Bristol Marine, Bristol Yard
41°40’36.1″N 71°17’18.3″W
99 Poppasquash Road
Bristol, RI 02809
401.253.2200
The Bristol Yard
Originally established as Wardwell’s Boat Yard, our Bristol location stands as a testament to the enduring maritime heritage of this region. Now part of Bristol Marine, we continue to honor its roots while leading the way in New England’s marine industry.
As the flagship of our company, our Bristol Yard is a quintessential New England boatyard situated on an incredible harbor steeped in maritime history. Embedded in the protected northwest corner of Bristol Harbor and overlooking Narragansett Bay, the marina is adjacent to Colt State Park; easily accessible from Narragansett Bay, Cape Cod, Newport and Long Island Sound and a stone’s throw from historic downtown Bristol, RI. Preserving New England’s working waterfront with a high level of customized service, the yard is buoyed by the area’s tradition of yacht building, sailboat racing and naval architecture. Our tightly-knit, versatile and highly-skilled team handles a full range of service needs, from routine maintenance to complex projects requiring a range of skills and trades. The Bristol Yard keeps its long-term customers coming back by treating each boat as if it were our own. With massive investment in infrastructure over the years and the careful cultivation of a passionate and capable team, we have grown the Bristol Yard to become a community leader in the marine industry.
SERVICES IN BRISTOL
OUR SKILLED TRADES
OUR BRISTOL YARD FEATURES
Learn for yourself what makes set our Bristol yard apart from others in this virtual tour of our facilities:
Check out our Bristol Yard Features
Launch Video
- Quality service: Specializing in mechanical & systems work with Yanmar, Yamaha, Cummins and other dealerships
- Waterfront facility: quintessential New England boatyard with friendly staff and highly skilled technicians
- Slips & Moorings: Seasonal rentals and transients alike, for boats up to 65′ with brand new bathrooms and amenities
- Inland Franklin Street facility: a 2-mile drive from the boatyard, offering ample inside heated, unheated and outside storage for winter projects
- Hauling capacity: A 50-ton travel lift can haul boats up to 20′ wide and over 60′ long; 20-ton crane on site to handle masts and rigging needs
- Events: A new outdoor waterfront tent (2022), adjacent to the Bristol Yacht Club, is a great location and setting for weddings and other gatherings.
Greg Bartoszuk
Bristol General Manager
With a lifetime of working in and around boats and customers — from captaining trans-atlantic deliveries and tall ships on international educational missions, to managing private marinas — Greg Bartoszuk has always had a hand on the tiller and an eye for customer service. Greg first joined Bristol Marine in 2017 and his influence has featured heavily in the history of the Bristol yard and helped define its current iteration and customer focus.
By overseeing Infrastructure investments Greg helped upgrade the Bristol yard’s capabilities and improve the customer experience. Having previously served as GM at a corporate marina chain, Greg saw how customer service can suffer without a personal touch. “I like to talk to the customers. I want to have a more complete picture of the customer, what kind of boating they like, how their family is doing,” he explains. This customer knowledge and deep nautical know-how combine to create the best in consultative service.
With a personal relationship with every customer in the yard, Greg and his team can either answer any question they may have or get them in touch with an expert who can. “We treat these boats like ours,” he continues. “By developing this type of trust, we can ask on behalf of the owner in his best interest,” anticipating maintenance needs for a seamless season on the water.
Email GregBristol Marine Team
By cultivating talent through year-round opportunities we have built a dedicated team of skilled employees committed to providing the best possible experience for boat owners uniquely connected to their vessels.
Norm Gadomski
Service Manager
Since 2023
Joe Vasconcelos
Foreman, Yard
Since 2007
Mike Fowler
Foreman, Mechanical
Since 2018
Patty Cativo
Front Desk, Admin
Since 2021
John Jerome
Lead Mechanic
Since 2020
Kyle Depoy
Mechanic
Since 2022
Ethan Thoms
Yard
Since 2022
Jeffrey Rodrigues
Yard
Since 2023
Jennifer Perley
Parts Manager, HR
Since 2020
HISTORY
An intercontinental port in the early eighteenth century, Bristol Harbor has played a role at different times in its history in the industries of fishing, shipping, whaling and the triangle trade. Throughout the maritime history of this Rhode Island town, boat building has remained a consistent and integral aspect. The Bristol Yard currently resides on the spot where merchant Samuel Wardwell had a shipyard during the revolutionary war.
By the early 1900s, this site hosted a facility dedicated to the construction and repair of wooden boats, complete with a railway system for hauling and launching vessels. Later purchased by the esteemed boatbuilding figure and innovator Clint Pearson in 1964, it would become home to Pearson Yachts, best known for their quality yachts and as pioneers in the use of fiberglass construction in boatbuilding. Here, hundreds of Pearson-built “Bristol Yachts” — designed by some of the most prominent naval architects of the time including Halsey Herreshoff, Ted Hood and John Alden — were completed and launched in Bristol Harbor using the same railway. This historic piece of working waterfront also shares its shores with the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, renowned for designing and building some of the most well known and successful military craft and racing sailboats in American history.
When Pearson Yachts ceased operations in 1998, Bristol Marine’s founder, Andy Tyska, recognized a significant opportunity to preserve the shipyard as a maritime hub and ensure continued access to the waterfront for other marine businesses that might otherwise have been displaced. At that time, Tyska, a 27-year-old naval architect, and his business partner, Gerry Lenfest, acquired the business and transformed it into a storage yard catering to boat owners with a do-it-yourself approach. As Bristol Marine evolved to become more customer-focused, it slowly built a team capable of providing quality service to an increasingly loyal and committed group of customers. When attempts to develop the waterfront facility on Poppasquash Point were stymied, Andy and his team looked elsewhere and found opportunities for growth in downtown Bristol. With incredible persistence and investment, he and partner Nick King revitalized a once dilapidated section of downtown Bristol and turned it into an inland hub for many successful marine businesses to set up and thrive; thus helping the continuity and strength of the marine trades in Bristol.
Bristol’s downtown and harbor shoreline have evolved over the years, while retaining its feel as a classic New England seaside town. Many of the small marine businesses, docks and mills have been replaced with restaurants, condos and shops. The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company has given way to the Herreshoff Maritime Museum. However, amidst these changes, one constant remains: Bristol Marine’s unwavering dedication to revitalizing the active and functional waterfront.
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