Cape Cod-based boat retailer opens its first Maine location

Oyster Harbors Marine, headquartered in Osterville, Mass., leased space at 15 Hannaford Drive in York, near I-95.

Its offerings include boat sales, service and brokerage, with indoor/outdoor displays and a partnership with marine electronics provider Navtronics, which is the landlord of the facility and has a location there.

The location extends Oyster Harbors’ services from Cape Cod to the Canadian border, said Michael Gisch, the company’s general manager.

“As our company has grown and expanded across New England, we found we have many customers who live or like to boat Downeast in Maine,” Gisch said. 

Inventory will include boat brands Albemarle, Everglades, Fjord, Legacy, Mag Bay, Princess, Regulator, Rossiter, Valhalla and Viking Yachts. The company also maintains a brokerage for used boats.

Gisch said Maine boat broker Adrian Link, formerly with Twin Tales Yacht Sales, also at 15 Hannaford Drive, was hired as the broker for Oyster Harbors’ York facility. 

Established in 1987, the company’s original marina and sales office was in Osterville on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod. It has sales offices in Falmouth, Marion, Danvers and Hingham, Mass.; Newport, R.I.; Essex, Conn.; and now York.

Surge in boating

The past few years have seen a mix of activity in the various segment of Maine’s boating market.

Following a surge in boat rentals during the pandemic, Thomaston boatbuilder Lyman-Morse completed its Camden marina redevelopment project, Yarmouth nonprofit marine center Sea Meadow Marine has attracted a slew of users and worked on infrastructure upgrades, the Freedom Boat Club of Maine expanded to seven locations and French electric outboard motor manufacturer Temo opened its first U.S. subsidiary in Portland.