Millwright Project Portfolio

Aluminum Boat Manufacturer

The client is one of the largest and oldest manufacturers of aluminum boats in the world. They contacted Wheelhouse to modify their hull leak testing tank to accommodate their new, larger boat hulls.

The Challenge.

The COVID pandemic created unprecedented demand for boats and other recreational vehicles. Our client needed to produce a new line of larger boats to meet changes in the market but lacked the ability to perform leak tests on the larger hulls.

The leak testing system consisted of a liquid-filled tank surrounded by a structural framework that lowered the boats into the tank to check for leaks.

The existing structure was too small to accommodate the new, bigger boats, and a new, larger tank was needed. The design of the original framework would not even allow for the removal of the old tank – something required as the tanks wear out over time.

Because of their inflexible production schedule, the project needed to be completed during a single weekend.

The Solution.

Our technicians started the project by shoring up the existing structural framework so that two vertical supports could be cut away on one end. Once removed, the old tank could be removed and discarded.

We then cut out the rest of the framework and welded new structural members in place to get the width needed for the new tank.

To provide a scalable solution that would serve the client for many years to come, we constructed the new vertical end columns to be wide enough to allow for the removal and replacement of the tank without further modification to the structure.

Since the client could not afford to shut down production during the week, we needed to complete the project on a very tight weekend timeline. To accommodate their production schedule, all modifications were performed in just 24 hours on a weekend, allowing them to resume full production on Monday morning.

This project took one month of planning, purchasing, and pre-fabrication to prepare for the actual project.