LUNENBURG - A trio of Lunenburg County firms with nearly three centuries of combined ship building and ship repair experience have collectively expressed an interest in taking on the restoration of Bluenose II.

 Lunenburg Industrial Foundry and Engineering Ltd. (LIFE), which began operations in 1891, has joined forces with Snyder's Shipyard of Dayspring whose roots go back to 1876 and relative newcomer Covey Island Boatworks of Lunenburg with 31 years in operation in a collective venture to be known as the Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance.

 LIFE president Peter Kinley announced the establishment of the affiliation January 14 at the Lunenburg Board of Trade's annual general meeting.

 "We've had collaboration in the past on certain projects with Snyder's Shipyard, also in the past with Covey Island Boatworks, and both of these organizations are very capable, very talented and we hope to add that to Lunenburg Foundry's long history to provide the very best facility and skill set to make this job come in successfully," Mr. Kinley explained.

 He said each of the companies "has a certain core set of employees that they can apply to the job relatively quickly, but there would be some ramping up, and there's also an apprenticeship element that new shipwrights and boat building people would be employed on the project, as well."

 As of now the newly formed alliance has merely responded positively to a request for proposals circulated by the provincial government and no specifications relating to the tender process have been released to date.

 However, because the project must be completed by the spring of 2011 to be eligible for $7 million in funding under the federal government's economic stimulus program, Mr. Kinley said he expects that information to be forthcoming shortly.

 While the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage has already designated Lunenburg as the venue where the project will be carried out, the exact location of the construction site on the town's waterfront has yet to be determined.

posted on 01/19/10