Courtesy / Mount Desert 365
Seen here is an artist rendering of the new building in Northeast Harbor that will in part house Maine Seacoast Mission’s new headquarters.
May 16, 2019
Front Street hired for mission boat refit; mission headquarters construction starts
Courtesy / Maine Seacoast Mission
Maine Seacoast Mission’s vessel Sunbeam V is seen here undergoing decommissioning earlier this month before heading off to Front Street Shipyard in Belfast for an extensive refit.
Maine Seacoast Mission of Bar Harbor is in the midst of significant transition.
It has selected Front Street Shipyard in Belfast for a significant refit of the mission's vessel, Sunbeam V, which is used to provide services to island communities.
And construction of a building, which will in part house the mission’s new headquarters, has begun in neighboring Northeast Harbor.
Sunbeam V Captain Mike Johnson posted May 16 on the mission’s blog that decommissioning of Sunbeam V has begun.
Nooks and crannies
“Boats always amaze me with their limitless nooks and crannies,” Johnson wrote.
Except for items needed for the run to Front Street Shipyard from Northeast Harbor, the decommissioning means removing everything else accumulated on the boat over the last 25 years.
Sunbeam’s last trip ended April 25. Some of Front Street Shipyard’s work can be done while the boat’s in the water.
“There’s no major hull degradation. But we need to address it now before there is,” Johnson said in a news release. “We have to rip out the entire accommodations section of the boat, sand blast the steel, and paint two coats of marine epoxy on the internal sections. Every nook and cranny. Unless you rip out the entire downstairs area you’re going to miss something, and that’s going to haunt you for years.”
The boat is fundamentally sound, he said.
Johnson will oversee the refit. Meanwhile, Sunbeam Engineer Storey King will captain the mission’s interim boat, Moonbeam, so Sunbeam crew members Sharon Daley, Douglas Cornman, and Jillian [no last name] can continue their work as island health director, island outreach director and steward in Sunbeam V’s absence.
The 74-foot Sunbeam V was built for the mission in 1995 by the East Boothbay shipbuilder Washburn & Doughty. The vessel is a key part of the nonprofit’s mission to provide education, registered nurses and an onboard telemedicine exam room to isolated coastal and island communities.
New headquarters
Courtesy / Mount Desert 365
In Northeast Harbor, contractor R.F. Jordan & Sons Construction Inc. of Ellsworth excavate a trench for water and sewer lines, part of a new building construction that will in part house Maine Seacoast Mission’s new headquarters.
Construction is underway of the mission’s new headquarters, on Old Firehouse Lane in Northeast Harbor. Contractor R.F. Jordan performed excavation work to prepare a trench for water and sewer lines. The new two-story structure will provide office space for Mount Desert 365’s staff, too, and will also have two apartments for year-round rentals.
A4 Architects from Bar Harbor designed the building and E.L. Shea is the general contractor. Construction of the building is expected to begin in June and is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2020.
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