As part of the Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will release $120,897 to the Maine Department of Transportation (DOT) in support of waterfront improvements at Front Street Shipyard in Belfast. Front Street Shipyard is providing matching funds for the $241,795 project. The waterfront rehabilitation includes 18 new slips and 15 new moorings for transient boats, which will be used for visitors and tourists in the mid-coast region.
With the BIG grant, Front Street Shipyard will add 12 new slips on the dock face with shorepower, plus five 40-foot...
Front Street Shipyard on the Belfast, Maine, waterfront is welcoming DiMillo's Yacht Sales to its facility. DiMillo’s Yacht Sales is opening a brokerage office in one of Front Street Shipyard’s newest buildings where the company will sell new and used yachts. The new relationship with DiMillo’s Yacht Sales will allow Front Street Shipyard to enhance its offering to current and new customers living in and visiting the mid-coast region.
DiMillo’s Yacht Sales will have 600 square feet of waterfront office space, with both land space and dockage to display brokerage yachts, as well as new Sabre’s and Back Coves....
BELFAST, ME – FEBRUARY 12, 2013 – Front Street Shipyard on the Belfast, Maine, waterfront is moving forward with plans to upgrade its lifting capabilities with a 485-US-ton (440-metric-ton) hoist. Having secured final approval to build new piers, the owners of Front Street Shipyard are investing in a hoist large enough to service a greater contingent of international superyachts. They are also beginning the local permitting process to expand their facilities with a new building which will be large enough to allow the new lift inside. Front Street Shipyard’s expanded capabilities are expected to grow the international yachting community in...
Fort Lauderdale, FL - January 21, 2013 – The 2013 Boatyard of the Year Award was presented to Front Street Shipyard of Belfast, Maine at the American Boat Builders & Repairers Association (ABBRA) Boatyard Business Conference Awards Dinner & 70th Anniversary Celebration held in Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida from January 16th – 18th at the B Ocean Hotel. Given to the service or repair facility that demonstrates excellence in all facets of their company through commitment to customer service, quality management and positive vendor and employee relations, regard for safety of their employees and customers, is a...
Tom Johnson, owner of RothBiltBoats announces that his new company, Pilot Boats, LLC (www.pilot-boats.com) has purchased the assets of Holby Marine, formally headquartered in Bristol, RI. The molds and tooling have been transported to Maine where production will commence soon. Tom is also pleased to announce a concurrent production agreement with Front Street Shipyard (FSS). FSS (www.frontstreetshipyard.com) will be the builders of the full line of Pilot Boats for the newly created entity, Pilot Boats, LLC. The boats will be manufactured in Belfast, Maine at the main FSS facility.
The Pilot Boat product line includes three sizes,...
Front Street Shipyard is seeking to expand with more land, facilities and equipment. The owners of Front Street Shipyard are proposing to lease or purchase city property on which they'll build an additional boat shop. The new facility would generate enough work for at least 40 new jobs to be added to the workforce, which is already approaching 100 employees.
The new expansion is part of Front Street Shipyard's second phase of growth. Since launching the company in January 2011, Front Street Shipyard has erected an expansive waterfront facility and also purchased neighboring Belfast Boat Yard. Front Street Shipyard is...
W-Class Yacht Company is expanding its family of yachts to include 100’, 123’ and 135’ models. The first of the new designs, the W.123, was developed by Bruce Johnson (formerly of Sparkman & Stephens) in collaboration with Rockport Marine Yacht Design. The new racer/cruiser yachts will retain the ‘Spirit of Tradition’ and performance attributes of the existing W-Class Yacht Company’s W.37’, W.46’ and W.76’ models. The W-Class yachts will be built at Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, with support from the shipwrights at Rockport Marine...
Brian Benjamin's Carbon Ocean 82, Aegir was the standout yacht at the pinnacle event of the Mediterranean sailing season, winning the Cruiser/Racer class at the 23rd Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup with a perfect score line and taking line honours in every race, despite competing against much larger yachts. "This is the result of five years hard work to produce a cruising yacht that is fast and fun, Aegir does exactly what it says on the tin, and nobody can doubt that now." Commented Benjamin. "To win with straight bullets was a true demonstration of the fact that the Carbon Ocean 82 is faster than the competition. Aegir will be put back...
AUGUSTA – On Friday, August 10, Governor Paul LePage will travel to Belfast to visit employees and tour the facilities of Front Street Shipyard, a premiere yacht yard that services boats as large as 160 feet. After opening in 2011, Front Street Shipyard has grown to be one of the largest and most capable yacht yards in the Northeast. The Governor will begin with a tour of the facilities at 9:00 a.m. This will be followed by a reception where the Governor will have the opportunity to meet the shipyard’s employees.
