Brightside Marine offers an array of services including classic boat restorations, mechanical / electrical repair, winterization services, indoor and outdoor storage, and brokerage services. Brightside is an authorized dealer of Elco Electric Motors and we are the only Aloha Pontoons dealer in the state of Maine.
About Us
About Us
Shawn Grant, Owner
For his entire life, Shawn Grant, a resident of Belgrade Lakes for nearly 30 years, has recalled a love and appreciation of classic wooden boats.
From their vintage design, the low bellowing sound they make when piercing the water, and their harmonious feel as they glide along.
But it wasn’t until 2007 that Grant decided to turn his passion into a full time endeavor. He wrote his own business plan and sold some of his prized possessions in order to acquire the necessary tools, equipment and rental boats to get the business started.
It wasn’t long before Grant attached a single-bay workshop to his house; a two-bay, two story workshop on the other side of the driveway; and acquired direct shorefront on Mill Stream, which runs along Hulin Road in the Belgrade Lakes village.
Brightside Wooden Boat was born
“The sides of a wooden boat are considered the brightsides,” Shawn says. “It’s a play on words and has a number of different meanings.”
Grant said he knew that he wanted three strokes of a paint brush in his logo and a transom, which is the back part of a boat or ship.
Whether the customer was looking for a boat rental for a weekend getaway, or had a snow-covered 1956 Chris Craft that required restoration – word of Brightside was beginning to spread amongst the local community, although for many outside of the Belgrade Lakes region, it still remains one of the state’s, or perhaps country’s best kept secrets. Grant admits:
“There’s only a few of us in the country
who rent out classic wooden boats.”
Belgrade Lake’s flock of Summer tourists make up much of Brightside’s business, many whom are looking for the “On Golden Pond experience” – the Academy Award winning ’81 film based on pristine Great Pond.
While classic wooden boat restorations may be the foundation of Brightside, over the years, the business has found themselves spending more time in other areas – such as modern boat repair and electrical services, indoor / outdoor storage, canvas and upholstery services, and winterization services.
Brightside offers various
services in addition to
classic boat restorations.
“We will always have a close connection to wooden boats. Heck, look at our logo! But at the end of the day, we need to give our customers what they want. Not everyone wants to rent a ’47 Chris Craft, so we need to keep up with the demand of what our customers are asking us for”.
Grant currently employs several experienced woodworkers and boat builders to keep up with the demand on the restoration side of the business.
