Lyman Boat Works

29'6" Express Cruiser
Twin 210 HP, V-8
Base price 1967:  $14,995.00

29'6" 1967 Sportsman
Twin 210 HP, Chry
Base price 1967:  $13,175.00

22' Sleeper
Available in inboard or I/O
Base price 1967:  $5,365.00

16'6" 1960 Outboard

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The Lyman Boat Works was founded in 1875 in Cleveland, Ohio when a young German immigrant, Bernard Lyman, built himself a lap-stake rowboat.  People soon took notice of the qualities of this type of construction and Lyman was in business.  At first, his customers were liveries, fishermen, and amusement parks.

Lyman's interests weren't limited to row boats.  By the 1890's he had branched out into sailing craft and his shop became one of the most successful wooden boat shops in Cleveland.  By 1896 Lyman had left the sailboats for motorboats, which were becoming the newest mode of water transport.

In 1901, Lyman's son William joined his father in the business and worked his way from apprentice to boss.  Many of the original workers were craftsmen from the old country.  Some came to work in shirts, ties, and jackets, changing the jacket for an apron.  The 13' standard Lyman rowboat sold for $24.50 with a material cost of $7.00 ( the museum built a full scale replica of this boat in 1996, material costs were $843.00).  Taken over by the government during the first World War, the plant was used to build concrete ships and barges.  Records indicate that only one concrete barge was built before the end of the war.

In 1924, Lyman came out with its first true outboard, an 11' 54" beam runabout.  A year later a new 13' and 15' were introduced.  By 1928 Lyman had outgrown its Cleveland plant and Bernard had retired.

Sandusky became the new home for Lyman in 1928, just in time for the Great Depression.  The first boat built at the new plant was a 15' outboard.  With the end of the depression business improved and Lyman built a new plant on their empty lot next door.  By 1937, the first year in the new plant, production was between 500 and 600 boats.  By this time Lymans could be found all over the world including Germany, South Africa, Italy, Indo-China, and England.

Just as business started to boom World War II raised its ugly head. Once again Lyman answered the call and went into military production.  All types of craft were built for the Navy including 33' plane rearming boats, 24' plane personnel boats, 17' line handling boats, 8' dinghies, M2 assault boats, and 36' LCVP's.

The 1950's found Lyman at the height of prosperity.  With a dealer in every state production rose to thousands of boats per year.  The largest production year for Lyman is reportedly 1958 with 5,000 boats built in its 50,000 square foot plant in Sandusky.

By the 1960's the end was near for Lyman.  A new material was taking over the boat building business.  Fiberglass was the wave of the future in boat building.  Failing to change to fiberglass in time, Lyman's wooden boat construction ended in 1972.