Boston Whaler Factories in Massachusetts
Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2026 9:42 am
The main Boston Whaler manufacturing plant in Massachusetts has been generally thought to be the facility located on Hingham Street in Rockland, but I recently discovered the existence of two more Massachusetts production facilities in the towns of Norwell and Hanover, both literally next door to Rockland.
The facility in Norwell was a 33,000-square-foot building, opened in 1980, and housed the design and engineering sections. It was also used for building commercial and government boats, recently confirmed by a posting in MARKETPLACE that cites the provenance of a 1984 FRONTIER 25 as having been build there.
The Hanover plant build the newly added sailboat lines, HARPOON and SQUALL models, and also built larger government and commercial models.
Among the three plants (Rockland, Norwell, and Hanover) the company was said to have about 700 local residents employed.
In the heydays of the 1980's and strong interest in boating in general, Boston Whaler sales grew to $66-million in 1988. During this period of growth, there is also a mention of a plan to consolidate all manufacturing into one facility, which was to be located in Marshfield, Massachusetts, a town southeast of Boston and closer to Cape Cod. But apparently local opposition to the move by the town stopped that effort.
In 1986 Boston Whaler bought out FLORIDA WATERCRAFT, a boat builder in Everglades, Florida, which had a large facility and land on the water, and began moving some production there. Initial production there was limited to just a few larger hulls, 25-foot or longer.
The boating boom times disappeared in a recession in the late 1980's. In 1989 Boston Whaler was sold to the Reebok Shoe company, and by 1990 sales plummeted to just $37-million.
The Norwell plant was closed in 1989. The Hanover plant was closed in 1992. And finally the Rockland plant was shut down in 1993. There is now a Home Depot store at the former Boston Whaler Hingham Street location. All production was moved to Edgewater, Florida.
Sales of Boston Whaler have grown so much that significant expansion at Edgewater broke ground in 2018, with Boston Whaler acquiring the adjacent property to the north.
For more history of Boston Whaler related to plant locations see these articles:
History: The Boston Whaler Company
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/history/whaler.html
Boston Whaler Factory Tour
Where Legends Are Made
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/factory.html
Boston Whaler to Re-open Closed SeaRay Plant
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6458&p=37773#p37773
Boston Whaler Announces Plant Closing and Consolidation to Edgewater Factory
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... 480#p51450
The facility in Norwell was a 33,000-square-foot building, opened in 1980, and housed the design and engineering sections. It was also used for building commercial and government boats, recently confirmed by a posting in MARKETPLACE that cites the provenance of a 1984 FRONTIER 25 as having been build there.
The Hanover plant build the newly added sailboat lines, HARPOON and SQUALL models, and also built larger government and commercial models.
Among the three plants (Rockland, Norwell, and Hanover) the company was said to have about 700 local residents employed.
In the heydays of the 1980's and strong interest in boating in general, Boston Whaler sales grew to $66-million in 1988. During this period of growth, there is also a mention of a plan to consolidate all manufacturing into one facility, which was to be located in Marshfield, Massachusetts, a town southeast of Boston and closer to Cape Cod. But apparently local opposition to the move by the town stopped that effort.
In 1986 Boston Whaler bought out FLORIDA WATERCRAFT, a boat builder in Everglades, Florida, which had a large facility and land on the water, and began moving some production there. Initial production there was limited to just a few larger hulls, 25-foot or longer.
The boating boom times disappeared in a recession in the late 1980's. In 1989 Boston Whaler was sold to the Reebok Shoe company, and by 1990 sales plummeted to just $37-million.
The Norwell plant was closed in 1989. The Hanover plant was closed in 1992. And finally the Rockland plant was shut down in 1993. There is now a Home Depot store at the former Boston Whaler Hingham Street location. All production was moved to Edgewater, Florida.
Sales of Boston Whaler have grown so much that significant expansion at Edgewater broke ground in 2018, with Boston Whaler acquiring the adjacent property to the north.
For more history of Boston Whaler related to plant locations see these articles:
History: The Boston Whaler Company
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/history/whaler.html
Boston Whaler Factory Tour
Where Legends Are Made
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/factory.html
Boston Whaler to Re-open Closed SeaRay Plant
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6458&p=37773#p37773
Boston Whaler Announces Plant Closing and Consolidation to Edgewater Factory
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... 480#p51450