Maritime Matters: The MarineLink Podcast
Aug 30, 2026 · 33 min · 10 segments
As anyone who has built a commercial vessel knows that working out the engineering early in the design process provides a better chance to get the vessel that meets the owner’s criteria and…
Bob LennonGuestGreg TroutwineHost
Yeah, that's a great topic, Greg, and it comes up on an almost daily basis, sometimes anymore.
And the simplest way I could think to answer that is the well-known fact that the vessels are getting more and more expensive.
I mean, the cost of these assets has gone through the roof here because of the new technologies.
You know, it's no longer practical, it's no longer humorous to have something go on that makes a silly mistake that you don't find out about until the boat's out on the water.
You know, even to the naval architect and when you're still in the planning discussion with the owner, that owner is the most important guy in that discussion because he's going to buy the vessel.
What is the boat gonna do? Is it a simple little passenger ferry across a lake? Great.
Is it an ocean going vessel that's gonna need a three week trip with 30 people on board? So you got other things to be concerned about based on the operation of that boat.
And understanding that it's going to cost you a lot of money, you really want to be working with the right people up front.
It's just too expensive anymore to make a mistake and not find out about it until very late in the process.
The naval architect is the phase where you've got a blank piece of paper and you're paying them a lot of money.
But bring in the best supply chain people you can to bring you that expertise, those decades of experience, the brands that have the leadership in the industry.
And it's too late at the shipyard because now you're tearing stuff apart to move things around.
And it's a terribly expensive lesson and way too late when you've already sea trialed and you're two weeks into your boat and you go, hey, this isn't working out.
So early engagement, blank piece of paper, even back to the initial discussions with your naval architect of what you're building and why.
Yeah, that's a great topic, Greg, and it comes up on an almost daily basis, sometimes anymore.
And the simplest way I could think to answer that is the well-known fact that the vessels are getting more and more expensive.
I mean, the cost of these assets has gone through the roof here because of the new technologies.
You know, it's no longer practical, it's no longer humorous to have something go on that makes a silly mistake that you don't find out about until the boat's out on the water.
You know, even to the naval architect and when you're still in the planning discussion with the owner, that owner is the most important guy in that discussion because he's going to buy the vessel.
What is the boat gonna do? Is it a simple little passenger ferry across a lake? Great.
Is it an ocean going vessel that's gonna need a three week trip with 30 people on board? So you got other things to be concerned about based on the operation of that boat.
And understanding that it's going to cost you a lot of money, you really want to be working with the right people up front.
It's just too expensive anymore to make a mistake and not find out about it until very late in the process.
The naval architect is the phase where you've got a blank piece of paper and you're paying them a lot of money.
But bring in the best supply chain people you can to bring you that expertise, those decades of experience, the brands that have the leadership in the industry.
And it's too late at the shipyard because now you're tearing stuff apart to move things around.
And it's a terribly expensive lesson and way too late when you've already sea trialed and you're two weeks into your boat and you go, hey, this isn't working out.
So early engagement, blank piece of paper, even back to the initial discussions with your naval architect of what you're building and why.
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