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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 33 Number 10
June 2006
New owners build on Fairhaven Shipyard tradition
FAIRHAVEN, MA – Gail, and Arne Isaksen and their son, Max Isaksen, recently joined in partnership with Kevin McLaughlin to take over ownership of the Fairhaven Shipyard and Marina Inc. in New Bedford harbor on Massachusetts’ south coast.
The yard is in a prime location to service the boat repair and maintenance needs of the New Bedford and Fairhaven commercial fishing fleets, the large amount of pleasure craft using the harbor, as well as vessels throughout the region – and that is exactly the goal of the new owners.
“Excellent service is our target,” said McLaughlin.
Since buying the facility from Roger Judge last winter, the four equal partners have demonstrated their commitment to keeping a full service shipyard on the site, and expect to take the facility to the next level.
“We want to do what we’ve been doing even better,” said Gail Isaksen.
The new owners have added 11 technicians to the shipyard payroll, a new welding shop employing eight hands, and a full service diesel engine shop.
“It’s a very flexible yard. We think it was highly underutilized,” said McLaughlin.
He and Max Isaksen run the day-to-day operations of the business.
One of the yard’s strong appeals, especially for emergency repairs, is its “instant haulout” service. With a 330+ ton Marine Travelift, boats up to 150' can be hauled as soon as they make their way to the yard.
“There’s no waiting,” McLaughlin emphasized, acknowledging the costliness of downtime for commercial fishing customers.
He described one recent day at the busy yard as an example. A fishing boat with prop problems was hauled out, the work was done, and it was back in the water by day’s end.
Vessel experience
The Isaksens are a multigenerational fishing family. Arne and Gail currently own or partner in ownership of the western rig scallopers Diligence, Huntress, Bountiful II, and Ocean Gem, while Max owns the big eastern rig scalloper Harvester. Some earlier names in the Isaksen/Jacobsen (Gail’s) family fleets include Solveig J, Catherine & Mary (Arne’s first self-owned boat), and Pauline H.
The Isaksens had previously worked with McLaughlin when their fleet was tied up at the neighboring D.N. Kelley and Son Shipyard, just north of Fairhaven Shipyard on the waterfront. They believe their partnership is “a good match, based on mutual respect.”
McLaughlin had been the operations manager at Kelley’s for 18 years and has experience doing virtually everything a shipyard requires. The Isaksens were experienced at boat maintenance, too, doing plenty of hands-on work with their own fleet. They also own Euro Ship Store and Euro Phoenix, both in Fairhaven.
The foursome has been pleased that, in addition to the physical site and facility, “We got a bonus. The guys (already here) were good, excellent workers.”
That workforce numbers 42 employees, and includes four hauling crew, eight painters, eight welders, six mechanics, an electrician, and a carpenter among others.
With its emphasis on service and the capacity to do complete repairs in steel, wood, fiberglass, and aluminum, the shipyard offers fishing boats one-stop satisfaction, according to McLaughlin. Topping the list of capabilities is the yard’s on site propeller shop that enables emergency repairs on props up to 96" diameters. Welding and metal fabrication, sandblasting, painting, and machining are all available as well.
Looking around the yard, there are many commercial vessels hauled out for work that ranges from major repairs to annual maintenance. The shipyard has had a very busy spring, McLaughlin said.
A quick sketch of the site shows about 12 acres of shipyard land, with water frontage of 700' to 800'. There are 162 slips for yachts, pleasure, and lobster boats, as well as room at the end of the pier for the offshore fleet. The shipyard offers both inside and outside winter storage as well as some wet storage.
There are two Travelifts on site, one the high-capacity, mobile hoist and the other with a 35-ton capacity for smaller vessels and larger vessel components.
The new partnership has continued the long-established working tradition of the Fairhaven Shipyard site.
But that there is much real estate development pressure on valuable waterfront property these days cannot be ignored.
McLaughlin succinctly gave the Fairhaven Shipyard partners thoughts on the issue: “We’re buyers, not sellers!”
Steven Kennedy
For more information about the Fairhaven Shipyard, call (508) 999-1600 or visit <www.fairhavenshipyard.com>.
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