page_title: Hodgdon Yachts
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Hodgdon Yachts / History
caption_attribution_description: USS YMS-324 in San Francisco Bay, California, after the end of World War II, circa 1945-46. This ship became USS Gull (AMS-16) in 1947. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1974. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
context_page_description: Hodgdon Yachts is a builder of yachts and specialized military vessels, based in East Boothbay, Maine. It is a family-run business that was founded in 1816—reputedly the oldest continuously operating family boatbuilder in the United States. Hodgdon Yachts is noted for building superyachts, both sail and power, using advanced composite materials and construction techniques. It's also noted for its ability to incorporate those advanced materials into traditional designs that employ modern electronic and mechanical marine systems. The company has several divisions—yachts, custom tenders, yacht interiors, yacht services and military composites with offices in Boothbay, Maine, Newport, Rhode Island and Monaco.
context_section_description: In 1816, founder, Caleb Hodgdon with brother Tyler, added boatbuilding as "Hodgdon Brothers" in East Boothbay on the Damariscotta River to Caleb's sawmill and gristmill businesses with the construction of a 42-foot "pinky" fishing schooner, Union, launched in 1818. From 1850 and 1895 the yard built and launched 24 commercial schooners. Caleb turned the business over to sons, C. George and James P. Hodgdon, in 1870. Successive generations of Hodgdons maintained the business, as siblings left and returned from boatbuilding enterprises, elsewhere in Maine.
  The business regained vitality during the Korean War, when it built twelve naval patrol boats. A fire destroyed most of the yard's buildings and records in 1954 during this run of producing patrol boats. Within three years, brothers William and Charles, and George I., Sr. died.
  George I. ("Sonny") Hodgdon, Jr., who was born in 1922 and reputedly started work in the yard at an early age, rebuilt the boat-building sheds and obtained a contract to build the first boat designed by William Tripp Sr., Katingo. In addition to securing contracts to build boats for noted designers, including Sparkman & Stephens, John Alden, and L. Francis Herreshoff, he designed and built 24 small vessels,  between 1956 and 1969. In 1969, Hodgdon moved to another facility to build lobster boats under the business name of "G.I. Hodgdon, Co."
  Hodgdon's son, Timothy, joined the business In 1979 and steered the company towards modern materials. He continued after his father died in 1995 and, as business grew, diversified the company into six divisions, specializing in yacht construction, custom tenders, yacht interiors, boatyard services, and composite materials for military customers. He established a variety of locations in Maine, Rhode Island, and Monaco.
  In 2016, a sixth-generation Hodgdon family member to participate in the firm, Audrey Hodgdon, was appointed as director of sales and marketing.
caption: YMS-1-class minesweeper, USS YMS-324
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