Tidal wave for regional boatbuilders
Healthcare practioners must focus on more than healing

by Susan K. Godfrey

This rendering depicts the new multi-mission craft Aluminum Chambered Boats is partnering with global defense giant Northrop Grumman to build for the U.S. military. The contract will bring hundreds of millions of dollars into Whatcom County, say ACB officials.

Demand for this region’s boatbuilders is outpacing the labor force, according to government and trade groups. An influx of orders for ships for homeland security and related maintenance, boats for commercial and recreational fishing and related businesses, and increased market for large yachts and smaller pleasurecraft are keeping builders and repair facilities here busier than ever.
The state ranks sixth in the U.S. in the number of boatbuilding companies and the number of employees working for them, according to the Northwest Marine Trade Association (NMTA), and many of those are located in Northwestern Washington.
Statewide shipments in 2005 were valued at more than $1 billion, and the region has a large chunk of that action. Of about 70 boatbuilders in the state, roughly one-third are located in the area. The NMTA, the oldest and largest such trade organization in the U.S. has 600 members in the state representing not only building but related industry, said spokesman John Thorburn.
Besides building and repair, related businesses like suppliers of engines and propulsion equipment, cabinetry and upholstery, mechanical and hydraulics, electronic components and other parts’ manufacturing are all benefiting from the high tide of demand.
This area is attractive not only because of most labor and regulatory policies, but also its weather – it’s unlikely hurricanes will disrupt production, and a variety of marine conditions allow builders to test their watercraft in troubled and calm waters, on rocky and smooth shores.

Military, industrial and commercial
Bellingham’s Aluminum Chambered Boats produces a fleet of vessels for the U.S. military including $100,000 dive boats to the Navy, and other models for the Marines and the U.S. Border Patrol. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Army Corps of Engineers are also customers. Patented-design airtight-sealed aluminum chambers and extruded aluminum chambers are produced for vessels of 25 to 38 feet. The virtually “unsinkable” hulls make for a fast boat, and lack of flammability is a plus for fireboats. They’re also repairable in short order. High-tech applications include an unmanned, satellite-controlled armed “pursuit craft,” which toured U.S. shores recently.
ACB was recently awarded a contract with Northrop Grumman Corp. to market a series of “combat-ready boats that can receive and supply information through a military command network while operating up rivers, along seashores and on open seas,” reports company representative Laura Kaestner. She says that contract will bring “hundreds of millions of dollars” into Whatcom County.
Operating out of an 80,000-square-foot yard and employing 103 producing retail and commercial boats and sports-fishing units, the company expects to grow revenues by more than 200 percent in 2007.
“We expect to grow sales in all three business segments, recreational, commercial and government as well as grow our number of employees, our production capacity and our manufacturing facilities,” she added.
Making mainly industrial but also recreational boats here also is Workskiff of Mount Vernon. Since 1989 they have produced more than 500 marine-grade aluminum utility boats for military, research, survey, oil-spill response, transport and excursion crews. The models, to 27 feet, are all-welded, self-bailing units with open decks.
President Jeff Clark says he coined the term “Severe Service” for the boats, which must withstand rigors of intense weather conditions. Even though they have competition, Clark says, “We stay in business because we produce boats for a variety of military and commercial applications such as oil spill cleanups, port, waterway and harbor cleanup and maintenance, and patrol, research, Navy station picketing and natural resources surveys. We can configure boat features to specific needs, and because we are flexible and build on demand, we can work with their needs in a fast response time of about 45-60 days.”
