Mike Muessel

Mike Muessel

Mike Muessel grew up on Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota, the son of a career Coast Guard warrant officer. His family owned a 26-foot wooden launch and a 25-foot wooden sailboat that received heavy use. They moved to Kodiak, Alaska, for a time before landing in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1963.

After graduating from Boston’s Northeastern University, Muessel sought to satisfy his nautical wanderlust by sailing and traveling the world. His adventures took him to the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and Afghanistan. On his return, Muessel teamed up with friend Ron Ackman to skipper boat deliveries up and down the East Coast.

The pair formed Oldport Marine Service in 1972 to provide mooring services in Newport. They bought Newport Launch Service in 1975 and by the early ’80s realized the three launches they were using to ferry people to and from shore were woefully inadequate. They rescued an abandoned mold for a 26-foot launch and in 1984 splashed the first Oldport 26. More than 140 boats later, the Old port 26 is well-respected as a work boat that’s easy to drive, efficient and capable of safely ferrying a load of people.

Oldport Marine continues to thrive, with Rhode Island mooring operations in Block Island and Newport, as well as Edgartown, Massachusetts. The business employs 70 people and 20 signature Oldport launches. The boat building side of Muessel’s business completes two launches a year. The boats are widely used by businesses along the East Coast.