Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine, just finished an 18-month major refit of Sindbad, an 80-foot North Sea steel-hulled trawler that was built in Norway in 1962 as an ice-class vessel. Sindbad was transformed into a yacht in the early 1990s, and needed some major work to restore it to yacht-quality again. After the latest refit, Sindbad underwent sea trials off Front Street, where Billy Black took these pictures, before heading south for the season.
Sindbad was a major refit for Front Street Shipyard, which is a combination of custom builder, service yard and marina. Front Street Shipyard also is something of a success story, rejuvenating the Belfast waterfront in recent years; it now has more than 100 employees and a 485-ton lift.
The refit started by removing everything in the engine room, except the main engine, for sandblasting and repainting. Front Street then replaced most of the equipment, including generators, and replaced or repaired the fuel, freshwater and black-water systems, and replaced thousands of feet of wiring to bring the electrical systems up to date.
Corrosion was a major issue. The yard built new caprails and replaced many hatches where rust had built it. It also did major work on the hull before priming it for painting.
JB Turner, the president of Front Street, said that Sindbad was a “huge commitment of time and resources” for the owner and the yard. “We’re extremely proud of the end product,” he said. “Sindbad showcases the craftsmanship of Front Street Shipyard’s entire crew, from carpenters and fabricators to painters and systems techs.”
After leaving Belfast, the owner will cruise Sindbad between Nantucket, Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, and the Caribbean. He inherited the boat from his father, and uses it to keep his father’s memory alive. For more:
http://frontstreetshipyard.com
