Sunbeam
Our 74-foot, steel-hulled Sunbeam delivers Maine Seacoast Mission’s health, educational, and community building and services to residents of outer, unbridged islands. She and her crew bring a welcome break from isolation. With a long legacy central to the Mission’s work, the Sunbeam is trusted and beloved wherever she docks.
Island Health
Island Outreach
The Sunbeam is a trusted friend of Maine islands. Island living presents unique challenges. Isolation can take its toll. Populations are small and gatherings are few. Going off-island for necessities or medical appointments can be very difficult: even simple chores can be complex on a remote island.
The Sunbeam and its crew bring a welcome respite, offering a warm meeting place, the opportunity to visit with crew members familiar with island living, and health care via the ship’s medical staff and state-of-the-art telehealth facilities. About 90% of residents on the outer islands we visit use the boat’s services.
Our current vessel is 74-feet long with a 22-foot beam and a seven-foot draft, built by Washburn and Doughty in East Boothbay, Maine. Launching in 1995, it was recently refitted at Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, and returned to service in 2020. She has a 450 horsepower single-screw diesel engine that can cruise at 10 knots. With its steel hull, she often serves as an ice breaker, helping to clear harbors and protect the boats moored there from ice damage.
Learn more on the History page.
Island Health
Island Outreach
When we go aboard the Sunbeam, we’re getting together with family. -Brenda
Our work is your work, made possible by your generous gifts.
No matter how hard times get, the Mission will be there, helping sustain and strengthen families and communities. Please join us. Your donations bring warmth when it’s cold, shed light where it’s dark, and give strength when burdens grow heavy.
Contact us to donate, volunteer, or arrange for planned giving.