Though the employee base is 10, Clark expects to add 15 percent more staff in the next year, looking to a market of more rugged recreational users in Alaska and the Northeastern states, where beach landing can be treacherous.
A leader in the tugboat building and repair sector is Dakota Creek Industries of Anacortes. They also make vessels for research, offshore support, factory fishing trawlers, high-speed ferries, oil recovery vessels, fireboats and barges for construction and other applications.
Clients include the Navy and Coastguard, Washington State Ferries and major commercial clients. Their specialty is construction and repair of steel and aluminum vessels up to 400 feet. Their tugs have bow-placed powerful engines, allowing for greater maneuverability. They’ve converted regular cargo hulls into large-capacity “wide-bodies” for supply shipments to offshore operations.
High-volume producer Crowley Marine Services of Seattle contracted with Dakota Creek on several industrial and government contracts, and DCI added 50 employees to its workforce of 200 last year.
Crowley has also contracted with Nichols Brothers of Whidbey Island for production of “Harbor Class” tugs. The company has about 230 employees in 12 divisions, making commercial boats and tractor tugs to 100 feet.
Nichols Diversified Industries – same family, different business – specializes in designing and building aluminum monohulls, landing craft and midsize catamarans in the 20- to 50-foot market. NDI boats range from industrial, government and commercial craft to recreational fishing boats, and they promote their ability to customize each craft. On any given day they may be building a customized fishing boat, recreational catamaran or a rescue vessel for a municipality.
As their name implies, NDI diversifies: “We provide fabrication service in areas beyond boats, such as structural and architectural, steel and aluminum projects,” says president and founder Justin Nichols. “Aluminum gangways have become a substantial part of our business.” Parts production includes handrails and stairwells. The company also makes pickup truck racks, livestock feeders and more, and can custom make titanium parts.
NDI has also developed a production line of recreational boats, Superior Boats, which focuses on repeatable manufacturing of catamaran and monohull models.
Another versatile company is Burlington’s Nordic Tugs. In addition to the 700 workhorse trawlers it has produced in its 25-year history, it makes “pleasure tugs” and trawlers, up to 52 feet. With 141 employees, they posted about $18 million in sales last year, according to company representative Tammi Anderson. Their latest product is a 37-foot boat that is engineering-compliant for the European market and will debut at the Southampton, U.K., boat show this fall.
Also producing boats for multiple use is All American Marine. At its Bellingham Bay shipyard they produce 30- to 100-foot hydrofoil-assisted catamarans and monohulls, focusing on excursion vessels, passenger ferries, work boats, research vessels and pleasure craft. The company has an exclusive design agreement for North America with Teknicraft Design Ltd. of Auckland, New Zealand.
The company, which employs 45 welder/fabricators, system installers, electricians, interior finish carpenters, painters and support personnel, had about a 30 percent per year growth during the last five years, according to company spokesman Matt Mullett. In addition to private eco-tour operators, the company recently built four vessels for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to operate in three central California national marine sanctuaries, with a design including an 86-square-foot wet laboratory and 71-square-foot dry laboratory for use by 10 scientists. The company is also developing an ultra-low wake passenger ferry to eliminate beach erosion, which is being tested in Rich Passage near Bremerton.

