Washburn & Doughty starts rebuilding

Three months after a fire at East Boothbay, Maine, shipbuilder Washburn & Doughty destroyed its building, the yard reports that progress on clean-up and construction is moving steadily ahead.

The Sheridan Corporation of Fairfield, Maine, has been awarded the contract to construct Washburn & Doughty's new facility.

Sheridan has begun to pour concrete for the foundation and steel for the new building has begun to arrive.

Phase 1 of the project, which is the 185 ft x 80 ft East Bay, is scheduled for completion at the end of 2008.

Meantime, work is going ahead on a number of vessels After extensive surveys, it was determined that much of Hull 94, a 121 ft Intercon Tug in the building at the time of the fire, was salvageable.

Significantly, the engine room was spared the brunt of the fire's heat and machinery in this space emerged with only minor damage. This area stayed relatively cool as the engine room sides and bottom are isolated from exterior spaces by wing tanks and inner-bottom tanks.

To maintain full warranties, all machinery and equipment are being surveyed and reconditioned as necessary by their manufacturers. In addition, a crew from Amex is currently sandblasting and priming the hull to return it to pre-fire condition.

Washburn & Doughty personnel will resume construction once this work is complete, which is scheduled for the week of 10/13/08.

Hull 95, a 92 ft Z Drive Tug in the building at the time of the fire, suffered significantly more damage.

Plywood in the engine room fueled the fire in that area, damaging machinery beyond repair. Furthermore, when the keel blocks burned out from underneath this vessel, it settled on its bow creating serious distortion in the hull and 30 ft of keel.

Despite this damage, certain units are salvageable and personnel are currently making this determination.

Hulls 96 and 97, two 98 ft Z Drive Tugs, are underway to the east of W&D's former building. Harry C. Crooker & Sons, Inc. quickly leveled this site to expedite construction and the project got a jump-start by fabricating units off-site at Northeast Doran of Skowhegan, Maine.