THOMASTON, MAINE: Drew Lyman, President of Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding announced today that construction is underway on the new LM46 performance sailing yacht. The collaboration between Lyman-Morse Founder Cabot Lyman, his son Drew, and Kiwi designer Kevin Dibley is a departure from the company’s recent history of custom boatbuilding and will produce a high-performance, cold-molded yacht with the ambiance of a wooden boat but delivering approximately 10-knots of speed under both power and sail. Engineered for superior handling, low maintenance, and equipped with only the essential systems, the LM46 will deliver an uncomplicated, rewarding experience on the water.
Check www.lymanmorse.com/project/lm46-1/ for construction photos and updates.
Lyman-Morse’s mission for the LM46 is to return sailing to being about sharing time with friends and family, enjoying a drink in the cockpit after a great day underway, and appreciating the beauty of the surroundings. Comfort doesn’t come from jamming every shoreside amenity into a boat, it comes from the reassuring motion of a Douglas fir hull sliding quietly through the water and the knowledge that Lyman-Morse has equipped the LM46 with everything needed for a day, a week, or a month aboard. “The goal for the LM46 is simple: To have you sailing within 5 minutes of stepping aboard, and to be able to step off within 5 minutes of picking up your mooring,” explained Cabot Lyman.
A powerful cruising rig that includes swept-back spreaders and 1,183 square feet of sail, including a squaretop main, gives the LM46 an impressive turn of speed. This boat is not a racing sled, but if design weights are honored, the team expects speeds of 10 plus knots under sail. Equally important, the LM46 was designed to be responsive in light air. The wooden hull, 43’ waterline length, and 13’5” beam makes the yacht easy to handle, both under sail and power. A comfortable displacement-length ratio of 126 allows for one-handed steering or easy sailing by autopilot. Under power, its 80-horsepower Yanmar diesel powers a Saildrive unit. The LM46 can reach speeds up to 10 knots. In close quarters, the combination of a big carbon spade rudder and Saildrive power gives incredible control.
“Experienced sailors will recognize what a departure the LM46 is from what is out there in the market,” said Cabot Lyman. “I also think this boat will be the perfect first family cruising boat.”
Like everything else aboard the LM46, sail-handling is kept simple, efficient, and user-friendly: roller furling for the jib, a detachable staysail, and a mainsail furling system that is fast, easy, and effective.
The LM46 uses modern design and technology to improve upon the most sustainable building material ever utilized: Wood. The 1” thick cold-molded hull of Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar results in a structure that delivers a quiet ride underway and is both resilient and incredibly strong. A layer of glass on the topsides increases durability and reduces maintenance. Wisely employing modern building materials and techniques and eliminating excess electronics allows Lyman-Morse to build a yacht that breaks the cycle of having to travel from boatyard to boatyard to keep the vessel in top condition. (An ironic claim for the owner of a service yard to make, Cabot Lyman admits!)
The combination of using Lyman-Morse’s Haas GR712 Computer Numerical Control (CNC) router, 3d Printer, Plasma cutter and other hi-tech CNC machines to cut planks, bulkheads, custom metal components, detailed trim pieces, and joinery reduces the cost for the hull and deck construction. In addition, whenever possible, all items for the LM46 are built as modular units outside the boat. This is another time and cost saver. The result yields a yacht that is meaningful and carefully constructed – a world apart from the fiberglass cookie-cutter boats that fill marinas and boat shows these days.
Celebrating 42 years in business by drawing on Thomaston, Maine’s 200-year tradition of shipbuilding and fine craftsmanship, Lyman-Morse is one of the world’s finest custom and semi-custom builder of and service provider for sailing and motor yachts. A family run business, Lyman-Morse specializes in composites, advanced composites and aluminum construction. Discriminating owners, world-class naval architects and designers all come to Lyman-Morse knowing that they are expert in any medium and are able to deliver dreams on time and on budget. Since the yard’s founding in 1978, more than 100 yachts have been sent down the St. George River ranging in scope from carbon fiber catamarans and traditional sailing sloops to not-so traditional carbon racing monohulls, stately motor yachts and sportfish powerboats to sporty jet boats and daysailers.
Lyman-Morse's broad-ranging capabilities are showcased not only by workmanship of the 100 plus-skilled workforce, but also by modern, energy efficient and expansive facilities. The 11-acre Thomaston campus features 7 heated work buildings with 55,000 square feet of space for refit and repair/and boatbuilding. Servicing fine yachts is a natural outgrowth of boatbuilding. Repairs, rebuilds and servicing ship systems, along with upgrading gear and seasonal maintenance are handled by the service division of the company. Lyman-Morse’s Camden yard, the former Wayfarer Marine, has an increased visibility and returned the Camden yard to its former glory as New England’s go-to service yard. The LM Service team of experienced bluewater sailors and builders understand what proper maintenance is all about and is the reason experienced, and demanding yachtsmen deliver their yachts to Lyman-Morse. Lyman-Morse includes brokerage offices in Camden and Northeast Harbor, Maine and Newport, Rhode Island.
The combination of state-of-the-art facilities with some of the world's finest craftsmen has allowed Lyman-Morse to expand into areas outside the marine world. In Rockland, Lyman-Morse Fabrication is fast becoming the source for custom-made metal fabrication projects in New England. LM Fabrication provides custom design, engineering and fabrication for projects of virtually any scale. This division mirrors the boatbuilding and service divisions in that it specializes in complex, difficult commercial, municipal and residential design projects regardless of job size, installation challenges or scope of work. Lyman-Morse Technologies is the research, development and prototyping division of the company. LMT works with architects, interior designers, business and home owners and government agencies including the Department of Defense to meet the most interesting needs. LMT fuses state-of-the-art electrical design with nuanced manufacturing approaches in an effort to bring diversified, innovative product solutions to the renewable energy market, private and public sectors.
