Originally built in 1904 to accommodate the Monaloa, a 130-foot steam yacht that belonged to one of the original owners of the Camden Yacht Club, the historic American Boathouse in Camden, Maine, is a classic representation of turn of the century American harbor architecture. Its cedar-shingled siding, historic dark-green painted trim, and gabled roof have become an iconic part of the Camden waterfront, and in 1981, the boathouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Yet, after cycling through various owners over the years and suffering through various haphazard alternations—including a shed addition that was added in 1982—the boathouse had fallen into disrepair and was structurally unsound. Our clients, the new owners, bought the property with the intention of restoring and preserving the structure, giving it new life for future generations.

Working with an outstanding team of preservation engineers and restoration experts, including landscape architect Stephen Mohr of Mohr & Seredin, we are reconstructing nearly the entire structure, which will be used as a guesthouse and functioning boathouse.

Beginning with the replacement of the stone rubble foundation, we are disassembling nearly the entire building piece-by-piece in order to salvage and reuse as many of the original materials as possible. Our painstaking restoration is based on historic photos and plans and will match profiles for all of the eaves, rakes, roof pitches, wall heights, windows, doors and trim to the exact historic dimensions.

A particularly unique part of the project includes restoring the original winch system that pulls the boat from the water up a railway on a gantry, which we are preserving for its rare historic value.