F/V Progress Rebuilding Design by Hockema Group

Date: October 24, 2019

HWMA 1808

News Release:
F/V PROGRESS REBUILDING
DESIGN BY HOCKEMA GROUP

Hockema Group, the Pacific Northwest naval architecture firm, has provided the rebuilding design of the fishing vessel PROGRESS, after she sustained major pilot house structure and complete interior accommodations damage during a 2018 Bering Sea storm. The vessel rebuilding is now substantially complete, performed by Fred Wahl Marine Construction (FWMC) in Reedsport, Oregon. Owned by Evening Star Fisheries (ESF), the PROGRESS will begin fishing the Bering Sea Pollock A-season in January 2020.

Challenging Design and Build

After being damaged, the 114’ x 30’ PROGRESS was towed from Dutch Harbor to Reedsport. Hunter Berns, general manager at ESF, contacted Hal Hockema at Hockema Group soon after for assistance in determining rebuilding options. After numerous scenarios were presented by Hal Hockema and Craig Mork of Hockema Group to ESF, the most extensive option was chosen: to add a 15 foot midbody, add sponsons to widen the vessel to 41’-6”, add a new two level deck house, add a new freestanding mast, prepare the propulsion shafting for a future repowering, and add Nautican triple rudders for improved maneuverability.

Other modifications included increasing the refrigeration capacity, gantry modifications, rebuilding and increasing the size of the accommodations (an entire level was also added), and outfitting the new pilot house with a suite of electronics.

All of this design and construction work had to be done while keeping the vessel below 200 gross register tons. The cost for tonnage compliance alone was several hundred thousand dollars.

Some History

The PROGRESS was originally delivered in 1975 by Harold Hansen Boat Company as a king crabber and was owned by Wilburn Hall of Newport, Oregon. She was a beautiful vessel.

Beanie Robison started relief skipper on the PROGRESS in 1978, eventually becoming full time skipper, then he became part owner in 1986. In the 1980’s, the PROGRESS was converted to a refrigerated seawater (RSW) trawler, fishing the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea for pollock and cod.  The vessel was sold to Icicle Seafoods in 2013, then Icicle’s catcher fleet was spun into Evening Star Fisheries. Beanie currently serves as port engineer.

After serving as a deckhand for many years, Tiffany McKenzie became skipper soon after Beanie went shoreside. Tiffany remains skipper today and can’t wait to get out fishing again with the rebuilt PROGRESS.

The PROGRESS’s temporary demise also provided an opportunity for ESF to add capacity to their catcher fleet, thus the choice to enlarge the vessel.

The Design/Build Process and Results

As previously mentioned, the PROGRESS was a beautiful vessel from the beginning. So, in addition to the capacity and safety improvements achieved, Hockema Group took on a challenge to ensure the vessel is just as attractive as she always was. This fits perfectly with Hockema’s philosophy of designing vessels that are efficient, safe and attractive. The finished vessel looks marvelous, inside and out.

Because of the extensive reconstruction, some areas were even more involved than a new construction project since numerous decisions had to be made regarding how much of the existing hull to save; and how to build around, and inside of, the remaining parts. So, a triangle of continuous communication was set up between Hockema Group, ESF and FWMC. This communications triangle was critical to the project’s success. Based on his 40-year career in vessel design and construction, Hal Hockema has set policy at Hockema for this type of communications triangle for complex projects, in order to ensure success for all involved.

Computer lofting was provided by a team of Hockema Group and Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG), enabling the shipyard to build a curvaceous hull, and a complicated internal structural arrangement necessary to keep the registered gross tonnage below 200 GRT, a key threshold in the fishing fleet.

The hull form was developed for maximum capacity while retaining efficient hydrodynamics. It is always a challenge to achieve both when sponsoning existing vessels.

The PROGRESS’s unmistakable aqua blue hull of 130.6’ overall length is equipped with a beautiful concave flared bow, large bulb, double chines at amidships transitioning to a molded hull form at the bow and stern, and large bilge keels (rolling chocks) on each side for roll damping. The original focsle house was expanded into the sponsons as storerooms. Focsle house extensions were added on the port and starboard sides to house refrigeration and hydraulics rooms, and a workshop. The new two-level deck house has staterooms on the focsle deck level and full visibility pilot house on the second level.

The new freestanding mast functions as gilson post and uptake for the engine exhausts, while the light platform and topmast provide mountings for navigation and communications antennas, all with easy and safe access for servicing.

The trawl gantry was modified by raising and extending the trawl block arms. Existing trawl winches, net reels and gilson winches were retained and remounted.