Nadeau’s Marine, Inc., a family founded boat dealer in Litchfield, Maine, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, using the streamlined Subchapter V process available to small businesses.
The petition was filed September 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine. Two affiliated companies, Eagle Heights General Partner, LLC, trading as Vinal Energy, and Knowles Mechanical, Inc., filed alongside it.
Court records show Arif Shaikh now holds 100 per cent membership interest in the company, confirming a change of ownership the dealership’s own online listings had already flagged without giving a name. The unsecured creditors named in the filing include Kellogg LNS, Nippon Sanso Matheson and Tohatsu America, one of the three outboard brands the dealership sells. Also listed is Larry Nadeau, the business’s founder, though the filing does not say what the claim relates to.
Nadeau’s Marine began life as an auto repair shop in 1979, according to the company’s own history, before moving into full time boat sales and service in 1998, the same year it picked up Smokercraft boats and Mercury outboards. Yamaha followed in 2002 and Tohatsu in 2011. The dealership, on Lewiston Road, currently lists around six employees and sells pontoon and fishing boats alongside Yamaha, Tohatsu and Mercury outboards.
A wider business group
The two affiliated companies that filed alongside Nadeau’s Marine are established operators rather than shell entities. Eagle Heights General Partner, LLC, trading as Vinal Energy, delivers home heating fuel on the island of Vinalhaven and is registered with the US Department of Transportation as a hazmat carrier. Knowles Mechanical, Inc. is an HVAC, plumbing and metal fabrication contractor based in South China, Maine, established in 2005 with around 16 employees, serving Central and Southern Maine.
Knowles Mechanical’s own Better Business Bureau listing names Arif Shaikh as its owner, the same individual court filings show now holds 100 per cent membership interest in Nadeau’s Marine. All three companies, spanning heating fuel delivery, HVAC contracting and marine retail, filed for bankruptcy on the same day.
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
