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The History of Blount Marine continued...
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Commercial Fishing Vessels
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Some of the yard's earliest vessels were commercial fishing vessels while the 1960s marked the yard's busiest construction period for these vessel. It has designed and built the following types of fishing vessels:
• Dragging
• Trawling
• Offshore Lobstering
• Tuna Seining
• Long-lining
• Oyster Dredging
• Quahog dredging
In 1954, Blount built the 65' "Sherri and Scott" (hull #16), making it the first U.S. long-liner built of steel. This design followed the lines of the standard Nova Scotia long-liner and fished the treacherous waters of the Grand Banks. During an easterly blow in late 1956, she was heading westerly from the fishing grounds to her home port. She was left on autopilot, with an alarm clock set to notify the crew when she was supposed to near the coast. Running with a following sea and wind, the Sherri and Scott made much better speed than expected and ran hard aground on the unforgiving rocky shoreline off of Port au Herbert, Nova Scotia. The crew was not able to back her off and the storm driven seas destroyed the vessel.
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In 1963, Blount designed and built the 83' automated dragger/siener "Narragansett" (hull #84). This was the world's first small stern dragger and was fitted with a Blount designed net drum technology. This design has become common place on hundreds of commercial fishing vessels. Blount gained three patents on his invention but no fisherman has ever been charged for copying the design.
This past fall the 105' oyster dredge vessel "Harold E. Bickings" (hull #300) was launched. This was the sister boat to the "Jeanne Christine" (hull #266) and at present a third is under construction at the yard. These vessels have 1,835 sq. ft. of work deck and fish over oyster beds in a water depth of usually 12'-15'.
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Once on station, a large suction tube is lowered to the oyster's bed and the oyster are sucked up and deposited on deck at a picking station. They are washed off; sorted for size, with the not yet matured ones returned to the bed for further growth. These vessels harvest the oyster beds located in Long Island Sound and the Chesapeake Bay.
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Mini Cruise Ships
During the mid l960s as Blount's experience in the passenger vessel market expanded, he came up with the idea of building and operating a minicruise ship. The vessel would be large enough to provide passengers with a comfortable ride, but small enough and with a shallow enough draft to venture into remote waters that the cruise ships of the time couldn't navigate.
This unique idea was a difficult sell, but in 1965 after selling off three patents for $50,000, and securing a bank loan, the 65' "Canyon Flyer" (hull # 116) was built. This vessel, with a passenger capacity of 20, offered week long cruises along the southern New England coast and into the sheltered waters of Canada. She sailed under the company name American Canadian Lines.
The concept proved to be a quick success and in 1968, the canyon Flyer was sold and the 110' "Mount Hope" (hull # 141) was designed and built. This vessel with a passenger capacity of 40 had the following custom
features:
• A Blount designed and patented bow ramp which operated similar to a landing craft bow enabling passengers to offload from the boat directly onto a beach.
• A lowering wheelhouse allowing passage under bridges with a height of only 16' above the water. This made the Erie Canal navigable.
• Patented Blount "Vista View Windows" wrapping around the vessels main deck bow providing an impressive panoramic view.
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Within a few years A.C.L. operated a two boat Blount built fleet. Every few years a more advanced vessel would be built to replace the existing ones. In 1983 the fourth boat, the 156' "Caribbean Prince" (hull #250) was built. Cruising interests expanded in the Caribbean, changing the company name to American Canadian Caribbean Line.
The newest, largest, and most advanced vessel was launched in 1998, the 183' "Grand Mariner" (hull # 298). This vessel with a capacity of 100 passengers, was designed with all the latest amenities, was built with an ice strengthened hull to open northern routes, and has a 2500 mile range. The company now offers trips to Central America, transiting the Panama Canal.
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As Blount states, ACCL has become the mainstay of Blount Industries $15 million a year businesses. The minicruise ships have a high occupancy all year long. Blount can easily and affordably design and build these vessels in his own shipyard. Average fleet age is only a few years old. Due to a high demand for these types of vessels in a growing cruise market, he has been successful at turning around and selling them at a profit.
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