Marco Shipyard: Rolling With The Changes
Over their lifetime, fishing vessels are arguably the most robustly constructed maritime structures around, due to their continuous operation in the most arduous of conditions. Marco Shipyard in Seattle — founded in 1953 — built its business and reputation in the fishing industry, producing boats for operation around the globe. In fact, Peter G. Schmidt, company founder and president, was an innovator in the use of steel construction for the fishing vessel market, which previously consisted mostly of wooden boats. "He wanted to bring small boatbuilding into the modern world," said Bob McMahon, vice president. While the market for building new fishing vessels is a far cry from 10 years ago…
MARCO Delivers First of Two 104-ft. Boats for SF Bar Pilots
A few weeks before scheduled delivery of the first of two new 104-ft. pilot boats for the San Francisco Bar Pilots, Marco Shipyard Seattle managers were anticipating a smooth, on-time delivery – but everything changed during the vessel’s first sea trial. “At that late date we realized that the keel coolers that we specified and purchased were not adequate to cool the diesel generators. After we had already purchased the generator sets and the keel coolers, the diesel engines’ specifications, including heat rejection, were changed by their manufacturer,” says Bob McMahon, Marco Shipyard’s vice president and general manager at Marco Seattle. McMahon contacted Duramax Marine, the manufacturer of the new DuraCooler keel coolers used on the pilot boats.
