Around the Yards:
Tucked away in Hewlett St, Whangarei, Phoenix Boats are building another alloy barge. "This one is a 23.5m transport barge for Ponui Island and its double the size of the last barge we built." says Phoenix Boats Manager Luke Seuren. Purpose designed by Richard McBride of McBride Design Ltd, the barge will be perfect for transporting trucks, tractors and animals to and from the island. "It's a good clean design with really fast hull construction, and with the best team in the country working on it, we will have it completed by July." says Luke. "At the moment the side deck plating is open to give us light while working below." Luke has been engineering and fabricating since he left school and is proud of his full workshop " with a CNC router cutter and 100 ton brake press." His staff of three are all skilled tradesmen including Hone Kingi (left) who is two years through his alloy boat-building apprenticeship. Marin...