West Coast boatyards have been busy with repowers, remodels, and maintenance work recently, including projects on commercial fishing boats.
Fishermen’s News reached out to several shipyards to see what their latest projects covered.
Commodore’s Boats
Vancouver-based based boat repair service Commodore’s Boats has had several notable projects recently on commercial fishing vessels.
The f/v Golovin Bay came into the shipyard at 38 feet in length and Commodore’s cut off the stern and expanded it to a total of 50 feet in length, Commodore’s Boats Development Manager Jake Spiller told Fishermen’s News. For the width, they widened it by four feet on each side. The vessel also more than doubled its horsepower, going from 2x 300 horsepower Cummins engines to 2x 650 horsepower Scania Marine engines.
After the project was completed, they estimated the fishold capacity at about 50,000L of space, he added.
“The Golovin Bay was certainly a more ambitious sponson than usual, almost leaning closer towards an entirely new build,” Spiller commented, “but the process and design was in line with what we have done many times previously.”
The job, for its scale, went very smoothly, he added, there weren’t really any challenges that arose that they didn’t expect, but the hardest part of the job was certainly the initial laying out of the new hull frames and plates. It must be done precisely to avoid any imbalances in the vessel, Spiller said.
On another recent project, Commodore’s added three feet to each side to f/v Sea Lady and in the voids between the old hull and new, they added space for the existing fisholds, added two new fuel tanks, and in two more voids they added freezer boxes.
The interior of the Sea Lady before the change was getting quite weathered and older, Spiller noted. They tore it out and cut the house at the sides to expand the walls and increase the interior space by about four feet width-wise, at the customer’s request, and also added one large bed across from the existing bunks and remodeled the galley and head.
Both projects were happening at roughly the same time and both took about eight months from haul up to getting put back in the water.
Commodore’s completed several sponsons during the past year, including adding approximately six feet to the beam of f/v Golden Sun, an aluminum boat. They also added the top house. Overall, it was a four-month project that provides the vessel better stability, increased deck space and better fuel efficiency. They also rebuilt the interior cabin, top house and living area. Made for a more comfortable work boat.
Commodore’s Boats specializes in the sponson projects for the fishing industry. Lengthening and widening existing boats is their area of expertise and the projects maximize boat size to stay within existing fishing licenses.
Regarding why do this type of project instead of a new build, Spiller said it mainly comes down to cost. It takes a lot less time, as well as money, to expand on existing hull and frames than to build it from the ground up.
“The hull shape is already there for us to work off of, which cuts down a lot of the design and planning that may have been required,” he said.
JT Marine
JT Marine provides marine shipyard services and repair and new vessel construction. The company recently worked on a commercial fishing vessel that was specifically focused on safety.
Fishing for Keyport LLC, the Erla-N is a longline crab boat that fishes golden king crab, noted JTM co-owner Cristy Toristoja. JTM also did a complete interior remodel and updating of the Erla-N.
“The real key to this project was safety. The golden king crabs are much deeper than other species and, prior to the retrofit, there was a terrible accident/sinking on another fishing vessel that was the driving force behind providing a much dryer and safer deck for the crew,” she explained.
The goal of the f/v Erla-N conversion was to sponson and modernize the vessel in order to increase the stability and safety of the vessel for fishing winters in the Aleutians and Bering Strait, Toristoja said.
Fishhold capacity was not increased, but maintained at 550,000 pounds seawater (180,000-200,000 pounds of net crab), Toristoja noted. While there was an increase in fuel capacity. The beam of the vessel was increased to 44 feet.
The primary challenge was doing this, while both meeting the owner’s goals for improved crew arrangements and maintaining tonnage below 200 GRT, Toristoja noted.
“Along with the improved seaworthiness came increased protection for the crew in the form of raised bulwarks and a nearly enclosed line bin capable of handling over 100,000 pounds of ground line,” Toristoja said. “The overarching theme of the design was to create the most streamlined and functional deck operations possible, while maximizing crew safety.”
Engineering started in March of 2021 and the new design included over 300,000 pounds of highly shaped new steelwork, along with careful demolition of some existing structure.
The vessel was drydocked in January of 2022, and the conversion was completed in six months, finishing in July 2022.
“Already the most productive golden king crabber prior to the conversion, Erla-N is now set up to be able to fish effectively in an even wider range of conditions than ever before,” Toristoja said.
Seaspan
Seaspan’s Vancouver drydock successfully completed 37 ship repair and maintenance projects in 2023, with a wider variety of vessels compared to the year prior —including commercial fishing vessels.
The only fishing vessels which have come through the Vancouver drydock so far this year were both in April, said Communications Advisor Adam D’Agostino in an email to Fishermen’s News.
The f/v Hannah, a 400-foot-long floating salmon processing plant owned by Northline Seafoods, which was in for a quick blast and paint, he noted.
The Sunderoey fishing vessel stopped by for a regulatory five-year inspection.
Although there haven’t been many commercial fishing vessels this year, that will likely change as the Vancouver drydock is expanding soon. So there is a potential for an increase in work for vessels of this type starting next year, D’Agostino commented.
Fred Wahl Marine Construction
Based in Reedsport, Ore., Fred Wahl Marine Construction specializes in building quality commercial vessels with exceptional dependability and durability.
The company has had several commercial fishing vessels in the shipyard recently.
The f/v Bay Islander arrived in mid-July 2023 for some extensive work. The scope of the project included replacing the superstructure, pilot house, the installation of a bulbous bow, replacement of a majority of the bulwarks aft to the existing poop deck, along with various other improvements below and above deck. The vessel left in mid-January 2024 for the remaining interior outfitting to be carried out by ownership.
They have received word from the Bay Islander vessel owners that they are very happy with the vessel modifications, added Office Manager Holly Hinshaw.
This spring, the team at Fred Wahl started working on re-power projects on f/v Progress and f/v Miss Berdie.
Progress came in recently for a repower, Hinshaw noted. They put a new Nautican Kort nozzle and triple rudder system in, along with a new propeller and additional shafting.
“We are happy to have met their timeline and to hear their satisfaction with the outcome,” she added.
The Miss Birdie came in for a complete engine swap. They changed all five engines, one main and generators, Hinshaw explained.
“They had a short timeline that we were able to accommodate to get them back out fishing,” she said.
Fred Wahl is also currently scheduled to start work on the f/v Long Beach Carnage in August for a stern extension, Hinshaw noted. This vessel is out of California and this will be its first time at FWMC.
Ventura Harbor Boatyard
Ventura Harbor Boatyard, a first-class shipyard servicing commercial and pleasure vessels to 220 tons. It’s employees work on many fishing vessels all year round, General Manager and CEO John Bridwell told Fishermen’s News.
The yard is especially needed and suited in assisting the squid fishing fleet during the season that they are catching squid, he noted. Many times, they work hard to perform emergency repairs in order to get them back out squid fishing.
Sara Hall has 15 years of experience at several regional and national magazines, online news outlets, and daily and weekly newspapers, where coverage has included reporting on local harbor activities, marine-based news, and regional and state coastal agencies. Her work has included photography, writing, design and layout.