NED CROSBY
I had the privilege of being born into a boatbuilding/boatyard family. That meant being exposed to every facet of a boatyard throughout my younger years. A large part of that was witnessing and absorbing the importance of the relationship with both customers and employees. Even today, when I see someone who used to work at Chester A. Crosby’s back in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, they always comment on how wonderful that time was.
After high school, the yard was sold and I went off to college. I was away from the family’s old yard for approximately six years. During that time away I explored different career opportunities; however, by the mid ‘90’s I was back at the yard building Haven 12-1/2’s with a couple men who had been working at the yard when I was born.
In 1998, I ventured away from the comforts of Osterville and became a partner at Howard Boats on the north side of the Cape. It proved a valuable, but brief, experience. It only took a few years to realize I belonged back on the south side of the Cape … in Osterville.
It was 2001 when I formed and incorporated E.M.Crosby Boatworks. We started small, with one building in West Barnstable and three employees, including me. By 2009, we had nine employees while we built our Crosby 38. As the years have passed, the yard has matured into a loyal service yard with over 100 boats. Supplementing our service fleet has been a wide variety of building and restoration projects. We are very comfortable where we are as a business.
Comfortable enough, in fact, that I was able to spend last year away from the shop fulfilling my 20+ year dream to go cruising with my family. We were gone 11-1/2 months, traveling as far south as the Grenadines and over 7000 miles.
While away from the shop, I was able to think about our business with a much wider perspective. Collectively, we have decided to re-shape E.M.Crosby Boatworks …we will be moving our operations back to the Osterville waterfront.
THE E.M. CROSBY BOATWORKS CREW
The crew at EMCrosby’s, September 2023.
From left to right … Charlie Crosby, Ben Swift, Scott Finn, Mike O’Neil, Rick Sundelin, Tripp Grohe, Ned Crosby, Mike McLaughlin, Karen Crosby (not pictured: Mark Williams).
Charlie Crosby, (his father, Bookie, and Ned’s father, Eddie, were brothers and partners in the family business Chester A. Crosby & Sons), Crew Member at E.M.Crosby Boatworks, Charlie holds his 500 Tons Masters License from the US Coast Guard. Found most often at the helm of the shop tug, “Admiral”, Charlie remembers fondly working with his cousin Teddy Crosby repairing the Seniors at E.M. Crosby’s. As far back as he can remember, Charlie has always wanted to work on the water. Chester A. Crosby & Sons provided him with a good foundation before working with his father for many years on the various harbor tugs up to 2000 horsepower. After a time working at the Cape Cod Canal Army Corps of Engineers, Charlie came to E.M.Crosby Boatworks in 2008.
Karen Crosby, the oldest of Ned’s two sisters, is the Shop Administrator. Karen graduated from the Hartt School of Music with a Master of Music degree and worked for a decade following graduation as a piano teacher. Currently, Karen’s musical pursuits find her in the position of Minister of Music at South Congregational Church in Centerville, where she directs the Handbell and Adult Choirs and plays both the pipe organ and Steinway piano. When not working or practicing, Karen can be found in the garden or training her German shepherd, Ava.
When cousin Scott Finn is on the property, the legacy of Crosby boatbuilding extends to 9 generations… After working for years at EM Crosby’s part-time while he kept a full-time job at Osterville Hardware, Scott came onboard full-time at EM Crosby’s in September of 2022. Scott’s love of boatbuilding is innate, and he does a little bit of everything at the shop, learning the trade from all angles. When asked what he likes to do outside of work, Scott’s answer was, “Look for the red head sailing a catboat in West Bay.”
Head Painter, Tripp Grohe, moved to the Cape as a young boy and found himself painting houses at age 16 for his first job. Although educated at Johnson and Wales School for the Culinary Arts, his preferred work track through life has been painting. When he wanted to broaden his scope of knowledge, he approached Ned in the spring of 2010 about painting boats. Since then, Tripp has been an integral part of the EMC team bringing boats “through the shop” as their brightwork and other essential painting needs are done each winter.
Mike McLaughlin joined EM Crosby Boatworks in October of 2019. Mike is involved in all aspects of the shop from mechanical, fiberglass, carpentry, varnish work and more. A captain with his 100 tons Master License, Mike was born in South Boston and came to the Cape when he was 5. An avid surfer, snowboarder and paddleboarder… Mike loves to pass on his surfing knowledge to his daughter, Madison.
Michael O’Neil is a crew member who on any given day can be found doing several jobs at the shop. A childhood friend of Ned’s who played hockey with him, Michael describes himself as the best left-wing Ned ever had. After working for 15 years in the boating industry, Michael decided it was time to work for a friend and came onboard EM Crosby’s in November of 2021.
Rick Sundelin, a native Cape Codder, is the “Mechanical Genius” at EMCrosby’s. Rick’s extensive mechanical/engineering talent and Yankee ingenuity solve many conundrums at the shop. It was with Rick’s help, operating the heavy equipment and brainstorming assembly, that allowed Ned to build the EMCrosby ramp at the Osterville waterfront location in-house.
Mark Williams, Crew Member, has been with the shop since 2015. A native Cape Codder, Mark sailed his Beetle Cat from the age of six out of Hyannis Port. He later worked at Beetle Boat Shop in Wareham before coming to work at E.M.Crosby Boatworks. He first met Ned as teenagers sailing 420’s in the regional NASH cup…”There was Ned and then there was the rest of us…”