Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding

Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding Co. is a renowned custom yacht builder and service facility in Thomaston, Maine, celebrated for blending traditional New England craftsmanship with advanced composite technology to create high-performance sailing and motor yachts up to 100+ feet, drawing on over 200 years of local shipbuilding heritage while emphasizing sustainability and innovation. Founded in 1978 by boatbuilder Cabot Lyman amid the closure of the historic Morse Boatbuilding Company (established 1912 by Charles A. Morse, known for Alden Malabar schooners and Friendship sloops), Lyman-Morse began by completing two Jarvis Newman 46 hulls (Dyna and Egret) under contracts assumed from owners Clayton Ewing and Porter Schutt, with encouragement from Roger Morse; this serendipitous start evolved into a focus on semi-custom sailboats like the acclaimed Seguin series, developed with help from Neil Bond and Frank Simon to fill a market gap for quality 40–50 ft cruisers during the late-1970s shift from custom to production building. Now led by Drew Lyman (President/Owner and Cabot's son) alongside key executives like CFO Pete Orne and division managers Lance Buchanan (Boatbuilding), Jonathan Egan (Fabrication), and Samir Gupta (Technologies), the family-owned yard employs over 190 skilled workers—many multi-generational shipwrights—in expansive, eco-friendly facilities including a solar-powered, temperature-controlled building added in 2007 and a 110-ton Marine Travelift for handling superyachts. Over 45 years and 110+ launches, Lyman-Morse has specialized in cold-molded wood, fiberglass, advanced composites, and aluminum construction, collaborating with designers like Sparkman & Stephens, C.W. Hood Yachts, Farr, and Stephens Waring for blue water racers, Spirit of Tradition vessels, and luxury motor yachts, while expanding into refits, brokerage, marina services, and non-marine fabrication.