Page 37: of Marine News Magazine (November 2024)

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Feature

Blount Boats eventy-? ve years in business is no small feat, es- Today, Blount Boats is a full-service shipyard offering pecially in an industry that is tougher than most: design, newbuild and repair for vessels up to 220 feet in shipbuilding. Blount Boats is celebrating the im- length. Its diverse customer base is comprised of a variety

S pressive milestone this year. of commercial and government entities including private

Established in 1949, the Warren, R.I. shipbuilder is led and public vessel operators.

today by founder Luther H. Blount’s daughters: president To date, Blount Boats has delivered more than 379 and CFO Marcia Blount and executive vice president / hu- hulls and counting, including passenger and vehicle fer- man resources Julie Blount, who see their roles as more ries, stern trawlers, offshore supply vessels (OSV), dinner than a career. “It’s our vocation,” Julie said. “It’s in our boats and small cruise vessels. In recent years Blount has blood!” the sisters said nearly simultaneously. built U.S. ? agged crew transfer vessels (CTV) for the off-

An entrepreneur and inventor by nature, Luther H. shore wind sector.

Blount formed Blount Boats after building a small twin Marcia emphasized Blount Boats’ focus on quality, in- hull raft built of 55-gallon drums used for transporting genuity and practicality. “We are famous for the quality oyster and clam shells across Narragansett Bay, prompting of our boats,” she said. “Our boats last for years and years, requests to build larger steel vessels. and the clients have very few issues with them. One reason

Luthor’s ? rst commercial build was a 77-foot steel cata- for the quality of the vessels is that we have very skilled maran, followed by a fuel oil service vessel using a similar craftsmen that have been with us for many years.” design he called the “twin tube,” featuring two cylindri- Marcia and Julie highlighted the experience and exper- cal ? oats. This success led to the development of larger tise of their engineering department as one of the yard’s and more complex monohull vessels, and over time, the strengths. This team includes their nephew, Luthor Blount, shipyard expanded. who is the third generation to work at Blount Boats.

Marcia and Julie became fully immersed at a young age. “Our engineering department has designed vessels that “We grew up right in the middle of the shipyard watching we have actually run; we have actually operated vessels,” the boats being built,” Marcia said. “Our garden was next Marcia said in reference to the value of hands-on experi- to the shear shed.” ence in vessel operations. “And not only that, but we took trips on boats that Julie said, “Our engineering department works closely my father built for his leisure,” Julie added. “We’d go out with our clients to help them understand what is truly sword ? shing, we would take trips up to Canada. We were needed to build a boat that functions well. And they give on boats all the time. That was how we grew up.” extremely good advice to possibly change some of the plans

After Luther Blount built his ? rst boat, a 77’ steel One of the most famous vessels In 1955, the “Blount 65” made During the late 1950s, Blount catamaran, he bid and won a job to construct a built at the shipyard was the 130- its debut and was an immediate designed the Botruc for the fuel oil service vessel using the same catamaran foot, 600-passenger Miss Liberty. success with ferry, commuter offshore oil and gas industry in concept based on two cylindrical ? oats which he Built in 1952, this boat carried and excursion operators. During Southern Louisana. The Botruc dubbed the “twin tube.” This design was succeeded over 60,000,000 passengers from the course of 50 plus years, the series, as the name implies, bears by a progression of larger and more complex vessels Manhattan to the Statue of Liberty shipyard has built over forty 65’ a strong resemblance to a standard resulting in a quantum expansion of the shipyard. for the Circle Line. passenger vessels that have been pick-up truck with the cab forward delivered world-wide. and a cargo space behind the cab. *Images this page courtesy Blount Boats www.marinelink.com MN 37|