Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors

07/28/2025

Two days of boat-buying and exhibitor demos will be added to the list of attractions at this year’s festival of boats and coastal living, held on the waterfront in Rockland, Aug. 8-10.

EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT: Saturday Afternoon Session - Powerboat Ownership Panel Discussion. Fishing, water sports, or just enjoying relaxing times on the water are all a part of summer in Maine and can be experienced aboard a wide range of powerboats, from small outboard-powered skiffs to sleek motoryachts you could live on. If you're considering joining the boating crowd, you can find out all you need to know from a panel of experts who'll walk you through how to find the right model, the pros and cons of new and used boats, the purchasing process, the value of a marine survey, marine insurance and finance, finding a dock or mooring, maintenance, and the cost of ownership. Panelists include yacht brokers Ben Scheffer at East Coast Yacht Sales, and Will Monson from Moose Landing Marina, and Chris Kemp from Yachting Solutions. The panel will be moderated by Mark Pillsbury, editor of Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors.

07/27/2025

Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors editor, Mark Pillsbury, will moderate Saturday's Sailboat Ownership panel discussion at the Maine Boat & Home Show.

EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT: Saturday Morning Session - Sailboat Ownership Panel Discussion. Are you interested in setting sail to explore the Maine Coast? Find out all you need to know to become an informed sailboat owner. Our panel of experts will walk you through the steps involved in finding the right sailboat, the pros and cons of new and used boats, the purchasing process, the value of a marine survey, marine insurance and finance, finding a dock or mooring, maintenance, and the cost of ownership. Panelists include Gerry Douglas, the longtime chief designer at Catalina Yachts, yacht broker Annie Gray, owner of Gray & Gray Yachts, and yacht broker Ben Scheffer at East Coast Yacht Sales. The panel will be moderated by Mark Pillsbury, editor of Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors magazine.

07/26/2025

Friday’s lineup of exhibitor demos at the Maine Boat & Home Show includes safe cleaning solutions with Eco Safeway. Hope to see you there!

EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT: FRIDAY, 3 PM - Clean & Safe Marine Products With Eco Safeway. Eco Safeway offers a range of environmentally safe cleaning products for the marine industry for large and small vessels including bilge cleaners, descalers (raw water flush), deck cleaners, hull cleaners, salt removers, and holding tank cleaners. All products are acid and phosphate free and 100% biodegradable to conform with all the best practices of the Clean Marina Programs and EPA’s Clean Boating Act. Products are highly effective and cost competitive. Tristan Contas, co-founder, will give a brief introduction to the company and describe its range of marine cleaning products and why they matter in today’s boating world.

07/25/2025

Nothing says summer like Family Camp. People have been flocking to Maine forever in search of that quiet, peaceful, summer feeling. The author of our story, "A Grand Camp", Lenny Ackerman, visited his friend at their family camp on East Grand Lake, at the edge of the Maine border with Canada. Accessible only by seaplane the property abutted a rundown cabin conveniently for sale. After a weekend of fishing, relaxing, and enjoying the wild, Ackerman was as hooked as the fish. Life threw him some curveballs and the loss of his wife came only a month after closing on the property. Slowly but surely the cottage in Danforth became healing waters and eventually felt like home. Read the full story at our link: https://buff.ly/vIewrBz

Photo 1: The author sets up his East Grand Canoe for an excursion on the lake.
Photo 2: The screened porch at Ackerman's Camp Kabrook has a tremendous view of the lake.

07/25/2025

Friday’s exhibitor demos at the Maine Boat & Home Show will include a presentation from Driftless Sauna - Sauna Rental & Sales. Join us on the waterfront August 8-10!

EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT: FRIDAY, 2 PM - "Fire, Steam, and Sea: Creating a Sauna Oasis for Your Property" with Driftless Sauna. From snow-dusted mornings to summer sunsets, a wood-fired sauna invites you to slow down and connect with the natural world. This presentation explores the essentials of bringing sauna culture to your property, including design considerations, delivery requirements, and the wellness benefits of traditional heat and cold immersion. Leave with practical guidance and plenty of inspiration. Driftless Sauna - Sauna Rental & Sales

07/24/2025

Friday’s lineup of exhibitor demos at the Maine Boat & Home Show includes Hylan & Brown - Boatbuilders. Hope to see you there!

07/23/2025

Join us on the Rockland waterfront August 8-10th!

EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT: Friday, 12 PM - Beacon Of Hope: Maine Seacoast Mission & the Sunbeam. Learn about Maine Seacoast Mission and how its seven boats, including the iconic Sunbeam, have delivered essential programming to Maine’s islands for 120 years. Maine Seacoast Mission

07/22/2025

Throughout the day on Friday, Aug 8 at the Maine Boat & Home Show a select group of exhibitors will make presentations on topics ranging from oar making to electric marine propulsion and clean and safe marine cleaning products.

EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT: Friday, Aug. 8, 11 AM - Oar Making Demo with The Apprenticeshop: Live oar making demo from João Strout-Bentes, Boatbuilder/Instructor at The Apprenticeshop. Come to this interactive session and learn about the wood selection process, the tools needed, and the techniques used to make a pair of oars. The completed oars will be used to row the Carney 8-foot Pram, a lapstrake, plank-on-frame boat built by local Jr. Apprentices in The Apprenticeshop’s academic year program and used by youth in their summer sailing program.

07/21/2025

On Golden Pond isn't just a movie, it's a frame of mind. The long sleek lines of a mahogany cruiser are synonymous with Maine Lakes, especially Great Pond. The author of our story,"Boats For Golden Pond", Art Paine, took one look at a Gen-L kit and fell in love. This company’s alluring designs were featured on the cover of Popular Mechanics all the time in Paine's youth. It turns out that the company, after all these many years, is still in business. And in this era when labor costs are unthinkable, you can easily afford their plans, patterns, and helpful parts. And if you have above average amateur skills (and a shop), there is no reason you can’t go out there and construct a vessel that will have you waterskiing or racing about in a showstopper of your own!

Read the full story at the link: https://buff.ly/bQFhJOm

Photo 1: Nothing says “Lake Cruiser” like a long slender inboard-powered mahogany speedboat.
Photo 2: The Glen-L Zip model is the company’s most popular little runabout.

07/21/2025

New this year, the Maine Boat & Home Show will introduce a two-day series of seminars and exhibitor demos to accompany an extensive array of in-water and on-land displays of boats, marine supplies, home furnishings, fine arts and more. See you on the waterfront in Rockland, Aug. 8-10!

NEW THIS YEAR: The 2025 edition of the Maine Boat & Home Show will feature a two-day series of educational seminars and information sessions. Friday’s exhibitor demos will include presentations from The Apprenticeshop, Maine Seacoast Mission, Hylan & Brown, Driftless Sauna, and Eco Safeway. On Saturday, there will be a morning seminar for those interested in buying a sailboat and an afternoon session for powerboaters. Industry experts will discuss how to choose the right watercraft, financing and insurance, maintenance and storage options, and the cost of ownership. All sessions are free and open to ticket holders.

07/20/2025

All the essential components for living the good life on the coast of Maine at the Maine Boat & Home Show, August 8-10 in Rockland.