Our history
The yard building on Main Road has been part of Tiverton's working waterfront for well over a century. It was built by local craftsmen, gave the Tiverton Yacht Club a home after the 1938 hurricane, and served the fishing fleet under the Standish family. It has belonged to the Hilton family since 1969.
In the late 1800s, William Brightman owned the property at 1690 Main Road. His house still stands today. Brightman hired Francis Manchester, James Mataronis Sr., and Henry Walsh with his sons James and Harry to build what is now the Standish Boat Yard building.
The hurricane of 1938 destroyed the Fall River Yacht Club on Riverside Drive, where the Tiverton Yacht Club met. In 1945 the Manchester group built an addition to the building, and in 1946 it became the Tiverton Yacht Club's temporary home.
The addition had a grand porch with scenic views, hardwood floors, knotty pine walls and a soda bar. The porch, with its crossed railings, still looks out over the water today.
In the mid-1950s the yard was bought by direct descendants of Miles Standish. Edmund and Alice Standish and their son Freddy ran a ship's store, a marine railway, slips and moorings, mostly serving the local fishing fleet.
The yard had its own lighthouse back then, too. Just before Christmas in 1967, it made the front page of the Sakonnet Times, wrapped in garland.
After years of asking, Ken and Marge Hilton and their partners Jack and Gail Brimicombe bought Standish Boat Yard from the Standish family in 1969. Over time the yard's focus shifted from the fishing fleet to selling and servicing pleasure boats.
The second generation, Ken and Jim Hilton and Craig Brimicombe, all worked in the business, and Ken eventually took over running the yard.
In June 2025, Jennifer Hilton Cavanagh and her husband Andrew Cavanagh bought the yard from Ken and the Brimicombes, excited to be its third-generation owners. Today Standish is a tidy, efficient yard, full of friendly faces and a real love for boats and the water.
The building Brightman's crew put up still anchors the waterfront, and a new lighthouse stands on the jetty today, carrying on the tradition.
Tiverton's working waterfront
Postcards, drawings and photographs of the Tiverton shore and the fleet that has always called it home.
