They saved it, they cared for it and now they own it. Fuller Marine Services is now the legal owner of the F/V Westward and Jean Fuller said the plan is to remove the wayward vessel from Boothbay Harbor as soon as possible.

The F/V Westward came to Boothbay Harbor to be made seaworthy, a job its owner was never able to complete. It has been moored in Boothbay Harbor for over two years and slipped its shackles twice during that time. When it broke free during an intense January storm in 2015, Fuller Marine rescued the vessel and the surrounding Boothbay Harbor infrastructure. 

Federal officials seized the Westward in June and made Fuller Marine its custodian. In September, Justice Nancy Torreson ordered the vessel’s sale and the Westward was put on the auction block in late October. Fuller Marine was the successful bidder and now intends to do what so many in the harbor have been hoping for for a very long time.

“Our plans are to get it out of here as soon as we can,” Fuller said. “We are going to try to sell it and we have it advertised. If we cannot sell it soon, we will take it somewhere nearby and take it apart.”

Although the Fullers are optimistic about removing the Westward, other local Westward watchers remain skeptical.

"I am guessing that the Westward will be here for another year," Southport Islander Phil Brooks wrote in an email, "It is like the storied Tar Baby that is now stuck to Chuck (Fuller)."