All American Marine, founded in 1987, is known for craftmanship and expertly manufacturing aluminum vessels at a fair price. These include traditionally powered propeller and waterjet boats, plus hybrid and zero emission vessels. The company builds cutting edge catamaran designs and holds a principal role in the emerging hybrid and zero emissions vessel market. President and COO Ron Wille told Hannah Barnett more about All American Marine.
ITis firmly ingrained in the All American Marine DNA to be innovative. In 1999, All American Marine attained exclusive North American building rights with one of the world’s top naval architects and designers, Nic de Waal of Teknicraft Design, based in Auckland, New Zealand.
“ Integrating developments in a meaningful way is extremely important,” said Ron Wille, President and COO. “We’re all about s ustainable innovation and continuous improvement. Through the partnership with Teknicraft we have shown that we’re willing to take risks; when they’re well thought out and skillfully executed. ”
The 25-year partnership with Teknicraft has allowed All American Marine to build innovative, adjustable, foil assisted hulls. The unique design incorporates the use of a cutting-edge hull shape and an optiona l hydrofoil system to create lift and enhance vessel performance. The vessels are fully customizable depending on the intended application.
A well-oiled machine
The shipyard, based in Bellingham, Washington, prides itself on the scope and scale of its capabilities. “One feature that’s unique about All American Marine is that we do nearly everything in house,”
said Mr. Wille. “Raw aluminum comes in one side of our facility, and a finished boat comes out the other.”
The company moved to its state-of-the-art 57,000 square foot facility in 2017. The yard includes two large production bays with space in the middle for welding, fabrication, and an electrical systems shop.
“We also have a large, elevated carpentry loft,” Mr. Wille added. “Once we build boats on the floor, on our laser leveled jig, we roll them to the outfitting section adjacent to our carpentry loft. This elevated loft provides our crew with safer access to the vessels and enables efficient operation.”
The company’s skilled and growing workforce numbers around 65-70, making it an agile operation. Staff welfare and longevity are crucial.
“We rely on our crew to see a vessel through from start to finish,” said Mr. Wille
“We keep them busy, and we don’t let them go when projects finish. The attention to detail and the quality that our team produces sets us apart.”
The holistic approach
Thanks to the long-term partnership with Teknicraft, each All American Marine customer enjoys a single point of contact within the team. This mitigates the need for the customer to interact with the naval architect and a builder separately, as they may have conflicting interests.
“We’re one unified team, with a focus from stem to the stern, analyzing every square inch of the vessel to get optimal results,” said Mr. Wille. “This has allowed us to be innovative, resulting in some of the most fuel efficient and lowest wake wash catamarans in their class. Doing that with Teknicraft helps mitigate risk when it comes to building.”
To see the work that our team puts in, and be a part of that, is rewarding in so many ways
Each vessel is custom designed for a specific mission, meaning communication between the designer and builder is crucial. All American Marine has constructed over 75 Teknicraft vessels, more than 40 being high speed hydrofoil boats. Ensuring its hydrofoil assisted high performance vessels run efficiently has positioned All American Marine for the rise of hybrid boats.
“We’re able to segue into the hybrid and zero emissions boat market because we already excel at building efficient boats,” Mr. Wille said. “Hybrid vessels generally operate at slower speeds, but the same principles apply. For instance, we have leveraged Teknicraft’s work utilizing computational fluid dynamics to measur e resistance to hulls on fast boats. We are applying these principles to slower boats , ensuring that the electric systems are energy efficient.
“For alternative propulsion, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ solution. It depends on the operating profile of the boat. Once we know that, then we work with the boat owner, or operator, as a designer and builder team, to create the most efficient and effective vessel.”
All American Marine has so far constructed three hybrid and zero emissions vessels: Enhydra, Waterman and Sea Change. It has several more hybrid projects in the pipeline, including a parallel hybrid and a serial hybrid project.
The parallel hybrid project is an agreement with All American Marine's longtime partner, Harbor Breeze Cruises, to design and build a new state-of-the-art 108’ hybrid passenger vessel, for deployment in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA. This innovative vessel will provide harbor tours, whale watch cruises and dinner events. The vessel design will be developed by Nic de Waal and will exceed US EPA Tier 4 requirements. It will include a DPF system, plus an optional hybrid battery propulsion package that exceeds
the most rigorous emissions guidelines in North America.
This new vessel will set a benchmark in maritime innovation. The multi-purpose monohull will operate as a USCG Subchapter K passenger vessel, with systems and equipment installed to meet the USCG requirements. It will operate on a ‘Limited Coastwise’ route, in a parallel hybrid configuration and with advanced data collection capabilities.
The vessel will be powered by a combination of lithium-ion batteries and twin MAN D2862 EPA Tier 4 Engines, driving fixed pitch propellers, and will serve as a valuable asset for the Harbor Breeze fleet. Tier 4 standards typically involve the implementation of advanced technologies, such as selective catalytic reduction, but this vessel will be enhanced by incorporating diesel particulate filters, achieving further reductions
in exhaust emissions. These technologies will enable the vessel to exceed stringent California emission standards while maintaining performance and fuel efficiency.
The All American way Going forward, All American Marine is responding to the growth of the offshore wind industry.
“We have already built very successful boats for hydrographic survey work in the offshore wind market, such as the 73’ Shackleford for NV5/GeoDynamics, so our future in that sector is bright,” said Mr. Wille. “Ultimately, our niche is building boats from 50 to 150 feet, which is ideal for offshore wind.”
The company values strong relationships with its supply chain, sourcing items with care and consideration. According to Mr. Wille, this gives customers an easy after-sales experience.
“We focus on the larger, established suppliers in the market that provide high levels of competence for us, and ultimately, for our customers,” he explained. “We’ve been successful using products from BAE Systems in three different hybrid or alternative propulsion vessels. BAE has supplied hybrid equipment and supported applications
around the world, so we felt confident supplying its equipment, knowing our customers will get the support and service they need.”
All American Marine is equally confident in the strength of its relationships with customers. “Past performance is especially important,” said Mr. Wille. “If someone is interested in a project with us, I tell them check our references; look at the different boats that we’ve built and reach out to those folks independently.
“We have customers that return repeatedly. When they have concerns about warranty, or even non-warranty items, then we are there to answer the phone. We are focused on the long-term support of our customers.”
Despite the unprecedented challenges of Covid, the company delivered on time and on budget contracted vessels that were under construction, including two boats for Major Marine Tours in Alaska.
“I spent much of my career in the marine industry on the operational side,” Mr. Wille concluded. “I really enjoy interacting with our clients, because I’ve been in their shoes, so I understand their challenges. We also have a fantastic group of hard working, knowledgeable employees. To be a part of this team is rewarding in so many ways.” n
