The roots of New England Boatworks are tied to aluminum 12-Meters, the 1983 Americas Cup and a lets-see-how-we-can-make-it-better approach to the status quo of boatbuilding. NEBs present-day partners, Tom Rich, Steve Casella and David MacBain, began building racing yachts, including Dennis Conners 12-meter Liberty, while working at Newport Offshore and Williams and Manchester in Rhode Island and at Minnefords in City Island, N.Y. Finding success at applying their specialty of metalwork (aluminum, stainless steel, titanium) to a variety of yachts, from IOR and IMS racers to fully-found cruising boats, in 1988, Rich, Casella and MacBain persuaded ten of the best hands-on boatbuilding experts in the business to join them in starting New England Boatworks. Soon the demand for NEB-built boats found the company expanding from their rented facilities to ownership of East Passage Yachting Center in Portsmouth, R.I., adding a full-service marina and haulout yard to their capabilities.