Kittery Point
A Full-Service Commercial Yard at Eliot
The Kittery Point Yacht Yard’s commercial yard landing in Eliot, Maine at the mouth of the Piscataquis River. The yard works with commercial boat owners by providing a range of service and pricing options. Fishermen’s Voice photo
The mouth of the Piscataquis River has been a commercial waterway since the earliest days of colonial settlement. The tall, clear, old-growth mast pine for British naval and merchant ships was the foundation of early commerce there. Shipbuilding developed and broader more diversified settlement followed.
The river is deep and wide as it opens to Kittery and Portsmouth. There were many ship and boatyards that lined the river at one time. Just below Mast Cove on the Eliot side was the Hanscom Shipyard, a yard that began in the colonial era and became a multi-generation yard that built sailing ships through to modern merchant and passenger ships. A stone’s throw from where the Hanscom Yard once stood, and 3 miles up river from Kittery, is the commercial yard of Kittery Point Yacht Yard.
Owner Tom Allen said, “We’re focused on full-service commercial marine. We work hand-in-hand with commercial owners. You have to look beyond ‘yacht yard’ to see what we’re doing here.” Kittery Point yard in Eliot has over the last eight years been expanding by adding 24,000 square feet of new building space geared to commercial marine service. The boatyard offers services that range from space for owners to work on their own boats, with or without help from the yard crew, through a range of options to “drop the boat off and call me when it’s finished” services.
One of three large service and storage buildings at the yard. Heated space is available to commercial owners for doing their own service or using flexible joint service plans. Fishermen’s Voice photo
The Kittery yard, on Bowen Road, was formerly the Dion Yard. A second Kittery Point yard, in Eliot, was started and run by George Patten for 30 years. Allen bought the yards in 2006. Combining the two has enabled Allen to assemble the decades of experience in the crews from both yards. By building the commercial side with heated buildings for year-round service, he said, he can retain the best employees year-round. Kittery Point has 25 employees at the two yards.
Among the other commercial resources at the Eliot yard is a 60' X 75' heated repair bay available to commercial customers to work on their own boats. A 150' X 70' Rubb cold storage building was sold out before it was built. There is a four-bay heated mechanical shop building. A 55-ton marine TravelLift and a 45-ton Brownell trailer do the hauling and moving. There is also a full-service parts department. “Kittery Point is a dealer for all the top engine manufacturers which makes re-powering easy and affordable. We sold 11,000 horsepower in our first year,” said Allen.
A corner of the full service parts department at Kittery Point’s commercial yard in Eliot. Commercial boats can access the parts department when working on their boat at the yard. Fishermen’s Voice photo
Commercial boats can be hauled at the waterfront, use the wash-down pad and be worked on by owners doing repairs, bottom paint, etc. Allen noted there is electricity at the waterfront and the yard is flexible regarding work done there. The new wash-down pad continuously filters, recycles and reuses its water supply so effectively the water is close to drinking quality.
In early November, there was a 1983 Wilbur 34' in one of the shops being rebuilt, refitted and re-powered. Alongside it was a Holland 32 that came in as stripped-down stick boat. That boat was modified with an enclosed exhaust, Soundown engine box, a wheelhouse raised by 4 inches, new forward bulkhead, finished cabin, all re-gel-coated, no skid surfaces, new windows and finished to showroom condition.
George Patten can still be found around the Eliot yard working on large wooden boats. The yard services four Peter Kass-built wooden work boats. The yard also builds the 22' hard chine sportfishing boat Patten designed. The boat is an affordable, practical take on a picnic style boat, said Allen.
Allen emphasized the yard is full-service with commercial pricing. He said their official customer service rating score has been 100 percent.