BLOUNT BOATS HISTORY

Company History

Blount Boats, Inc. is a full-service shipyard specializing in design, construction and repair of steel and aluminum vessels up to 220 feet. Founded as Blount Marine Corporation in 1949 by Luther H. Blount (1916-2006), the company is privately held and managed by the Blount family.

After Luther Blount built his first boat, a 77’ steel catamaran, he bid and won a job to construct a fuel oil service vessel using the same catamaran concept based on two cylindrical floats which he dubbed the “twin tube.” This design was succeeded by a progression of larger and more complex vessels resulting in a quantum expansion of the shipyard.

One of the most famous vessels built at the shipyard was the 130-foot, 600-passenger ferry boat, Miss Liberty. Built in 1952, this boat carried over 60,000,000 passengers from Manhattan to the Statue of Liberty for the Circle Line.

In 1955, the “Blount 65” made its debut and was an immediate success with ferry, commuter and excursion operators.

Blount designed and built America’s first commercial stern trawler, the Narragansett, in 1962 with the goal to enter the New England fishing industry market.

In the 1970’s Blount designed and built offshore supply vessels for the U.S. oil industry. The largest of these vessels at 192 feet long were equipped to carry 3,900 cubic feet of drilling mud in six tanks, 350,000 gallons of drill water and had a deck cargo of 640 long tons.

The Le Bateau dinner boat, built in 1972, is believed to be the first to operate in the U.S., launching the excursion dinner boat segment of the cruise industry in America. During the 1980’s, a group of “Spirit Class” dinner boats were constructed with three decks designed for cruising major U.S. harbors.