In July, the Thomaston-based yacht builder Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding, led by its president, Drew Lyman, purchased Wayfarer Marine, a historic boatyard that occupies nine acres on Camden’s waterfront.
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In July, the Thomaston-based yacht builder Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding, led by its president, Drew Lyman, purchased Wayfarer Marine, a historic boatyard that occupies nine acres on Camden's waterfront. It was a significant move for Lyman-Morse, expanding its presence on the midcoast and giving it a foothold in a busy harbor.
Lyman-Morse's flagship site in Thomaston has seven heated work buildings spread over 11 acres. It offers custom construction, service, storage and refits. It has built 110 yachts since its founding in 1978. In recent years, Lyman, son of founders Cabot and Heidi Lyman, has leveraged the yard's infrastructure to diversify into areas outside the marine world. Lyman-Morse Technologies and Lyman-Morse Fabrication create products for the airline and defense industries, machinery for processing plants and equipment for oceanographic research, among other things. In 2007, the company completed an energy-efficient building especially designed for large yacht construction, storage and service. In 2014, the purchase of a computer numerical control machine has improved cost efficiency and provided another tool to attract non-marine projects to the company. The Thomaston yard is building a C. Raymond Hunt-designed Monhegan 42 commuter boat; two 35-foot prototypes for the new Bertram line of sportfishing powerboats; and is doing work for the U.S. Department of Defense.
In Camden, Lyman-Morse at Wayfarer Marine has nine acres on the waterfront, 37 slips, 846 feet of dockage, launch service to and from its 47 moorings and storage for up to 120 boats. For servicing, it has a 110-ton Travelift, 80-ton Brownell trailer and nine climate-controlled work and paint bays. During World War II, Wayfarer had 1,800 workers and built minesweepers, rescue-and-salvage tugs and troop transports. By the 1960s, Wayfarer was servicing everything from small cruisers to large luxury yachts. Since the July acquisition, Lyman-Morse has expanded its overall workforce by five to seven employees, to 106, and it expects to do more hiring.
We recently caught up with Lyman to learn about his plans for Wayfarer. Below is an edited transcript.
Mainebiz: How does this purchase leverage Lyman-Morse?
Drew Lyman: Our biggest thing is that, although Lyman-Morse has incredible facilities, it is 12 miles up the St. George River. We wanted to provide our customers with better access to our services. So if they have an issue or a problem, they can run to our yard in Camden and we can take care of them. Being in Camden also provides us with access to a whole different clientele. You get a lot of transient customers who dock and go into town. Everybody wants to be in Camden. It's beautiful and friendly. It's the best harbor on the East Coast, if you ask me.
MB: Will you be further investing in the Lyman-Morse at Wayfarer yard?
DL: Yes. The reality is that we, like a lot of other boatyards, are investing a lot of money into infrastructure to keep pace. I'm upgrading the facility now. Wayfarer has a lot of heritage, but it needs a good facelift and upgrades to the building interiors. We need to make the storage and service stations more viable than what they needed 30 years ago. We're adding insulation to some of the bigger buildings. It's going to need upward of a couple of $1 million in upgrades over the next five years. Also, we'll be starting an outboard service center at the head of Camden Harbor. We're tackling that now, investing $50,000 to $100,000 into that equipment.
MB: What kind of vision do you have for Wayfarer that you couldn't accomplish at Thomaston?
DL: I've got a lot of ideas, but one of my primary goals is to make Lyman-Morse at Wayfarer a center of the yachting industry for the area. I want to make an excellent yard that draws people to Lyman-Morse and to Camden. I want to be a go-to destination. We supply access to the restaurants and events around Camden and Rockland. You tie up, you go to town and have dinner. You go to the galleries. I think in terms of the vibe, I want it to be happening and positive — and have people really enjoy being there.
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