“Front Street Shipyard has created quality jobs for...
BELFAST, ME – July 29, 2012 – Front Street Shipyard on the Belfast, Maine, waterfront has purchased its neighbor, Belfast Boatyard. With the sale finalized, the owners of Front Street Shipyard will immediately welcome the employees and customers of Belfast Boatyard while maintaining existing operations. The addition of Belfast Boatyard ads 500 feet of deep-water frontage, 22 slips, 20 moorings and harbor floats. This expansion will increase the yard’s service and storage capabilities for existing and future customers.
“We purchased Belfast Boatyard as part of a strategic growth plan,” says Front Street Shipyard’s president, JB Turner. “Our initial goal...
BELFAST, BROOKLIN, AND ROCKPORT, MAINE - Front Street Shipyard and two other independent yacht yards in mid-coast Maine are appointing Bruce Johnson, formerly of Sparkman & Stephens, as their business development executive. Brooklin Boat Yard, Front Street Shipyard and Rockport Marine reached an agreement to employ Johnson to represent each yard independently in seeking new construction projects. Johnson will be responsible for attracting and negotiating new national and international builds and refits to Maine, and matching them with the yards based on scope.
Johnson is leaving his most recent post as president of Sparkman & Stephens, the venerable 82-year old...
Front Street Shipyard welcomes Carbon Ocean Yachts to its Belfast, Maine, facility. Carbon Ocean Yachts of Bristol, Rhode Island, is relocating its operations to Front Street Shipyard’s extensive new facility on the waterfront of Penobscot Bay. The two builders will work together on the construction of lightweight, performance-driven yachts combining award-winning construction techniques with state-of-the art amenities.
“We’re excited by the new possibilities that will exist by integrating Carbon Ocean Yachts into Front Street Shipyard,” says JB Turner, president of Front Street Shipyard. “Carbon Ocean Yachts is leading the way in composite construction technology. Coupled with our versatility in...
New England’s newest yacht builder is prepared to begin construction on the Front Street 118 and 130 sloops.
BELFAST, ME – September 20, 2011 – Front Street Shipyard is unveiling initial plans for the Sparkman & Stephens-designed Front Street 118 and Front Street 130 sloops. The yachts have traditional hull lines and trademark S&S sheers, invoking a classic aesthetic from yachting’s golden era. The construction will be of advanced composite materials using the most modern processes available, making the 118 and 130 powerful and pleasing vessels to sail....
You are invited to a special art exhibition and orchestral concert at Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, on Saturday, September 10, 2011, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Lionheart's Concerto is a one-of-a-kind fusion of creativity and craftsmanship in a Maine-built yacht. Hors d'hoeuvres and wine will be served
BELFAST — As with Maine weather, one doesn't need to wait long to witness a major change at Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, as workers and heavy machinery rapidly transform the former Stinson Seafood property into a boat servicing facility, on a grand scale.
Start with the recent demolition of a wood-frame building adjacent to the former cannery. The building was taken down in less than two days, and no sooner was the debris removed, then the wreckers set their sights on an unassuming shed near Front Street, once a roundhouse for the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad.
Front Street Shipyard’s owners are inviting the Maine boating community as well as regional supporters and vendors to get an insider’s view of the new waterfront business in Belfast. On Saturday, July 2, the public is welcome to stop by the yard from 1:00 p.m. to 3 p.m. to enjoy a free barbecue lunch and tour the facility currently being renovated. The owners of Front Street Shipyard are hosting the event to thank the Belfast community for supporting the burgeoning business as construction and further waterfront development continue at the full-service marina and yacht facility.
BELFAST, Maine — Already a well-established stop on coastal Maine’s tourism maps, the city of Belfast is experiencing an economic revival of another sort — as host to a major working waterfront.
And if the crowd at a Saturday morning forum is any indication, many residents are embracing Belfast’s dual identity as they await completion of a new shipyard that could draw luxury boats and their well-heeled owners to the midcoast city.
“Coming to Belfast has just been an unbelievably fantastic experience,” said J. B. Turner, a principal in Front Street Shipyard, to the more than 100 people who...
Front Street Shipyard, Inc. (FSS) is pleased to announce the formation of a new custom boatbuilding, service yard, and specialty composites manufacturing facility, on the former Stinson canning factory site, just south of the Belfast bridge. Managing partner J.B. Turner, of Warren, Maine, is joined by Taylor Allen, owner of Rockport Marine, Inc. (RMI); Steve White, owner of Brooklin Boat Yard (BBY); and Kenneth Priest, President of Kenway Corporation in Augusta, Maine. Turner has 24 years of experience as a manager of yacht service and composite boatbuilding projects for major yards on the east coast. Prior to his involvement at...
