Shipwright News

Following a £1million conservation, the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, Fife, is set to welcome visitors back onboard the iconic ‘Fifie’ Reaper, the last of the great First Class Scottish Herring Luggers and a rare survivor from the golden age of sail.One of the few vessels in the UK’s National Historic Fleet kept in seagoing condition, the two-masted, 70-ft., 50-tonne Reaper will open to the public on August 4 at her pontoon on Anstruther Harbour, once Scotland’s busiest fishing port.The refurbishmen project…

The first newbuild rigid inflatable boat (RIB) built by Dongara Marine has entered into service, heralding a raft of government and RIB contracts for the Western Australian boatbuilder.The newbuild, Cape Rose, was completed at the end of last year and has been operating for Marine Rescue Shark Bay since delivery to Denham in early in 2021. It has replaced a response vessel that had serviced the Western Australia (WA) coastline for more than 20 years, both with the group and previously…

The success of the first lines boat / utility vessel Dongara Marine built for Jetwave Marine led the Western Australian marine services provider to acquire a second.Jetwave Nelson Point is the latest addition to Jetwave Marine’s owned and operated fleet, which includes nearly 30 specialized commercial vessels including harbor tugs, barges, multi-cats, utility / crew boats, and port service craft. These cater to the requirements of clients in the oil and gas, and resource industries Australia-wide.Designed by Southerly Designs…

A new landing barge delivered to Sunset Key Transportation Corporation will provide access to the Sunset Key Resort located on a small island near Key West, Fla. Ordered to replace LCM8 boats purchased from the U.S. Government that are now at the end of their service life, the new barge was built be Horizon Shipbuilding, Inc., with detail design performed in-house by the yard’s engineering department based on a basic design from Shipwright, LLC. The barge is 60’ long with an 18’ molded beam. Horizon said it enlisted Gulf Coast Air and Hydraulics for the ramp hydraulic system.

Old photos show mid-nineteenth century sailing ships abandoned in the San Francisco Bay area by crews who caught gold fever. Some of these abandoned hulls lie under the modern day city of San Francisco. Over in Sausalito, just to the north of the famous Golden Gate Bridge, what may well be the spirit of one of those buried vessels has taken shape under the direction of Captain Alan Olson, who has several decades of experience building and restoring and sailing classic wooden ships.

Merseyside shipyard and engineering company Cammell Laird held a special ceremony to launch a unique kite boat designed to raise funds for charity Claire House Children’s Hospice. The ‘CL Challenger’ was designed by retired shipyard naval architect Bill Owen incorporating a kite as the main power source to propel the vessel. The eco-friendly vessel also generates electric power for radio, lights and GPS through batteries charged via solar panel. It will now be used by a team of intrepid kite surfers for a range of sea-faring challenges to raise vital cash for the Bebington children’s charity.

Jennifer Kuhn of Seattle, Wash. has joined the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, MD as a shipwright apprentice. Prior to joining CBMM, Kuhn earned her applied science degree from Seattle Central Community College’s marine carpentry program and her BA in fine arts and education from Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md. Through work with Seattle Shipwrights, Kuhn helped repair and restore a variety of boats including longliners, commercial tugboats and the 54-ft 1930s Stevens-built Sea Dog.

Joe Green of Portland, Ore. has joined the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, Md. as a shipwright apprentice. With an associate’s degree in wooden boat building from the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Hadlock, Washington, Green will primarily work on the restoration of the Museum’s bugeye, the Edna E. Lockwood. During his one-year apprenticeship, Joe is living on Tilghman Island. Through educational, cultural and interactive exhibits and activities…

Please provide a brief professional history of yourself? I have more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of the planning and production of a wide variety of aluminum high speed vessels ranging in length from 26m to 107m. I have been employed by Austal since age 16 and completed a four year apprenticeship as a Shipwright before progressing into supervision and management of production staff and then program management. Along with experience with 30-60m passenger catamarans…

Among the world’s great commuter boats, the fleet of the Chao Phraya Express Boat Company holds a particular place. Not only for its singular success in moving large numbers of passengers in a city whose roads are notorious for their traffic jams, but also for the beauty of the fleet of graceful wooden boats. Thai culture recognizes four great principles; Suay (beautiful), saad (clean), sanook (fun), suparp (appropriate). These boats meet all four criteria. Their beautifully clean lines speak for themselves but they are also entirely appropriate to their function and…

Bill Hogg has been appointed as the marketing representative at North Florida Shipyard, Inc., in Jacksonville, Fla. Hogg joins the company with almost 50 years of experience. He started his career as a shipwright, moved on to become a naval architect and continued his career by becoming a ship manager with control of as many as a dozen active ships for the U.S. Maritime Administration, as well as company owned tankers.

Two 12-m chase boats aboard the Australian-based mega yacht Arctic P has been successfully converted from stern drives to waterjet propulsion. Hamilton Jet, local jet distributor Wiltrading Pty Ltd. and boat builder Stebercraft Pty Ltd. worked closely to retrofit the craft as quickly as possible. The first of the two chase boats, which are deck mounted on the 288.7 ft. (88 m) Arctic P, was urgently converted late last year, when one of the chase boat's stern drives with surface piercing props broke down again. Waterjets were mentioned as a possible solution, so Hamilton Jet's New South Wales distributor Wiltrading was contacted. After assessing the requirements twin Hamilton Model HJ292 waterjets were recommended as the best option to go with the original 370 hp Sabre engines.