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.
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.
Projects
Marine JoineryMarine 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. |
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. |