Lyman-Morse

With roots deep in the Maine wooden boat-building tradition, Lyman-Morse today is a state-of-the-art shipyard with one of the most environmentally friendly yacht construction facilities in the world.

History

In 1912, Charles A. Morse founded the shipyard in Thomaston, Maine, as Morse Boatbuilding. Throughout the 20th century, the yard was known for building Alden Malabar schooners and Friendship sloops, as well as variety of custom pleasure yachts. Morse Boatbuilding fell upon hard times in the late 1970s, however, and was about to close its doors when boat builder Cabot Lyman approached it about renting factory space. Instead, he formed a partnership with the shipyard, and Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding was born in 1978.

Lyman-Morse soon made its mark with a series of traditional Maine lobster yachts and the Seguin sailing yacht line, both in the 12-metre range. In 1988-89, the 24-metre Lyman-Morse Rainbow sailing yacht made news by circumnavigating the “wrong way”, against prevailing winds.

Notable Yachts

The shipyard has produced many fast racing sailboats including the 2006 Baraka, its first all-carbon fibre yacht.

Lyman-Morse megayacht projects have included the 27.4-metre Tumblehome, which launched in 1997, and a decade later, the 28.6-mete Electra, both designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates.

Specialisations

Over the years, Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding has continued to expand both in size and technical capabilities, specialising in new custom yacht building, refit work and service. In early 2007, the shipyard added a large, temperature-controlled, solar-powered, energy-efficient building with a ceiling high enough to accommodate the yard’s 110-ton Marine Travelift. The building was purpose-designed to facilitate the construction of yachts in excess of 42.6 metres.