Bracewell 41 built from Camano 41 tooling

News for those interested in the progeny of the Camano line of trawlers.

Bracewell is building the Bracewell 41 again, now near Shanghai, from the original Camano 41 tooling.

The first of these arrived in Seattle this week.

Scott,

Great news, thanks for sharing. I will have a more detailed look at your website.

Cheers,

Jeff

How was this and other boats of this similar size transported? I was always under the impression that these boats were loaded into shipping trailers.

How about this one? Why was it being offloaded like this? Was it just riding on the ships deck??

This boat was shipped to Seattle aboard a container ship. It was attached to a cradle, which was itself strapped to a flat rack and then loaded below the deck of the ship. See photo of the boat with the protective plastic wrap removed, but before offloading. Containers were then stacked atop the deck hatch. Many times the unit (boat + cradle + flat rack) will be loaded above deck amidst a stack of containers. This is a fairly economical and reliable method for shipping boats of this size.

Scott Helker
Waterline Boats

Interesting, thanks. How long did it take from China to Seattle (container ships voyage)?

Three weeks. There are several different routes from Shanghai to Seattle with more or fewer intermediate stops. The fastest one I know of takes about 10 days.

Interesting. Several years ago we were place on a dock (in our Camano) stern to stern with a Camano 41. I believe only five or six of these were ever built before the company was sold.

Unfortunately, the owners weren't the friendly type and we didn't get to tour the boat.

Seven of the original Camano 41s were built by Camano Yachts Ltd. Then Bracewell Boatworks of Richmond, BC acquired the tooling and built two Bracewell 41s in BC. The tooling is now in China and Bracewell's yard there has completed one Bracewell 41 (the boat that started this thread). Another is in progress at the yard, slated to come to Seattle.

Hi Scott,

Have you sold the one you had? We saw you (I think) underway near Gig Harbor earlier in the year - she is a pretty boat.

Jeff

Yes, and she is homeported in Gig Harbor.

So the smaller Camano is now a Helmsman and the larger one is now a Bracewell?

Yes -- both with substantial changes -- interior and exterior -- from the original boats but both retaining the same well-regarded Camano hullform.

Hobomack said:

Yes -- both with substantial changes -- interior and exterior -- from the original boats but both retaining the same well-regarded Camano hullform.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the information on the Camanos.

I wasn’t much of a fan of this style of boat because there is no pilothouse or pilothouse doors...then it dawned on me...less weight high above the waterline would give a better ride in snotty conditions. It’s growing on me now.

So are all Bracewell boats now built in China or is this the only one moved? I ask because Bracewell's website emphasizes the Canadian facility and workmanship and makes no mention otherwise.

Bracewell's yard in Richmond BC is very busy with commercial work including new vessel construction. The recreational vessels are now being built in China, including the Bracewell 41 Trawler, the Commander line (currently 27 and 34 models), and a 54 Motoryacht. This is all transitioning and developing so it seems that the Bracewell website hasn't kept pace. I've included photos of the Commander 27, the Commander 34, and the 54 Motoryacht completed by the new yard.

MurrayM said:

I wasn’t much of a fan of this style of boat because there is no pilothouse or pilothouse doors...then it dawned on me...less weight high above the waterline would give a better ride in snotty conditions. It’s growing on me now.

Click to expand...

Bracewell made a couple of significant changes when they began production of the 41; it became a two stateroom boat and they added a door beside the lower helm. This door is a complicated pantograph type that adds a fair bit of weight and is not full size, however.

Hobomack said:

Bracewell's yard in Richmond BC is very busy with commercial work including new vessel construction. The recreational vessels are now being built in China, including the Bracewell 41 Trawler, the Commander line (currently 27 and 34 models), and a 54 Motoryacht. This is all transitioning and developing so it seems that the Bracewell website hasn't kept pace. I've included photos of the Commander 27, the Commander 34, and the 54 Motoryacht completed by the new yard.

Click to expand...

Perhaps you should point that out to them. It's very misleading. Thanks for clarifying.

Wow, very interesting. A new 27' and 34' to the market? Cool.

Yes, I agree. The Bracewell website is very vague and scattered. Not good at all for brand promotion.....

South of Heaven said:

Wow, very interesting. A new 27' and 34' to the market? Cool.

Yes, I agree. The Bracewell website is very vague and scattered. Not good at all for brand promotion.....

Click to expand...

Actually it's inaccurate and misleading, emphasizing "Canadian Craftmanship."

Bracewell would be the first to tell you that he's a boat builder, not a marketer. Which is why his boats are sold through dealers, including myself. I think you'd find that our dealership website is quite up-to-date. Doubtful that anyone would get too far down the road toward the purchase of one of these boats without a thorough understanding of them and their origin.

The Bracewell website has not been updated in a number of years. (There are more than a few sites like this on the internet). I have relayed your feedback to Lance. Given all that he has going for commercial and recreational boat construction and a very active service business I don't know how much of a priority it will be for him.

Hobomack said:

The Bracewell website has not been updated in a number of years. (There are more than a few sites like this on the internet). I have relayed your feedback to Lance. Given all that he has going for commercial and recreational boat construction and a very active service business I don't know how much of a priority it will be for him.

Click to expand...

As a businessman I'd suggest he make it a priority. Otherwise it could really come back to haunt him. I'm hoping he never finds himself in litigation, but websites are often used in those cases as representations made. It's just like for a public company, their website is an extension of their annual report and other legal documents.

Thanks for relaying the feedback. I'm sure you would make sure a customer knew. Yes, there are many websites on the internet not kept up to date. Reflecting his changes in manufacturing would take someone less than 15 minutes. Reflecting news and updates of interest could also be done in an hour or two and really add freshness to the site. I've been to sites that hadn't been updated in a while and all news was old and assumed the company was out of business. Here's one for you...

NORTHERN MARINE | WELCOME

I think Bracewell's site is very attractive. It can be the cheapest marketing tool he has. However, he should absolutely be touting the arrival of the first 41 in Seattle on his site with the photos you posted. So many builders talk about what they're going to do and now he was a 41 built.

Perhaps use your own site as an example to him. You have updates made within the past ten days or less. You show what is currently going on and it's a fresh site getting attention, although I do see you also have the reference to Canadian craftsmanship.

You have as fine a reputation as one can have. I have no reason to believe Bracewell is any different. I would love to see his boats successful, including the 41. However, it's not going to set well with a future buyer to see Canadian and find out upon follow up it isn't.

I don't want to distract from the boats but do see this as important, probably more so than many think it is. I also do try to make sure those I talk to are made aware of North American built boats. I know many people who have no idea how many there are.