SOUTH SHORE BOATWORKS
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Boat Refits & Restorations

Since 1990, South Shore Boatworks has built, designed, restored and renovated numerous boats and yachts, producing one-of-a-kind results for customers. Our staff are traditional yet innovative, professional as well as personal, with a deep appreciation for craftsmanship, quality and performance.​

We have extensive experience with wooden boat repair and restoration. This includes the hull as well as the interior. We would love to work with you on your next project and help preserve the beauty of your current boat or restore your yacht to its former glory.

Talk to us about your project
Frequently Asked Questions

Projects

20 foot wooden simmons sea skiff power boat built by South Shore Boatworks at dock
20' Simmons Sea Skiff
27 foot nauset downeast power boat restored and refit by South Shore Boatworks at dock
27' Nauset
1974 32 foot gus skoog designed lobster power boat refit and restored by south shore boatworks underway in maine
1974 32' Gus Skoog Design
Reproduction 1892 wooden sailboat built by South Shore Boatworks on mooring
Reproduction of 1892 Sailing Vessel
Twist power boat refit and restored by south shore boatworks on mooring
Twist
1979 32 foot frank day lobster power boat restored and refit by south shore boatworks on mooring in maine
1979 32' Frank Day Lobster Boat
Sandpiper III lobster power boat restored and refit by South Shore Boatowrks underway
Sandpiper III
1981 31 foot lobster boat bhm restored and refit by South Shore Boatworks at dock orignally built by blue hill marine in maine
1980 31' BHM
1978 27 foot arno day lobster power boat refit and restored by south shore boat works on mooring in maine
 1978 27' Arno Day Lobster Boat

Small Boat Building

At South Shore, we’ve built a number of traditional wooden boats over the years, including a number of Dories and a 19′ Phil Bolger design. We combine modern materials with traditional techniques to build a boat that will last a lifetime.  

Pictured: 18′ Simmons Sea Skiff

Bob Fuller on dock next to 18 foot wooden simmons sea skiff power boat built by south shore boatworks

Marine Joinery

Marine joinery, the essence of fine woodworking, is also a part of a repair, refit, or interior restoration. South Shore Boatworks' master craftsmen, with extensive experience in marine carpentry, will match your vision for your vessel. Custom metal components, such as replica cleats or chocks, can be crafted to be a part of your historic or functional restoration. 

Some of our work has included transoms, swim platforms, davits, skyboxes, tillers, helm bezels, compass leveling blocks, handrails, and accessories.

Varnished wooden transom and teak swim platform of a downeast style power boat completed by south shore boatworks
Teak swim platform built by south shore boatworks
Swim Platforms
wood and bronze power boat davits built by south shore boatworks with inflatable dinghy secured with ropes wooden teak
Wood and Bronze Davits
wood and glass sky box built in teak by south shore boatworks sky light for yacht with glass panels and hinges
Skyboxes

A Boat Story with a "Twist"

45′ Lobster Yacht built by Don Wilcox, refit by South Shore.
Twist, originally Hazel W III, was designed and built in 1973 by Rhode Island boatbuilder Donald Wilcox and his sons. Her hull, strip-planked Philippine mahogany over white oak, was still in excellent condition after 38 years of mussel dragging, research, and lobstering in Narragansett Bay. This was a testament to the Wilcoxes and their attention to detail and construction techniques.

The Wilcoxes put the boat up for sale in 2011. Dr. Megevand, a sixth-generation Swiss surgeon, saw the boat online and fell in love with the lines. He asked South Shore Boatworks to look it over and then bought it sight unseen when master carpenter Bob Fuller reported the boat’s excellent condition. Dr. Megevand named the boat Twist as a nod to the twist of destiny that turned a hard-working New England fishery dragger into a day-yacht cruising the Mediterranean and the canals of Europe.

Under South Shore’s project leadership, all but Twist's hull was gutted and rebuilt: a complete wooden boat restoration and interior restoration highlighted by a gorgeous custom teak deck, foredeck, and interior. The hull was sheathed in West system fiberglass and Awl gripped to create a svelte and shiny finish. Modifications were made to meet CE standards under the direction of naval architect Bob Turcotte of Bob Turcotte Yacht Design. The European regulations required quite a bit of complex paperwork and it took 6 months to acquire the boat’s Swiss registration.

Line drawings and stability testing were documented, and other requirements included a fixed fire extinguisher system, lifeboat with hydrostatic release, EPIRB, and a second dinghy (inflatable). Marine electrician John Crobar of Kingman Yacht Center wired the boat with a European 230 V, 50 hz system and installed Raymarine electronics. Nate Tynan of Windward Power Systems repowered the boat with a 500-hp Caterpillar C-9 engine modified to CE standards. Talented builders on the project team included John Karbott, Michael Bryant and Richard Wilmore.

Other special features include a full-width hydraulic tailgate transom / swim platform, a desalination unit that produces 40 gph of freshwater, an original 1973 compass, rebuilt & re chromed, and a large gray water tank (since discharge is not allowed in the Mediterranean). Jeff Kent of Composite Solutions, Inc. provided custom carbon-fiber components, including a folding mast which accommodates bridges in Europe’s canal system and allows the mast electronics to be serviced from the cockpit. Accommodations included a V-berth, double berth down to port, a dining table that converts to berth, two day beds on deck with overhead bimini, galley with a Techempex Italian-made electric galley stove and 13-cubic-ft. capacity icebox, and a head with shower. All materials and equipment were incorporated to be easily serviceable in Europe.

When Twist was completed, Al and Ernie Wilcox piloted her from Massachusetts back to Wickford Harbor, RI, where she had fished for so many years. She attracted a lot of attention, especially when she started flying the Swiss flag after receiving her registration. She was freighted out of Newport to Genoa, Italy. Fuller and Tynan traveled to Italy to commission the boat and cruised with Dr. Megevand part of the way to his family’s vacation home in Croatia.
twist wooden downeast power yacht on boat stands being refit and restored by south shore boatworks
Bob fuller and south shore boatworks refitting and restoring twist downeast power yacht down to frames with planking removed from hull
South shore boatworks restoring and reffting the forward deck of wooden twist downeast power yacht boat in shop
Refit and restoration of twist downeast power yacht boat wooden housing structure
South shore boatworks restoring and refitting the teak deck of twist downeast power yacht boat in shop
Cabin and wooden steering wheel of twist wooden downeast power yacht boat refit and restored by south shore boatworks
Twist wooden downeast power yacht boat at dock restored and refit by south shore boatworks
colored drawing of wooden motor vessel twist refit and restored by south shore boatorks downeast boat design
Downeast wooden power boat twist in south shore boatworks shop being refit and restored
South Shore Boatworks
1 Marion Drive, Unit B5
Carver, Massachusetts 02330
1.781.248.6446
info@southshoreboatworks.com
© 2023, South Shore Boatworks
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