Nat Benjamin and Ross Gannon have decided to take a step back from the day-to-day running of their Vineyard Haven boatyard and will hand the business off to the next generation.
Although the exact moment is unclear, Nat Benjamin thinks he and Ross Gannon first met each other at The Ritz in Oak Bluffs. But even before meeting, they had one big thing in common: they needed a place to maintain their wooden boats on the Island.
Mr. Gannon moved to the Vineyard in the late ‘60s and Mr. Benjamin had arrived in the early ‘70s.
“We thought, well, this place needs a little boatyard,” Mr. Benjamin recalled. “Somewhat self serving, I guess, but it needs a little boatyard where people can work on their own boats, ours included.”
The solution became Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway, which they founded on the shores of the Vineyard Haven harbor in 1980. Over the past 45 years, the boatyard has become an institution, an active waterfront operation that is also something of a school yard, mentoring scores of young men and women over the decades.
The boatyard has been a staple on the Vineyard Haven waterfront since it opened in 1980.
The boatyard has been a staple on the Vineyard Haven waterfront since it opened in 1980.
Soon, some of those students will take the helm of Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway, as Mr. Benjamin and Mr. Gannon have decided to take a step back from the day-to-day running of the organization. Both men will continue to work on projects, but as of this spring they have formally handed over management to Brad Abbott, a partner at the boat-building operation since 2011, and three employees: Lyle Zell, Christian Cabral and Antonio Salguero.
Mr. Abbott said he is looking forward to the collaboration and finding ways to move the company forward.
“Traditional boat building is what we’re about, but it’s thinking about the future and how to keep it rolling,” he said.
Mr. Zell and Mr. Cabral got their start playing in the sawdust of Gannon and Benjamin.
Mr. Zell, who is in charge of the company’s operations, is Mr. Gannon’s son and he grew up at the marine railway.
“I can’t remember the first time I started actually working here,” he said.
In addition to working on boats on the Island and in the Caribbean, Mr. Zell has studied at Maine Maritime Academy and The Landing School.
The tools of the trade.
The tools of the trade.
Mr. Cabral, who is in charge of finance and sales, also grew up at the boatyard, right beside his friend Mr. Zell. For a time he went to work for Capt. Robert Douglas just a few slips away on the Vineyard Haven harbor, along with jobs off-Island, before returning to Gannon and Benjamin.
“My passion came from here. My closest friends came from here. My membership to the Vineyard community came from here,” Mr. Cabral said. “It sounds a little bit overly romantic, but it has been completely life shaping for me. And it turns out, if you travel and go work other places and you tell them your origin was Gannon and Benjamin...it’s recognized for that quality globally.”
Mr. Salguero, the project manager at Gannon and Benjamin, was an apprentice in the ’80s and ’90s before studying yacht design at the Maine Maritime Academy and moving out west. He returned to the boatyard a few years ago.
“It all started here for us,” he echoed. “These guys are mentors. They have inspired us to take that path to be in the world of boats. We feel prepared to take the next step.... It’s exciting for us, it’s like a whole new chapter.”
That the transition will have recognizable faces at the helm is important to the original owners. At present, they store and care for about 30 wooden boats, and form close relationships with each owner.
“We know them all personally. They’re friends,” Mr. Benjamin said.
Mr. Gannon cited the importance of building community both on the waterfront and around the Island. He recalled a fire that decimated the boatyard in 1989. All that was left was the front wall. Mr. Gannon said that in the aftermath the Island rallied around them.
Through all the changes along the waterfront, Gannon and Benjamin remains.
Through all the changes along the waterfront, Gannon and Benjamin remains.
“At least 100 people showed up here for a barn-raising and put this building up in two days,” he said.
Mr. Abbott said he is looking forward to maintaining the legacy of the boatyard and its founders.
“It’s about taking on what Nat and Ross have built over the years with the harbor and the community,” he said. “The next generation is family and friends of the boatyard, friends of Nat and Ross who have the same passion for the craft.”
For Mr. Benjamin, the business he and Mr. Gannon created is like a second home.
“It’s like a family,” he said. “Just like a family is important to you, this is similar. My kids grew up here.... It’s something we feel is valuable and we’d like to see it continue.”
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