Weeksyachtyard.com
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Weeksyachtyard.com |
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Company History
"ship yard" circa 1918 Frank M. Weeks Yacht Yard was founded in 1898 by Frank M. Weeks of Patchogue, New York. The Weeks family had been settled in the Patchogue area along its famed river since the early 1700's. Frank's father had fought in the Civil War and survived being wounded and captured at Gettysburg. After the war he owned and ran a dry goods store in Patchogue village. The young Frank M. Weeks was employed as a teenager by Martinus Smith who had owned a piece of the property where Weeks Yacht Yard is still situated today. In 1898 Frank Weeks built and sold his first boat, a "W" Class catboat named "Onion". The boat was named after the onion field behind his home where he grew and sold onions in order to raise the funds he needed in order to buy materials for the boat. "Onion" went on to sweep the Great South Bay racing circuit over the next several years, building the reputation of young Weeks as a boat builder and yacht racer. The "W" Class soon retired from the GSB circuit.
Frank M. Weeks and his wife Harriet with Frank V. Weeks as an infant, 1916 "Onion" circa 1898 off Patchogue In the early part of the twentieth century Weeks purchased the yard from Smith and went on his own as a boat builder. Weeks built many famous yachts, both power and sail. He designed and built many of the boats himself although many were designed by famous yacht designers, such as John Alden. Over the course of his tenure as the founder of the yard, Weeks built over 400 craft. The original Smith building still stands today awaiting its restoration. The building dates to at least the 1850's. Weeks purchased or built several other buildings in the early part of the century. One building came from Camp Upton and three other large buildings were built in the 20's and 30's. All these buildings still stand today, making Weeks Yacht Yard a traditional and historically significant property. In some ways the yard has become an historically operational yacht yard. The railways are still used as well as many of the traditional tools and machinery. Weeks purchased more and more property over the years and his sons, Frank V., Joe and Dave purchased the final tracts in the 1950's bringing the yard to a full 5 acres or more in size.
A power cruiser designed and built by Frank M. Weeks Frank V. Weeks and his younger brother David are about to go "Star" racing, 1948 Frank's sons bulkheaded the yard in 1965 making it into a full marina facility. They began to specialize more in the field of yacht repairs but they continued in the family tradition of boat building by manufacturing a handsome 26' sea skiff out of wood. With the arrival of the fiberglass age, production slowed and no boats were built in the yard until 1979 when David and his sons began the manufacturing of high tech DN iceboats. In 1993 they began constructing small fiberglass racing sailboats.
The first Weeks Sea Skiff is launched, 1954 A Weeks built DN Iceboat, 1990 Today the yard has a fast growing reputation for classic wood and fiberglass yacht restoration and repairs in all areas of boat construction. Major restoration and boat building projects both traditional and cutting edge, keep the yard staff and crew busy year round. Dave's sons Kevin and Brian, his wife Georgia and brother Joe are keeping the tradition alive and well on Long Island's famous south shore.
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aerial photo of the yard, 2003