STEEL WORK ON MADONNA BEGINS

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding workers gathered in the yard fabrication
shop Monday to witness first plate cutting for the Madonna project,
along with representatives from USCG Sturgeon Bay Marine Safety Office, 
Seacraft Design of Sturgeon Bay, and 
Washington Island Ferry Line.
(photo by Jim Legault)

- Detroit Harbor

A button was pushed at 9 a.m. Monday, August 12 by the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding operator to begin the first cutting of steel components for the new Washington Island Ferry, Madonna.

First pieces to be cut were three bulkheads out of 1/4" plate stock, components that will eventually fit below the main deck and help provide structural rigidity to the hull.

On hand for the occasion were Ferry Line Vice President Rich Ellefson, President Hoyt Purinton, along with Mary Jo and Richard Purinton, CEO.  Mark Pudlo, Naval Architect and principal for Seacraft Design, was also on hand, as was Sarah Reid, project inspector for the U. S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office, and associated Fincantieri workers and supervisors.

Fincantieri's burn machine is computer controlled and
makes cuts in seeming random fashion...but actually,
the cuts are made in sequence to lessen heat on any
particular portion of the steel sheet.  Pieces being cut
were for three forward bulkheads of 1/4 " steel.

Several noteworthy points were met on this occasion.  It will be the fourth ferry project for Washington Island with Steve Propsom's involvement.  Steve is the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Sr. Project Manager for New Construction.  He was also involved with Robert Noble (1979) and Washington (1989) while at Peterson Builders, Inc., and with the building of the Arni J. Richter at Bay Ship in 2003.   Now Steve's daughter, Stephanie, continues in her family's shipbuilding tradition as the fourth generation to do so.  She is Assistant Counsel to the General Counsel for Fincantieri Shipbuilding, LLC.  Having a good understanding of the shipbuilding process, Stephanie was responsible for language in the new ferry contract.   Not to be overlooked, Hoyt Purinton also represents a fourth generation in the Richter family to head the Washington Island Ferry Line.

Stephanie and Steve Propsom, father-daughter management for
Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, also represent the third and fourth generation
of Propsom involvement in local shipbuilding..

Although the Madonna project officially began with a contract signing in mid-May, construction now begins in earnest.  After several more weeks of burning steel plate into shapes and sizes, guided by drawings from naval architecture firm Seacraft Design, assembly will begin.  But as of now, the large fabrication building assembly space is taken up with barge sections in final stages of completion. That project, when it sails, will haul ore and other bulk materials for the Van Ekenvort Towing Company as the Erie Trader.  The 500-foot mid-body is already assembled and in the graving dock, awaiting the bow and stern before being floated out for finish work.

A second cutting ceremony took place,
this time a cake in the Fincantieri conference room,
with Mary Jo Purinton doing the honors.

Actual steel assembly for the new ferry Madonna will likely begin in September and then will  continue without break until completion.  A late May 2020 delivery is anticipated.  

For more information on the naming of the new ferry, Madonna, please see blog posted on May 14th of this year.

-  Dick Purinton