At this year’s International WorkBoat Show, North River Boats, Roseburg, Ore., showcased their 26’x8.5’ Cathedral model on the show floor.
The Cathedral design is used in military applications, oil spill response, survey work, and towing. The Cathedral cabin configurations include center console, T-top, wheelhouse, walk-around cabin, and walk-through cabin options, making it adaptable to a wide range of missions.
North River’s Jordan Allen discussed the variety of clients that North River serves, noting the Cathedral model as a top build for the Army Corps of Engineers. “These guys have become phenomenal customers of ours,” Allen told WorkBoat. “We've developed a good relationship with a lot of different districts. Where before, you kind of had to go chase the customer. Now, they're coming to us.”
Allen listed the most recent districts that their vessels are operating, including Louisville, Galveston, Wilmington, and Virginia, each tailored to specific operational needs. Galveston alone operates six North River Boats, optimized for offshore use.
Recent projects have included a small vessel designed to handle log removal in reservoirs and low-water applications in San Francisco, tailored specifically for the municipality’s hydroelectric operations.
Allen remembered the initial phone call entailing “a pretty special need for their small holding ponds. They said, ‘We just need a little boat that can push stuff around, like logs that get behind the hydroelectric dam.’ So, we sat down, put it on paper and built it for ‘em,” he said. “They have these little reservoirs that they need to get to. So, they tow them down there with this little Jeep and launch them right off the beach.”
