Sabre Yachts will build its new Sabre 66 power yacht at Rockland’s North End Composites.

North End, which is the company behind Back Cove Yachts, has ramped up production and hired 40 workers over the last six months, chief operating officer Jason Constantine said.

Sabre, based in Raymond, is a company related to North End/Back Cove, he said. But instead of shipping the boats to Sabre for completion, which would be difficult given their size, North End plans to use Journey’s End Marine on the city waterfront to paint and launch the vessels. Journey’s End Marine is seeking city approval to expand one of its buildings to accommodate this project and other work.

Constantine said North End has worked with Journey’s End for many years to launch its new boats.

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The saga of salt stranded in Searsport was just a quirky news story for Mainers, but it was serious business for those responsible for keeping New Jersey’s roads safe. Reuters news service reported that 40,000 tons of rock salt imported to the Mack Point port could not be shipped to New Jersey because of the 1920 Maritime Act, better known as the Jones Act, which mandates that only U.S.-flagged ships can carry cargo from U.S. port to U.S. port.

New Jersey’s salt sheds were “scraping the bottom of the barrel,” officials there said, after the winter’s frequent snow and ice storms. A South American ship was poised to move the salt south from Searsport, and New Jersey sought a Department of Homeland Security of the Jones Act, but was denied.

The salt was eventually shipped by barge.

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The Bangor Daily News reports that Camden-based entrepreneur Stuart Smith hopes to build a hotel on the Rockland waterfront adjacent to the Boston Financial call center. The former industrial land was cleaned up and redeveloped in the 1990s by credit card lender MBNA. The property where Smith wants to build the hotel, which would feature 65 suites, each with a balcony overlooking the harbor, would be three floors along the street and four floors on the water.

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The defunct boat school in Eastport, for which residents of eastern Washington County had high hopes, may see some investment from the Eastport Port Authority, according to the Quoddy Tides. The port authority is in discussions with the Friends of the Boat School group to consider purchasing or leasing the facility, with the goal of returning it to educational purposes.

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The Portland Press-Herald reports that the Ellis Boat Company will add a new crane and more manufacturing space to its facility in Southwest Harbor. Ellis expects to add eight jobs. Ellis is a family owned company founded in 1945 known for its traditional-style yachts and lobster boats.

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An outdoor concert venue with an across-the-harbor view of downtown Portland? That was the plan pitched to South Portland city officials by developer John Cacoulidis for a 23-acre site near Bug Light, the Press-Herald reported. After an initial meeting with city planners, Cacoulidis withdrew the application, but hopes to revise it and resubmit it in June.