Ohio Shipyard Increases Workforce, Begins New-Build Project

McGinnis Inc. has more than doubled its workforce at its Sheridan Shipyard in South Point, Ohio, with work underway on its first new-build project in four years.

McGinnis parent company McNational Inc. expects more work to come for both new construction and repairs because drydock space elsewhere is full, and some of the oldest towboats have yet to cycle through the inspections required by the U.S. Coast Guard, said Bill Foster, executive director of McNational.

McGinnis CEO Bruce McGinnis and his family have been building towboats and other vessels at the shipyard for more than 50 years, but the ferry is the first new boat to be built there since 2020.

The 800 hp. boat will be used along with an existing barge as a ferry on the Tennessee River, Foster said. The boat is 48 feet long and 18 feet wide.

“At the end of the day it’s a towboat, so it falls into work we’ve done in the past,” Foster said.

Jamie Stricker, the shipyard’s general manager, said work on the boat began last summer, with steel laid last fall. Delivery is expected in late July or early August.

Up until this project, McNational has been focusing on the repair side of the business at the McGinnis facility, Foster said.

Since summer 2022, when Stricker came on board, the company has more than doubled the yard’s workforce and has begun focusing on growing its new-build business as well, he said, praising Stricker’s accomplishments.

“As customers come through, they always want to see you’ve been doing it, so this is a great first step for us in getting back into the boat-building side of the world,” Foster said.

Stricker added that the skills employees are learning building the ferry will also help sharpen their skills as they move into working on other new-build projects.

Foster said he would like to see the shipyard get to the point where it is building 1-1/2 to two new boats a year.

He added that the industry went through a lean period from 2016 to 2020, in particular, but that the implementation of Subchapter M has led to more work, especially now that requirements for drydock hull inspections and internal structural exams for renewing Certificates of Inspection are in full swing.

“Subchapter M has filled up every drydock and pushed business out to every reach of the river,” Foster said.

He said he believes the Sheridan Shipyard will be attractive to customers because employees can provide both excellent-quality and timely repairs.

The addition of a new 100-ton Mantiwoc crane through a Small Shipyard Grant in 2021 has added to the shipyard’s capabilities, Foster said.

Additionally, as steel has gotten more expensive, more people are interested in using the shipyard’s barge-painting facility, he said.

Vessel Specs

The new boat is a twin-screw, Tier 3 conventional vessel powered by John Deere 13.5 liter engines producing a total of 800 hp.

It measures 48 feet long by 18 feet wide with a moulded depth of 6 feet, 4 inches and pilothouse eye level of 18 feet.

The vessel’s engines drive Twin Disc MG5091DC reduction gears at a ratio of 3.82 to 1, turning four-blade, 44- by 28-inch stainless steel propellers. The 3.5-inch shafts were machined in-house. Mechanical seals are by Simplan.

Steering is accomplished by a Skipper electric over hydraulic system. A John Deere 4045, 220-volt, 40 kW generator provides auxiliary power. Keel coolers are by Fernstrum.

The boat has capacity for 4,000 gallons of fuel tankage. Wastewater treatment is a four-man MSD system.

Caption for top photo: The hull for a boat that will be used for a ferry on the Tennessee River is under construction in the fabrication shop at Sheridan Shipyard, South Point, Ohio. (Photo courtesy of McGinnis Inc.)