunched and sailed home to Rhode Island.
Out in another shop there was a Sweden 38, which just had her decks repainted. Previously, she had been in, and they repainted the hull and cockpit.
In the lower shop they had a small runabout, which had her centre-console altered and fuel tanks leveled. The centre-console was going to be raised about 12-inches using Coosa board, a teak cap for the gauges and engine controls fitted, tilt the wheel, which is now flat, and add a hydraulic steering system. Once this is finished, they will paint it and the hull with Awlgrip.
In the other lower shop, they had a 1947 cedar skiff, which they were redoing. They replaced a small piece of the stem, added custom bronze hardware, and made repairs to the transom. The owner wanted to make sure that she looked traditional, so they removed the plywood on the transom and replaced it with bronze plates to hold the outboard. The hull was covered with a layer of fiberglass, and this was going to be repaired as needed. They were not sure if the owner was going to have them paint the hull.
They already have four paint jobs and a couple of repowers lined up for this winter. They said the phone had just started ringing with people looking to have work done this winter. They are not fully booked yet. Inside storage is full, but they do have some outside storage space available. They said, “I always tell people we work on anything. We are fixing a kayak, fixing a Widgeon, we are fixing this Sweden 38, it doesn’t matter to us. We are happy to do it.”
Wesmac – Surry, ME
In the mould shop, they are doing several tops. One is a top for a 50-foot lobster boat for Jacob Knowles. Most everyone saw the photograph on Facebook of this boat being trailered by Ron Murphy to Long Cove Marine on Deer Isle crossing the Deer Isle Bridge, where she is having her engine installed. She will come back, and the top will be installed along with some other minor work before she heads out to a finisher further Downeast.
The day they sent Jacob Knowles’ hull to Long Cove they sent another 50, via Ron Murphy, to Billings Diesel & Marine in Stonington to have her engines installed. She will be powered with twin engines.
Out in the yard they have a boat heading to New Jersey sometime in October. She is almost done, about five percent remains, mostly system work and then sea trials to make sure everything works as it should. The electronics package needs to be installed by the electronics rep and the person making the cushions was coming to finish making the patterns. For accommodations she has a V-berth bunk room and a master berth to the portside of the companionway. On the starboard side there are his and hers closets just aft of the V-berth and a head and shower aft of them. The boat is powered with an 1,150-hp Scania. She also sports an insulated fish hold, a gyro, ice maker, electric reels, and plenty of rod holders.
In Bay #2 they have a 46, which is being finished out as a sportfisherman for a customer from Montauk, NY. She is scheduled to be completed sometime next year.
Then they have a 50, which will be finished out as a three-quarter walkaround for a customer from Houston, TX. She is powered with 2,200-hp Caterpillar with a relatively simple interior. One thing she is getting is the Omni sonar system, which is state-of-the-art technology and extremely expensive.
At the lower yard they have MARIAH EVE getting a refit from work to sportfisherman. OCEAN BORN, a 42, is being rigged up for tuna fishing. She is powered with a 1,150-hp Scania, 9kW generator, 700-gallons of fuel, which is just a few of the extras on this boat. WICKED SHARPE is a 46 built in 2014. She is a sportfisherman powered with an 825-hp FPT. Both of these boats are for sale by Wesmac.
Last fall there was a slight accident in the parking lot of Wesmac when someone was moving a boat around, collided with another boat putting a hole in the side. This was repaired last winter giving the person another skill set of working in fiberglass.
Wesmac just does not do big boats, they have their own Wesmac 18, which they are building a couple of and finishing them off. They are also going to be finishing off a Holland 14, which Linda Greenlaw purchased from Holland Boat a couple of years ago.
York Marine – Rockland, ME
On the right side of the shop, they have a 46-foot sailboat, which has had her teak decks and the core beneath it removed and replaced. They then glassed over the core and Awlgripped the decks. Next, they will put down the non-skid. There is also damage around the quarter guard and that will be repaired before she leaves to go into storage out on Route 90 for the winter.
Right next to the sailboat is a 26-foot launch, which is being finished out for a customer from Florida. This is all stick built, and Mike York, owner of York Marine, said that they really need to make moulded parts to speed up the building process.
Next to her is a Hinckley 36 Picnic Boat that came in to be refitted. They removed her engine and installed a new one; redid the seating arrangement in the cockpit, extended the cabin top, and added a hull door. She is nearly ready to be placed in storage.
The Boston Whaler at the front of the shop is in for extensive repairs after running over a bunch of rocks.
A Donzi 17 is in for a complete restoration.
Coming in from Long Island, New York is a 32-footer for a complete overhaul.
Then they have a couple more York 18 sailboats to build this winter.
