Boothbay Harbor Shipyard
Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, formerly Sample's Shipyard, is the Maine yard of the Bristol Marine group and has operated as a shipyard and marine railway at the head of Boothbay Harbor since 1869. It is a full-service and refit yard specializing in traditional wooden boatbuilding, restoration and repair, with shipwrights, carpenters, painters, fabricators and systems technicians on staff; recent work includes the eight-year restoration of the National Historic Landmark schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, launched in September 2022. The yard hauls vessels on two marine railways rated at 700 and 150 tons plus a 25-ton travel lift, and also offers storage, slips and moorings for seasonal and transient boats. A nearby inland facility on Southport Island handles trailerable boats and Yamaha outboard and Yanmar inboard service.
Boothbay Harbor Shipyard
Boothbay Harbor Shipyard sits at the head of Boothbay Harbor in Mid-Coast Maine, on a site that has served as a shipyard and marine railway since 1869. Originally known as Sample's Shipyard — which built four-masted schooners in the early 1900s and ships for the war effort in the 1940s — it was acquired by Bristol Marine in 2017 as part of the company's effort to preserve New England's working waterfront. The yard pairs traditional wooden boatbuilding methods with modern materials and equipment, and its team completed the eight-year restoration of the schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, a National Historic Landmark and Official Vessel of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, launched in September 2022.
Services
- Full-service and refit yard specializing in wooden boat restoration
- Shipwright work: plank and frame replacement, hull refastening, traditional caulking, plank-on-frame and cold-molded construction
- Wooden spar building and repair, including masts for large schooners
- Marine carpentry, paint, gelcoat and fiberglass, metal fabrication
- Mechanical and systems service; Yamaha outboards and Yanmar inboards
- Winter storage, maintenance and repair
Facilities
- Railway 1: 700-ton capacity (vessels to approx. 200 ft)
- Railway 2: 150-ton capacity (vessels to approx. 100 ft)
- 25-ton travel lift (max beam 13.5 ft, max draft 8 ft)
- Newly renovated 550 ft pier with project space
- Seasonal and transient slips and moorings for boats to 120 ft (max draft 15 ft)
- Heated, unheated and outside storage for boats up to 80 ft
- Inland Southport Island facility with heated storage for boats up to 35 ft
- On-site shipyard historical museum; waterfront tent and pier available for events
Vessel Types
- Classic and traditional wooden sailing vessels, including schooners and tall ships
- Small sailboats and powerboats
- Boats of all sizes, shapes and construction materials, from winter storage clients to large refit projects
Location
- Boothbay Harbor, Maine, a short walk from historic downtown
- Part of the Bristol Marine network, which also operates yards in Bristol, RI; Somerset, MA; and Jacksonville, FL