Jeff's Marine was the first Yamaha Outboards dealer in Maine, and we are still the largest in the state today. Although we have sold other brands in the past, Yamahas have stood the test of time—and coastal Maine's demanding conditions—better than the outboards of any other manufacturer.
The company has a long history of technological excellence. In 1953, young Yamaha Corporation president Genichi Kawakami was looking for a way to make use of idle machining equipment that had previously been used to make aircraft propellers. He explored many products, but market factors led him to focus on motorcycles. Genichi visited the United States many times during this period, and eventually his tough, fast, lightweight motorcycles began chalking up victories on U.S. racecourses.
In 1960, with this overseas experience under his belt, Genichi turned his attention to the marine industry and the production of the first Yamaha boats and outboard motors. Yamaha's initial watercraft model was the CAT-21, followed by the RUN-13 and by the P-7 123cc outboard motor.
In 1963, Yamaha demonstrated its focus on technological innovation by developing the Autolube System. This was a remote oil-injection system for two-stroke engines, eliminating the inconvenience of pre-mixing fuel and oil. Today, Yamaha is leading the perfection of four-stroke technology in its outboards, achieving extraordinary improvements in engine longevity, quiet performance, exceptional fuel economy, and smokeless operation.
Visit the Yamaha Outboard Motor website - CLICK HERE
Parker Marine has been building high-quality boats since the late 1960s, and Jeff's Marine has been selling and taking care of them for a full two decades.
Since founding the company he still runs, Linwood Parker never wanted to become an industry giant, but rather to build boats for that portion of the market whose customers recognize and appreciate features dictated by common sense and time-tested design. Combined with an uncompromising dedication to sound, proven construction practices, this straightforward approach has earned the entire Parker line a reputation for simplicity, strength, seaworthiness, and lasting value.
Today, Parker operates in a modern 225,000-square-foot production facility that compares with the finest in the industry. The company takes pride in its ability to handle the entire boatbuilding process in-house—from initial design and engineering, through construction of plugs and molds, to lamination, assembly, rigging, testing, and shipping.
All Parker boats are laid up by hand, using the finest fiberglass reinforcing fabrics and resins available. The best in stainless-steel deck hardware is bedded in marine sealant and through-bolted into backing plates. Every construction detail, no matter how small, is given close attention.
We at Jeff's Marine have found not only that Parkers perform superbly while requiring minimal maintenance, but also that these boats hold their market value far better than the offerings of most other builders.
Visit the Parker Boats website - CLICK HERE
In 1983, marine-industry entrepreneur Terry Stark set out to develop a line of durable, stable, affordable fiberglass boats that would establish new standards for their load-carrying capability. As his model, Terry chose the well-proven jon boat, which was itself inspired by the traditional flat-bottomed garvey.
The main element of his design consisted of individually sealed, fiberglass-encapsulated, flotation-foam "logs." These were oriented athwartships (gunwale to gunwale) and fitted tightly together in the bottom of a conventionally laminated, solid-fiberglass hull. Then the array of beams was heavily decked over with woven-roving reinforcement and polyester resin.
The original Carolina Skiff far exceeded the flotation requirements of the United States Coast Guard, and these boats soon became the workhorses of marine-construction firms, oceanographic research expeditions, and commercial fishermen. In addition, the Carolina Skiff proved to be a safe, versatile platform for family outings and recreational angling.
Today, the Carolina Skiff line includes no fewer than five different hull configurations, ranging from "Plain Jane" flat-bottomed utilities much like the original to fully rigged, sea-going sport-fishing boats like the DLV series. A longtime Carolina Skiff dealer, Jeff's Marine continues to stock bare hulls and rigging components for the basic Carolina Skiffs, but in 2010 we began to carry the more sophisticated, factory-outfitted JVX and DLX models, as well.
Visit the Carolina Skiff website - CLICK HERE
In the summer of 1944, after portaging a heavy wood-and-canvas canoe during a fishing trip in the Adirondack Mountains, William Hoffman, vice president of Grumman Aircraft Engineering, had an idea: What about making a canoe from the same lightweight, stretch-formed aluminum that Grumman was using to produce carrier-based fighter planes for World War II?
In 1945, the nation's very first aluminum canoe, a 13-footer, was produced at the Grumman aircraft plant in Bethpage, Long Island. By the end of World War II, Grumman was producing a line of canoes ranging from 13' to 20'.
In 1952, the plant was relocated to Marathon, N.Y., and in 1990 the Grumman boat and canoe division was sold to the Outboard Marine Corporation of Illinois. OMC soon purchased the DuraNautic Boat Company's tooling and assets, and moved them to the Marathon plant.
Born in the Hudson river and bred to handle the choppy waters of the northeastern coast, DuraNautic aluminum boats have earned a solid reputation for strength, stability, and durability. Both recreational and commercial fishermen rely on the Duranautics, in part for their easy-to-maintain, ribless interiors; deep, extra-stiff, two-piece hulls; welded seams; seat-to-hull bulheads; and multiple, full-length, extruded keels.
Jeff's Marine stocks 12-, 13-, and 14-footers in both 15" and 20" transom heights, and we can customize them with flat floors and side consoles to suit virtually every application.
Affordable, easily driven with modest power, seaworthy under a wide range of conditions, and comfortable in any season, the Crowley-Beal 23 canopy-top model is a traditional down-east Maine vessel. She is yet another highly successful boat from the drawing board of Calvin Beal Jr., who has arguably inherited the title "dean of the lobster-boat designers" from the late Royal Lowell.
Her fiberglass components are hand-laminated with great care at Beals Boat Shop in Milbridge Maine by partners Jimmy Beal and Donny Crowley. Then, Joe Sargent—just down the road from Beals, at Sargent's Custom Boats—assembles these 23-footers specifically for Jeff's Marine. Finally, we bring them to Thomaston and install the rail trim, electrical system, deck hardware, steering, and outboard.
The 115-h.p. Yamaha four-stroke has proven to be the perfect motor for the Crowley-Beal 23. It easily moves the boat at a cruising speed of 20 m.p.h. (where it sips a mere 4 g.p.h.) and provides a top end of 27 m.p.h.
Whether in its basic form or tailored specifically to meet individual needs and tastes, the Crowley-Beal 23 turns heads with both her classic lines and her superb performance. Each boat is built to order, and we don't rush the process, which typically takes about twelve weeks. Our goal is not quantity, but rather quality that breeds longevity, low maintenance, and good value.
Both center-console and bass boat versions are readily available.
