Eastern Shore business keeps maritime tradition alive

08/08/2016| Curran McSwigan

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Eastern Shore business keeps maritime tradition alive

08/08/2016 | Curran McSwigan

Located on the Eastern Shore is the small quaint town of Oxford, where local family business Cutts & Case Shipyard recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

The family-owned business specializes in yacht building, repair, restoration and brokerage services. They are known for constructing custom wooden boats and their unique "Cutts" method, an innovative composite and fiberglass material construction that produces lighter and stronger boats than those with traditional wooden hulls.

Cutts & Case once restored a boat previously owned by photographer Morris Rosenfeld in the 1920's. Rosenfeld was famous for his photographs that recorded the sport of yachting and he charmingly named his own boat "Foto."

"The boat was actually found in a swamp around 10 years ago. Now, Foto sits in pristine condition at the shipyard," said Office Manager Mike Moore. "Ed Cutts Sr. fully restored the boat for his own use."

Many customers of Cutts & Case keep their boats at the shipyard year-round. While most clients are from Maryland and the surrounding areas, some travel as far as California to enjoy a Maryland summer on the water.

The summer is a great time to explore the shipyard and marvel at the beautiful boats. One to look for is a 1955 yacht named Vixen – once owned by Ralph Wiley, who ran the yard from 1929 to 1965 – which is now being restored. Many artists from the Plein Air Easton Art Festival also come down to the shipyard to recreate the beautiful summertime scenery in their artwork.

Cutts & Case runs a full-service shipyard within walking distance to the beautiful town of Oxford. While not a transient marina, the shipyard is open to the public and convenient to the town's best local spots. The next time you visit Talbot County, stop by and enjoy the charming scenic views Oxford has to offer, and experience the wooden boat tradition that Cutts & Case has kept alive and thriving for the past 50 years.

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