PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op has entered into an agreement to purchase Townsend Bay Marine for an undisclosed sum.
The sale, expected to close in June or July, marks the purchase of one of the Port Townsend Boat Haven’s most prominent tenants by another.
“Our business has grown in the last few years. It has just gone up and up,” said David Griswold, one of 13 member-owners of the Co-op.
The purchase will include taking over a lease with the Port of Port Townsend for the only indoor facility in the Boat Haven that can accommodate the lifts used to move large boats.
“This will allow us to work on large boats more efficiently, inside and out of the weather, and help us to meet our client’s deadlines,” Griswold said.
Townsend Bay Marine has shrunk since pre-recession days from 80 employees to 12.
“We have been looking for an exit strategy for some time and have been moving more toward leasing space than providing the services,” according to David King, chief financial officer with the company. King also serves as Port Townsend’s mayor.
The purchase agreement for the deal, which had been in the works for about three months, was signed in March, King said.
“We’ve leased space to the Co-op,” King said.
“Since we’ve already collaborated, it seemed like a natural sequence for them to go from leasing space to taking the whole place on.”
The Co-op has agreed to purchase all of Townsend Bay Marine’s assets, including the building, all tools and equipment and its lease with the Port of Port Townsend, according to King.
Townsend Bay Marine was founded in 1999. The present owners are four of the original six founders of the company.
They are King, David Pratt and Paul Zeusch, CEO, who are still active in the company, and Bill Nance, who has since retired.
After the sale, Townsend Bay Marine will cease to exist. The combined company will operate under the Co-op’s name.
The Co-op will try to absorb Townsend Bay’s customer base and perhaps hire some of its employees, Griswold said.
“We have a very experienced crew and they will have no trouble finding jobs, either with the Co-op or elsewhere,” King said.
Depending on the season, the Co-op employes 20 to 35 people, including 13 partners who are “also workers, managers and cleaner-uppers,” Griswold said.
Townsend Bay Marine has 30,000-square-feet of space.
The current Co-op space, which is about one-third of that for Townsend Bay Marine, is now for sale, Griswold said.
Townsend Bay was originally a subsidiary of luxury boatbuilder Lurrsen Yachts. Townsend Bay Marine partners bought the company in 2002.
It concentrated on large yacht repair and construction but lost business during the recession and never recovered, King said.
“Since that time there has never been as many people here as there used to be and the facility hasn’t been used to its potential,” King said.
“I’d like to see the Co-op bring some of that back.
“They are a very durable organization that has flown under the radar for many years.”
According to its website, the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op was formed in 1981 “by a group of like minded craftsman brought together by their love of wooden boats and craftsmanship.”
Over its 34 year lifetime it has maintained its mission to service the Alaska fishing fleet, motor vessels and sailing vessels of the Pacific Northwest.
Each of the Co-op partners have one share in the business and an equal vote on its board, Griswold said. Founding partner Jim Lyons is still active.
King, 65, announced last week that he would not serve another term on the Port Townsend City Council.
“This will be a big year for me,” King said of the two life changes.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.