Eric Schneider, owner of Lee Shore Boats, has a labor of love, so to speak, this Valentine’s Day weekend.
It’s a 28-foot mono hull that is under construction at Lee Shore’s facility on Edgewood Drive on Port Angeles’ west side.
It will be used as a charter boat for fishing excursions in Crescent City, Calif.
The vessel has a walk-around house, a cuddy in the bow, cannon electric downriggers and a Ray Marine electronics package, and is powered by twin Mercury Verado outboard motors.
Eric said he initially designed and began building the boat for himself to traverse the Inside Passage to Alaska.
However, when the Crescent City client visited Lee Shore’s facilities, he saw Eric’s boat, which seemed to incorporate all that he wanted in a charter boat, so he bought it.
Eric’s dream of running up the Inside Passage in a vessel of his own creation will just have to wait.
Big contract
According to FedBizOpps.gov, Armstrong Marine, the aluminum-boat manufacturer midway between Sequim and Port Angeles, recently was awarded a substantial contract to build three catamaran hydrographic survey boats for the Army Corps of Engineers.
The vessels will be deployed to Baltimore; Norfolk, Va.; and New Orleans.
Capt. Charlie Crane, who works with Armstrong Marine, said the boats will likely be built at Armstrong’s plant near Swansboro, N.C.
Topside repair
SeaRiver Maritime’s Sierra moored to Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal One North last Sunday.
I understand that personnel from Vigor Industrial, the topside-repair company along the waterfront, replaced some water pipe.
The 832-foot crude-oil tanker, formerly the Kenai, got underway for Valdez, Alaska, late Thursday afternoon.
Patrol boat updated
Platypus Marine, the full-service shipyard, steel-boat manufacturer and yacht-repair facility on Port Angeles’ Marine Drive, hauled out a 72-foot aluminum patrol boat last week.
She’s an escort vessel that was built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding in Somerset, Mass.
Her mission is to act as a screen for high-value military assets in domestic ports — such as the Navy submarines that traverse the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Hood Canal.
The vessel works in concert with HOS Arrowhead and HOS Eagleview.
The patrol boat is powered by twin MTU diesel engines that are coupled to Hamilton water jets, allowing her to reach speeds in excess of 30 knots.
The boat is equipped with a head, galley, berths and lockers. Mounted on the foredeck is a remotely operated weapons system.
The interior is outfitted with Shockwave heavy-duty suspension seats, shock-mitigating floor matting and a heating and air-conditioning system.
She is also equipped with a thermal imaging system and an array of the latest technology for navigational and communication requirements.
I understand that personnel are replacing the nonskid surfaces on the vessel.
Elsewhere, Platypus has Freedom in the Commander Building.
She is a commercial fishing vessel that hails from Petersburg, Alaska.
I understand that engineers and a naval architect are redesigning the hull with an eye to adding 10 feet to her beam to increase stability.
Orient Express also is in the Commander Building.
She is a 68-foot Grand Harbour that hails from Roche Harbor.
Personnel are going to sandblast the hull below the waterline, apply an epoxy barrier coat and paint the bottom.
Safety first
As publicized midweek, the Coast Guard last Monday prohibited the 748-foot tanker Overseas Jademar, which had crossed the Pacific with a load of crude for Anacortes, from leaving Port Angeles until numerous safety deficiencies were resolved.
Coast Guard inspectors said they found such problems as non-functioning distress-signaling equipment and fire safety systems in the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker.
Corrections were made to the Coast Guard’s satisfaction during a four-day anchorage in Port Angeles Harbor, and Overseas Jademar left Port Angeles on Friday morning for the Shell refinery in Anacortes, where she remained Saturday morning.
While she was anchored last Tuesday, Overseas Jademar, which had come from Malaysia when she was ordered into Port Angeles by the Coast Guard, got a fill-up of bunker fuel from Tesoro Petroleum.
Later Tuesday, Tesoro provided bunkers to Starry Sky, a 623-foot bulk cargo ship.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the area’s waterfronts.
Items and questions involving boating, port activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.