James C. Boyce (1943 - 2015) was born in Orange, New Jersey. After school he joined the US Coast Guard for a while before taking a job with the Guild guitar factory in Hoboken. Through this experience he met guitar makers and repairmen in New York City and started to build guitars himself. In 1967 he moved to Cape Cod, Massachusetts with his wife and infant son, and worked on research vessels, and for dock builders, carpenters, and house builders.  He built a shop and went into business repairing and building cabinets, furniture, instruments, and flagpoles; and sold mail order guitar strings. After his family grew to four children he went back to sea.  He worked as a tug deckhand, mate, and then captain before going into the tugboat business in 1983. He ran the tugboat business for 15 years, buying three more tugs and rebuilding his house and shop. He retired back into his shop, doing instrument repairs and building wood flagpoles and small skiffs until his death. He built and repaired quite a few different kinds of instruments - and thoroughly enjoyed playing his own guitars, fiddles, and mandolins.

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