Company Profile

The roots of Silverton Marine actually began back in the 1800’s with a German immigrant by the name of Henry Luhrs. He became involved in the outfitting of trading ships and eventually owned a chandlery and then his own ship, The Sophia R. Luhrs. His grandson, another Henry, was also in love with the sea and continued the family heritage by building and repairing family cruisers and fishing boats on the New Jersey coast. Before long, Henry and his sons, John and Warren, were building over a thousand boats a year. In 1965, the company, Henry Luhrs Sea Skiffs, attracted national attention as it was sold to Bangor Punta, a large timber conglomerate. John and Warren went out on their own in 1969 to buy a small builder named Silverton Sea Skiffs and became very successful following the same techniques their father had shown them. The brothers continued to build larger and more sophisticated models over the ensuing years. The 31 foot and later the 34 foot convertibles really taxed the Tom’s River, NJ facility and soon the company moved to larger quarters in Millville, NJ. Around the same period, The brothers started two new companies. First came Hunter Marine, now America’s leading sailboat builder and second was Mainship, the leading Trawler builder. In the early 80’s, John and Warren finally bought back the Luhrs name and the fourth company was started. Silverton Marine prospered and grew. New aft-cabin and convertibles were joined by express and sedan models and today; Silverton is one of the leading builders of aft-cabin family cruisers. Silverton will continue to expand and bring the mariner the best in boating.