Page 38: of Marine News Magazine (November 2024)

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Feature

Blount Boats to make the boat better.” that we build.”

The Blount team brings decades of experience and “People often comment that we’re synonymous with valuable expertise to their partnerships with clients. Their quality, longevity and low maintenance,” Marcia added.

goal is always to build the best vessel possible. “It’s a very Drawing on decades of experience, Blount Boats skill- collaborative effort with our clients. We have our own fully combines proven design and shipbuilding practices designs, and we also build from plans of naval architects. with a trailblazing approach. “My father was really open to

But we often modify some of those plans to make them innovation,” Marcia said.

more practical and workable,” Marcia said. “Our men say “Over the years, [my father] designed and built some there’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Blount way. iconic boats that actually launched industries in them-

They believe they know how to build a good boat, and selves,” Julie said. “For the ? shing industry, for the off- they’re going to build it.” shore gas and oil business down in the Gulf, the dinner

This approach has worked well for Blount Boats, even boat business, the small cruise boats—boats that really in the early days. “Often with my father, a client would changed the way things happened.” come in and would tell my father what he wanted, and Luthur passed away in 2006, but Marcia and Julie have then my father would stop him and say, ‘Well, what’s the continued to lead the company with their father’s spirit, run of this boat? Where is she going? How fast do you always with an eye on new horizons. “We look for oppor- want to get there?’ And then my father said, ‘Well, this tunities the same way my father would,” Marcia said.

is the boat that I’m going to build for you.’” Marcia said. Blount Boats was the ? rst shipyard to construct a pur- “‘This is what you need.’” pose-built CTV for the emerging U.S. offshore wind sec-

In the end, the vessels that are built are distinctively tor, and it has since built several more. The company is

Blount. “Because we’ve been around so long, there are a preparing to deliver its next CTV in the coming weeks.

lot of people that are familiar with and have operated our As technologies evolve, Blount Boats is exploring op- boats. And what they always say is that [our boat] was portunities in areas such as alternative fuels and uncrewed their favorite to operate and how it was de? nitely a Blount and autonomous vessels.

boat,” Julie said. “That’s a testament to the type of boat “We’re carrying on my father’s legacy,” Marcia said.

Blount designed and built In the 1970s Blount designed and built The Le Bateau dinner boat, built in In the 1990s, three small ship cruise

America’s ? rst commercial stern offshore supply vessels for the U.S. oil 1972, is believed to be the ? rst to vessels, each carrying up to 100 overnight trawler, the Narragansett, in 1962 industry. The largest of these vessels at operate in the U.S., launching the guests, were built for Blount family sister with the goal to enter the New 192 feet long were equipped to carry excursion dinner boat segment of the company, Blount Small Ship Adventures

England ? shing industry market. 3,900 cubic feet of drilling mud in six cruise industry in America. During (BSSA), a niche cruise operator. Blount tanks, 350,000 gallons of drill water the 1980s, a group of “Spirit Class” designed and engineered retractable pilot and had a deck cargo of 640 long tons. dinner boats were constructed with houses to permit low bridge clearance, three decks designed for cruising bow ramps to allow beach landings, and major U.S. harbors. glass bottom boats. *Images this spread courtesy Blount Boats 38 | MN November 2024