Even though the Fourth of July is in the rear-view mirror, there’s still plenty of time left for cruising vacations and charters this summer. And it would be hard to find a more appealing or inviting cruising area than Down East in Maine, particularly in the iconic Southwest Harbor area, the gateway to Somes Sound and Acadia National Park.
You can enjoy all this on the water, by chartering a Maine-built boat from Ellis Boat Charters, a branch of the Ellis Boat Company in Southwest Harbor. Then you can cruise the area on your own, or with a local captain, and enjoy some of the best cruising grounds in the United States.
Ellis has a series of boats, all Down East vessels, for charter, including a 2021 Ellis 36 (pictured at top), with a single Yanmar 440-hp diesel and a 10- to 20-knot cruising speed. (It tops out at 23 knots.) The boat has 6’ 6” of headroom in the cabin, a head with a separate shower, a full keel and skeg for directional stability and protection, and bow and stern thrusters for easy docking. A dining setup in the pilothouse can seat eight people. The boat charters for $9,500 a week until Labor Day.
An older Ellis 28, restored in 2017, has a 225-hp Volvo, a V-berth and head, full canvas enclosure, bow thruster, Garmin plotter and radar, and seating for eight. It charters for $5,000 a week until Labor Day.
Other boats include several other Ellis 36s, a Hinckley Talaria 40, a Wilbur 38, and Jericho, a classic wooden Bunker & Ellis 42 lobster yacht that was built in the mid-1900s (pictured above). It charters for the day, or part of the day, with a captain.
All of the Ellis charter boats have tenders and full cruising and safety equipment. Ellis maintains the boats, and provides 24/7 service. A bareboat charter starts with a full tutorial on that particular boat. Captains with local knowledge are available for all the boats. Read more at http://ellisboatcharters.com and see the video of the new Ellis 36 below:
