Classic Yacht Restorations Underway at Maine Shipyards

Each spring brings the unmistakable sight of freshly refitted boats: polished topsides, renewed rigging and decks sanded to perfection. When an older hull returns to its original beauty, the transformation is especially striking. Several leading Maine shipyards are currently restoring classic yachts, applying modern technology alongside traditional craft. Below is an overview of three notable refit projects at Lyman-Morse, Front Street Shipyard and Brooklin Boat Yard.

Lyman-Morse:

Reimagine & Zemphira

In the mid-1990s Lyman-Morse built a 90-foot motoryacht designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates: Reimagine. The yacht recently changed hands and is undergoing a planned three-year refit at the yard. Work is being completed in stages, with the owner using the boat between yard periods. Project manager Chet Mayo says this phased schedule helps the owner live aboard and assess what changes she truly wants after spending time on the boat.

To date the team has rebuilt the 40-kW Northern Lights generator, replaced roughly 90 percent of the black- and gray-water hoses, cleaned and opened the tanks, and converted a fuel tank back to its original use as a black-water tank. All toilets were replaced and tested to ensure reliable operation. The yard also completed a full sandblast and inspection of the hull bottom, removed and re-fastened struts for professional inspection, and has scheduled painting of the topsides from the caprail down.

“We’re a full-service yacht yard and we pride ourselves on quality,” Mayo says. The multi-year approach means every system will be reviewed—mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural and cosmetic—so by the end of the program the team expects to have touched every part of Reimagine. The owner’s decision to return for a second year is a testament to the work done in year one.

Also at Lyman-Morse is Zemphira, a 76-foot Spirit of Tradition that arrived about a year ago for an extensive overhaul. The refit blends classic styling with modern race-boat technology: systems and cosmetics have been upgraded, and current work will focus below the waterline. That includes grafting a composite skin onto the wooden hull to form a new keel designed to absorb impact and reduce damage to the yacht itself.

Front Street Shipyard:

Szel

Szel is a Sundeer 64 launched in 1994 that spent years stored and shrink-wrapped at Front Street Shipyard while her original owner did periodic work. In 2019 a buyer from England purchased the boat sight unseen and asked the yard to perform repairs based on survey findings. As the crew dug into the work, the project scope expanded to meet the new owner’s ambitions for the yacht.

Project manager Paul Lamoureux describes a comprehensive refit that included mechanical systems (fuel, water and refrigeration), new navigation instruments, new standing rigging and rig hydraulics, and deck painting. One of the largest efforts replaced the electrical, battery management and air-conditioning systems to reduce the need for constant generator use.

The owner wanted reliable shore-like power without running a generator all the time, so the yard removed older lead-acid batteries located in the keel and installed AGM batteries in the same area to preserve ballast and increase usable power. Two 5,000-watt inverters were added to enable the battery bank to run air conditioning and other equipment for periods without the generator.

The refit wrapped up in November and Szel is slated to cruise the Caribbean. “All disciplines of the yard played a part,” Lamoureux notes. The project demonstrates the yard’s ability to manage full-dimension refits—even through winter and during Covid-related challenges—by coordinating carpentry, systems work and composite and mechanical trades on site.

Brooklin Boat Yard:

Djinn

Brooklin Boat Yard has a long history of restoring classic yachts, including the rebirth of the 1937 commuter yacht Aphrodite and the extensive work on the 1935 Trumpy Enticer. Currently the yard is restoring Djinn, a 65-foot F&F motorsailor designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built in the 1960s for Henry Morgan. Later used as a committee boat for racing while Morgan served as commodore of the New York Yacht Club, Djinn eventually was neglected and left in Florida before being rescued by her current owner.

The boat arrived at Brooklin in winter 2020 and entered storage until a full rebuild began in summer 2021. General Manager Brian Larkin classifies the work as a restoration requiring an estimated 22,000 to 23,000 labor hours. The team aims to relaunch by summer 2022, though supply-chain issues and labor constraints add uncertainty.

Djinn retains a sound backbone and framing. Previous owners removed much of the interior during an earlier, unfinished restoration; those components remain in storage and may be reinstalled. Original hardware is preserved and available for incorporation into the rebuild. Planned work includes updating ergonomics for easier sailing, installing new teak decking, redoing onboard systems, fitting a new rig and replanking the bottom.

“It’s typical for us to take on a project like this,” Larkin says. Brooklin still employs traditional carpenters skilled in plank-on-frame construction and continues to care for a fleet of antique boats, passing those skills on to a new generation of craftsmen.

This article was originally published in the January 2022 issue.