San Francisco Bay is drenched in shipbuilding history. Since the Gold Rush, wooden boats have been built and repaired on the bay.
Bay Ship & Yacht in foreground, with Port of Oakland and downtown Oakland across the estuary. Tom Paiva photo, courtesy Bay Ship & Yacht.
By Wes Starratt, PE
Published: June, 2008
The famous Union Iron Works, which originally built machinery for California’s gold mines and then constructed steam locomotives, eventually turned its attention to shipbuilding and continued operations for almost 100 years. Early on, the Navy became involved in shipbuilding at Mare Island and then at Hunters Point. World War II was a boom time for shipbuilding, with Kaiser Shipyards turning out one ship each day in Richmond and Bechtel interests similarly involved in Sausalito. But, soon after the war, the bubble burst. A few years later, even the Navy closed its Bay Area shipyards. The mighty Union Iron Works all but closed before acquiring a large floating dry dock that now provides vitally needed maintenance and repair services for cruise ships and tankers.
Traditionally, the basic means of transportation in the Bay Area was the ferry, but, in the 1930s, bridges were built and the ferries largely disappeared. However, in recent years, passenger ferries began to re-appear on the bay, thanks to a number of factors: the high-speed, dual-hull ferries called catamarans; the development of welding techniques for aluminum; and the transformation of the Golden Gate Bridge District into a transportation district that began operating ferries.
Soon, other Bay Area ferry systems began to take root in Vallejo and in Alameda/Oakland, and the idea emerged of establishing a regional ferry system promoted by a new state agency, the Water Transit Authority (WTA). Because ferries have played a vital role in responding to emergencies—from the 1906 earthquake to September 11—recent state legislation triggered a favorable vote for state bonds that would fund an expanded Bay Area ferry system of 50-plus boats, for emergencies as well as for basic transportation needs. To manage the expanded program, the WTA was recently transformed by state legislation into the Water Emergency Transit Authority, or WETA.
Today, Bay Area ferries are built at several Puget Sound yards in Washington that specialize in aluminum boats. But, to maintain these vessels, only one shipyard in the Bay Area, Bay Ship & Yacht, has developed the capacity and the aluminum metalworking expertise. Without that yard, located on the estuary in Alameda, Bay Area ferries would face the problem of ocean-voyages back to the yards in Washington for periodic maintenance.
But, will these same Washington boat yards continue to build ferries for the expanding Bay Area fleet? The answer—at least initially—is yes. This is because the former WTA required, and it is anticipated that the new WETA will also require, that bidders for ferry-building contracts have at least five years of experience. No local yard has such experience; however, Bay Ship & Yacht is on its way to developing that experience by teaming with the Washington boat-builders that won recent contracts. Furthermore, Mary Culnane, WETA’s manager of marine engineering, notes that Bay Ship & Yacht provides a valuable contribution during the warranty period and for as-required maintenance and repair over the life of the ferry boats. So, we do anticipate that all maintenance and repair of the ferry fleet will occur in the Bay Area. But, what about actually building them in the Bay Area?
Bay Ship & Yacht
Bill Elliott, President of Bay Ship & Yacht, explained that his firm was founded over 30 years ago for building and repairing wooden boats. We started aluminum metalworking almost 20 years ago and now continuously do aluminum work. According to Elliot, it was a natural transition from wood, because, apart from aluminum welding, you can do the rest of the work with those trained in carpentry, since the skills are very much the same. So, under contract to the Washington boat builder Nichols Brothers, Bay Ship & Yacht started doing maintenance on the first two aluminum catamarans in the Bay. Today, the yard does the maintenance work for all of the ferry systems on the Bay. Currently, the aluminum catamaran Mendocino is at the yard for the installation of new engines and routine hull maintenance and repair.
Bay Ship & Yacht was the only bidder for the maintenance work because the other Bay Area yards are either too small or are totally involved in maintaining steel ships and barges. For shipyards working with steel, the transition to aluminum is difficult, because, as Elliott explained, you need to do aluminum work in an environment where there is no steel, because steel particles contaminate aluminum welds. Thus, an aluminum metalworking shop must be an inside facility that is clean and has equipment dedicated to handling aluminum. Bay Ship & Yacht has such facilities, together with 20 to 40 qualified aluminum welders and fitters.
A major feature of Bay Ship & Yacht’s shipyard in Alameda is a 390-ft long, 57-ft wide floating drydock with a capacity of 2,800 tons. There are also several outfitting docks, numerous cranes, and an array of specialized shops. Currently, the firm leases a nearby aircraft-maintenance structure at the old seaplane lagoon of the former Naval Station. According to Elliot, it is a perfect facility for building aluminum ferries, because it is big, 350 by 150 feet, with four overhead cranes. You could build two ferries there at the same time!
The yard recently completed the first phase of an expansion program that features the installation of a Syncrolift system that can lift a boat out of the water and transfer it by rail to a series of dry berths for as many as eight boats. The Syncrolift has a capacity to lift boats up to 45-ft beam, 200-ft length, and 1,200-ton displacement, which include all of the ferries on the Bay.
In a second expansion phase, Bay Ship & Yacht plans to construct a building 220-ft long, 80-ft high, with two 75-ft wide bays, served by rails connecting to the Syncrolift. One of the bays can be used for surface preparation and painting of boats, and the other for refitting and building aluminum boats.
So, is there a facility in the Bay Area for building, as well as maintaining, a fleet of more than 50 aluminum ferries? The answer is yes, and it is in Alameda at Bay Ship & Yacht.
