Veecraft Marine

Two 27-meter Steel Pilot Boats
with aluminium superstructure
South African Transnet National Ports Authority Durban.

Heading out to sea from Cape Town.
They face an epic journey. Arriving in Durban 70 hours later non stop.
They just glided through storms & clam seas.

The front entrance to our new boatyard.   Various other entrances to our yard.

These are part of Veecraft Marine's
new 5-ton over head cranes. All made in house by Veecraft Marine.
They get treated, painted and installed.

These are just a rack of steel ribs right now. In a few months, they will be a pair of splendid pilot boats.

This is where the stern and bow
sections are welded together. Soon they will be nearly 27-meters
long and start to look like boats.

This is the table were they started off. They can be seen being fitted into a new jig in the back ground. In the new jig.
You can just begin the see their graceful modern lines developing.

This is the stern section. We need to make some progress before we close
for Year end holidays. We are back from holidays.
Getting these our aluminium wheelhouses completed.

New generation spacious wheelhouses will be a pleasure to work in. They are prepared for their first
of many coats of paint.

The wheelhouses with step down on the coach roof are grand. Two more windows still need to be fitted. The wheelhouse from inside.
The balance of the work will that place once it fitted.

A pre shaped sheet is being positioned and welded into place. Just a lot of ribs now. In a few days
time they will be up to the deck line.

The bow lines are showing a nice rake. They are going to look great. Even the aft end is getting some style and it's almost up to the deck line.

Great scott. Look how long they are. It's going to be a job to fabricate this bit.

It sure gets a little hot around here at times. One more sheet and that should be
the bow height.

Pre fabrication of smaller parts speeds up the process. Add a little heat, a lever and it with do what you tell it.

Hey you guys, take it easy with the heat. The sister ship is just a few steps behind.

This takes smoking to a new level. Visit us while we build your vessel.

Scoffolding going up with vessels.
The large void will be the engine room.

The engines will be bedded down here. This must be Rod getting ready to weld.

Is this the makings of a grand bow? Not a pretty sight right now.

The scaffolding going up every where now.
The decking will start soon.

The pipe fitters are here & are doing a fine job. The engines will be bedded down here.

The welding team are hard at work getting all the seams welded up. (They are at tea.) They are all decked up now. Hard to believe
that it all happend in just seven days.

I have no idea why Jack took this photograph. We will replace it soon. No, this is not for a fender. It's for our keel cooler.

You have been wondering when we
are going to have our hole in our
butts welded up. The chaps still
have to neaten it up. All in good time. Take a look at my propshaft tube. Now we really are starting to look like Pilot Boats. Some people thought that we were yachts.
Can you imagine that?

This is another spot for one of the keel coolers.
They will have two for each engine and one for each generator. This is the platform for the large aluminum wheel house which is waiting in the wings
to be hoisted into place.

Cleaning up all the areas for the final weld insuring that there are no problems. These chaps know everything there is to know about pipes and valves.

This is one of the cooling water manifolds. A distribution manifold.

Veecraft Marine has a policy of getting the best people in to do the job they know best. This is one of my prop shaft supports. It is very nicely made with profiled surfaces.

Here is the propshaft bearing housing
jigged into position, but it can't be welded yet. Because it needs alignment. This here person is the fitter with a laser gadget to insure that the housing is in the correct position.

Great Scott. Will you look at this.
It's the wheel house!! Hang on. An aluminium wheel house
on a steel boat?

Oh dear!! Oh Help!!! It's going to be
electrolytically consumed.... Don't be silly....
Veecraft know better than that.
They are using Triclad to prevent just that.

All the insulalation and carpentry is
going into the wheel house already. These happy chaps are the carpenters.
Yes they are good singers too.

This does not look impressive now.
They will look better with their skins on. The rudder skins have just arrived back
from the profiler.

This is the engine room and this big hole
is where the engines taken in and out.
These ports will house the blower fans.
I am not too sure if this is where the air goes in or out. I am sure to find out soon.

Hi. These pipes are in the wrong place!!!
OK. Sorry it was just a joke.
He was not happy with my little joke. Oh dear... He still has all these pipes to fit.
Now I can understand why he is not in the mood for a jokes.

This is the starboard bow where the anchor
will bed down. This atisian is making the housing. It has to be very strong. Look at our boats now. Vents are sprouting up all over the place and you can see where the lifting lugs are going to be fitted.

This might look painful but they are just line boring the prop shaft tube. There is work going on in almost every
part of the vessels at the moment.

The engine beds are getting a coat of white and the pipe work is progressing. This is the view from the prow.
The team are progressing well.

These gents are working in the smoke stakes where the exhaust system will go. This is the the inside of the wheel house. The wheelhouse deck will go in soon.

These are the engineroom vents that will soon be mounted on the deck. They are fitted with shut off veins in case of fire. Everytime you look at these vessels you can sense how magestic they will be when they have been completed.

Not a great picture. But you can sence how magestic they will be when completed. These are the men from Hulamin Aluminium. They are impressed with the aluminium wheel houses.

This is looking down my smoke stake
into the engine room. The smoke stake will be insulated
and neatly carpeted.

Windows are in. Don't worry about the hole in the middle one. It's getting a magic Speich clearview screen. It spins at 1,700 RPM. This is a skylight so that the skipper can look up at the vessel that he is alongside while the pilot embarks or disembarks.

It will have two Caterpillar main engine
and two generators.
She has her name and address at last.
They have done a great job with the names.

The carpenters have started on the interior. They will soon have a neat easy to maintain finish. Edmund likes his wood furnishings. You are worried about the railings? When the sea gets rough these rails could get bent.
So they have been rolled inward.

The The foredeck is taking shape.
Lufafa is the name of a river in southern Natal. A province of South Africa. The workbench has to go.
Did you notice the wave breaker?
Looks like we're in for heavy weather.

This is the both of us. We're looking grand. It won't be long before we go playing sea trials off the Cape of Stroms. My sister ship. "JOJOSI" Check out her fendering. Just as well that there are no male boats in our class.

You can see our rails on top of the wheel house. The pilots can board ships from there. These are our engine room vents with shut off louvers. Can you see the pivot points?

Hi. I am JOJOSI. I am almost alive.
My lights are on but there is no one at home. Here I am dressed in gloss black with white trim. Just wait till my funnel is painted.

Oh my word! Do I have a magic wheel house or what? Did you ever see such a grand wheel house? I love myself. Look at my Speich 380mm clear view screen.
Edmund says it has has a built in heater and spins at 1700 RPM. I have Flexball controls.

This is one of my Speich pantograph wipers with 45Nm of torque and window washer. I have four exhausts. Two for my main engines and two for my generators.

Did you ever see such nice pipe work.
TNPA Durban are going to be proud of me. That's for sure. Being a very young boat, I have no idea what these pipes are for. They might be fuel. When the chaps talk about me, I will hear what is for.

This is my propeller shaft bearing housing.
It looks very neat. And this is my Amartech propeller
all the way from Holland.