PRESERVING HISTORY

The new president of Maine's Brooklin Boat Yard plans to continue refitting and restoring classic boats.

- KIM KAVIN

WHENEVER A SHIPYARD comes under new management, there is always concern about how day-to-day operations might change. That's especially true at a facility like Brooklin Boat Yard in Maine. Founded in 1960 by Joel White, and managed since 1990 by his son Steve White, the yard has earned a reputation for combining traditional craftsmanship and modern technology on new builds, refits and restorations alike-sometimes with classic and smaller boats that no other yard has the willingness or expertise to take on. ¶ Earlier this year, Steve White stepped down as company president. That role is now held by Brian Larkin (shown at right), a former project manager who has been with Brooklin Boat Yard since 1987 and who says he has every intention of keeping the facility engaged in classic, traditional work. "I don't want to let that go," Larkin told Yachting. "There's less and less people doing that now. It's great clients to work with." The clients don't just come to the yard with boats that need fixing, according to Nick Bellico, service and yard manager. Instead, they come with boats that have decades-long stories and treasured histories within families.