Blount Boats, Warren, R.I., was founded by Luther H. Blount in 1949. After building a small twin hull raft built of 55-gal. drums used for transporting oyster and clam shells across Narragansett Bay, he began receiving requests to build larger steel vessels.
Luther by nature was an entrepreneur and inventor. His first commercial boat was a 77' steel catamaran which led to a bid he won to construct a fuel oil service vessel using the same catamaran concept based on two cylindrical floats which he dubbed the “twin tube.” His design succeeded and was followed by a progression of larger and more complex monohull vessels in a quantum expansion of his Rhode Island shipyard.
From its modest beginnings to the present-day Blount Boats designs, builds and repairs steel and aluminum, state-of-the-art vessels up to 220'. Many types have been engineered at the shipyard such as passenger and vehicle ferries, stern trawlers, offshore supply vessels, dinner boats and small cruise vessels. In recent years, Blount has built U.S. flagged crew transfer vessels for offshore wind farms off the East Coast.
“As a third-generation business we are proud to keep our family tradition alive and well in this 21st century. Our team of highly skilled employees are the backbone of building small ships to fill the needs of our customers.” Marcia Blount, the shipyard’s president and CFO, said in a statement announcing the anniversary. “My sister Julie, who’s the executive vice president, human resources and I are focused on our mission of superior workmanship, innovation and proven reliability to continue Blount Boats as a successful leader in the marine industry.”
With over 379 hulls and counting the Blount sisters work to stay faithful to their mission with an earned reputation for building the “Taskmasters of the Sea.”