Repair
Many of the yards provide repair as well as manufacture. And Cap Sante Marine of Anacortes has made a niche in repair and augmentation of stock vessels, according to Dealer Development Manager Dale Engebretson, an active participant in the NMTA.
They repower diesel engines, lift and haul for repair and painting, offer same-day prop repair, fix shafts and rudders, sell and install marine electronics and provide a range of shipwright services, including hull construction, keel replacements, “bright work” and wood refinishing. A large part of their business is installing and retrofitting bow thrusters, which are essential in maneuvering tugs and related craft in close quarters. They are the nation’s only authorized dealer and installer of shallow draft stern thrusters. They also do aftermarket hull work, installing the patented Underhull product made of foam and fiberglass which, when bonded to a hull, increases the ship’s buoyancy and speed. To keep up with demand, Engebretson says they’ve been adding boat technicians at a regular pace.

Recreation
The pinnacle of serious recreational boating is the America’s Cup race, and this area has been involved in producing several entries. This year’s lone American entry, the BMW/Oracle, will race in Valencia, Spain, after completion at Core Builders of Anacortes. Janicki Industries produced the composite molds for the craft, which is the result of seven years of planning and construction by a team of 31 designers and naval architects. Janicki was chosen because of their track record of serving not only marine clients, but aerospace, transportation and other industries. Their staff of 350 employees includes engineers with advanced degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering, industrial design, computer science and chemistry.
Their key to precision large-hull design – as required in a racing vessel – lies in a five-axis mill used over the 80-foot length of carbon-fiber hull molding. Because the company’s computer assisted designs do well in producing advanced hulls to reduce or eliminate “wake effect,” they have also partnered with the Mangia Onda Co. of California to build boats that will not create wake in the canals of Venice, Italy, which would damage the historic canal-side buildings.
In its 165,000-square-foot plant on a sprawling 15-acre campus in Sedro-Woolley, Janicki produces complex composite tooling and makes large-scale molds and patterns for hulls, decks and bridges for about 200 boat companies nationwide. The factory’s massive machines and processes are cost effective in a market that is increasingly competitive. And they have orders well into the next year.
Janicki partnered with Dakota Creek to make the largest U.S. yacht to date a few years ago at 236 feet.
But say the words “luxury yacht” in this area and the name Northern Marine usually comes up. Two-time finalists for the Superyacht Society Award, the company operates in a 130,000-square-foot Anacortes facility, where they build the luxury mega-superyachts. About 130 employees are building these boats, up to 164 feet, mostly for corporate clients, which sell for up to $25 million each. In September the company was acquired by Renton-based Ashton Corp., retaining founder Bud LeMieux as head of production. One can also purchase an 84-foot Northern Marine cruiser for $6 million. Their boats will be featured at boat shows in Palm Beach, Miami and Fort Lauderdale with the newest 151-foot model to be either barged or sailed through the Panama Canal.
Another area yacht building company is San Juan Yachts in Anacortes. Builders of custom luxury yachts, the company says they have about 100 employees, each with an average 15 years of experience.
Pacific Mariner also produces high-end yachts, with sales of more than 75 since 1995. Broker Mike Williams says the LaConner plant has had even sales of its 65-foot yachts at $2 million each for several years, but the 85-foot yachts at $5 million have recently outstripped those sales during two years of production. The company has about 200 employees working on an order backlog through this year, he said.
For the average boater, one from SeaSport might fit the bill. The Bellingham company has been building fiberglass boats since 1955, making it the oldest in that field in the U.S., and now makes 10 models designed for family recreation and sports fishing. The sturdy monohull and catamarans of up to 32 feet are made with a patented hull construction, with the larger models capable of a cruise through rough waters to Alaska.
“Our niche is very safe craft. When people take out our boats and their lives depend on it, we take that seriously. We have very high quality control,” said company spokesman Lyle Jansma.
The company’s 60-70 employees build both the SeaSport and Osprey boats, a company they purchased in 2004. Osprey has a line of five models, said Jansma. Now making up to 110 boats a year, they foresee increasing production, he added.

Labor
According to state labor statistics, the Whatcom-Skagit ship and boatbuilding industries already account for about one-third of statewide jobs in those sectors with about an $80 million payroll, and it’s expected to grow. A journeyman technician in shipbuilding and repair can make around $50,000 a year and a boatbuilder at least $35,000, according to state labor statistics.
The number of jobs has already outstripped projections, and getting a qualified workforce is prompting study by the state’s Northwest Center for Excellence in Marine Manufacturing and Technology (CEMMT) at Skagit Valley Community College, Oak Harbor.
Ann Avary, director of the Center for Excellence, said a comprehensive report on training for boat and shipbuilding and related industries is being prepared for release to their own Marine Advisory Committee, a group representing industry, education and economic development associations. It focuses on wage and benefits data and development of workforce training programs to “expand education in the K-12 areas to get younger people in the industry,” said Avary.
Local boatbuilders are already teaming with educators to develop a skilled workforce. Northern Marine has developed a training program in manufacturing in partnership with Skagit Valley College, the Northwest Workforce Development Council and EDASC, the Economic Development Association of Skagit County. That program included training in carpentry, electrical and resin infusion processes, as well as safety training.
Janicki Vice President John Janicki said their business is stable, but they still have difficulty finding pre-trained employees. For that reason they have participated in efforts of the CEMMT and its SVC training programs. The company added computer skills training to core curricula for trainees because of their extensive use of computer-assisted designs.
EDASC is conducting its own marine-related study as well. The association has received a grant from the Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development to study Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan and Island counties to provide a long-overdue inventory of the “cluster” of marine manufacturing and related businesses, which have demonstrated growth even when other sectors have faltered.
Director Don Wick said members from marine industries, economic development organizations and agencies, port districts and higher education are convening to evaluate how improvements may be made in the area’s infrastructure, workforce and industry regulations to support and encourage the industry.
Both the CEMMT and EDASC studies will be released mid-June under contract with the funding agency for both studies, the Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development.

Bud Lemieux, founder of Northern Marine, and Ken Kurtenbach, president of the company, forged a partnership last year when Renton-based Ashton Corporation purchased the yacht building company.




The Nordic Tugs shipyard is located on Port of Skagit County property in Burlington. The company makes both commercial and recreational craft.





Bellingham-based All American Marine has most recently expanded into the research vessel market and has won multiple N.O.A.A. contracts.