WorkBoat announced its 10 Significant Boats of 2020 today. Once again, the readers of WorkBoat and WorkBoat.com will choose the Boat of the Year from the top 10 list. You can place your VOTE HERE. Voting ends on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020.
Last year's Boat of the Year was Crowley Maritime's Taino and El Coqui, built at VT Halter Marine.
The Boat of the Year will be announced on Dec. 17 exclusively on WorkBoat.com. Prior to that be sure to join us for a free webinar on Dec. 10 with WorkBoat Editor Ken Hocke and a panel of owners, builders, and designers that are the driving forces behind this year’s Significant Boats.
Choosing the 10 Significant Boats each year is subjective, with many boats deserving of making the list each year. However, there are certain parameters that the editorial staff does follow in its efforts to give all boats that qualify a chance. For example, we try to select at least one boat from each sector of the industry that WorkBoat covers — inland and coastal, harbor and ports, offshore, passenger vessels, etc. In addition, we also try to select one boat from each region of the U.S. — East Coast, West Coast, Gulf Coast and the Great Lakes.
Furthermore, while design is the most important ingredient in the Significant Boat gumbo, it is not the only one. This is not a list based on naval architecture and marine engineering only. Maybe what makes a boat “Significant” is that it’s a first of its kind, a successful series build, or where it operates and who it serves, or how it helps advance new workboat frontiers like wind energy.
Only boats that appeared in WorkBoat magazine from December 2019 to November 2020 were considered. In addition, the boat has to appear as a full item in our boatbuilding section (On the Ways), or be the focus of one of our features, which means the story must have a list of specifications, including owner, builder and designer, and at least one photo of the boat.
This year’s 10 Significant Boats:
Aveogan/Oliver Leavitt
(483’ ATB)
Owner: Crowley Fuels/Crowley Maritime Corp.
Builder: Bollinger Shipyards Inc.
Designer: Jensen Maritime
Boat 42
(43’x13’4”x6’ patrol boat)
Owner: Los Angeles Port Police
Builder: MetalCraft Marine
Designer: MetalCraft Marine
C.D. White, A. Thomas Higgins
(80’x38’x13’2” tug)
Owner: Bisso Offshore LLC
Builder: Eastern Shipbuilding Group
Designer: Robert Allan Ltd.
Capt. Robb and Ralph
(93’x38’x15’6” tugs)
Owner: Harbor Docking & Towing
Builder: Washburn & Doughty
Designer: Washburn & Doughty
Franklin D. Roosevelt
(109’x31’, 599-passenger ferry)
Owner: NY Waterway
Builder: Yank Marine
Designer: LeMole Naval Architects
General MacArthur
(290’x72’x16’ Cutter Head Suction Dredge)
Owner: Callan Marine
Builder: C&C Marine and Repair
Designer: Downey Engineering (hull and superstructure), SPI/Mobile (dredging equipment)
Goldbelt Seawolf
(74’x24’ ferry)
Owner: Goldbelt Transportation
Builder: Bay Weld Boats
Designer: Coastwise Corp.
Jamie Ann, Sarah Averick, Leisa Florence, Rachael Allen
(100’x40’x17’ tug)
Owner: Foss Maritime
Builder: Nichols Brothers Boat Builders
Designer: Jensen Maritime
NW Adventurer
(46’x12’ tour boat)
Owner: Argosy Cruises
Builder and Designer: Inventech Marine Solutions/Life Proof Boats
Stephanie Pasentine
(120’x35’x9’ towboat)
Owner: Florida Marine Transporters
Builder: Metal Shark
Designer: John W. Gilbert Associates
