Jamestown Metal Marine Sales, Inc. has been working with Nichols Brothers Boat Builders for many years, with their first major project in 2001, the construction of the passenger vessel, Empress of the North. NBBB and Jamestown partnered during the bidding phase on the National Geographic Quest for Lindblad Expeditions and took the ship from a design concept to delivery on an accelerated schedule.

On the NG Quest, JMMS provided production engineering, supply and installation for mechanical, HVAC, electrical and high-end architectural finishes throughout the vessel.  The extent of combined work efforts between NBBB and Jamestown required close coordination from initial designs provided by renowned Tomas Tillberg Design and Jensen Maritime, along with critical oversight on production engineering and scheduling for various installation and work packages.

Furnishings for public space areas, passenger and crew cabins were custom-made to suit the Owner’s design selections and regulatory requirements. Custom pre-fabricated toilet modules were developed for both crew and passenger cabins. The galley and food service areas were designed, constructed and inspected to the latest USPHS CDC standards for the cruise vessel industry.

The design and build process evolved over an eighteen (18) month construction period that included the involvement of multiple specialty engineering groups for system designs. NBBB contracted design and material services for the various ship systems, including fire prevention and detection, alarm and monitoring, communications, power management and water treatment services.  JMMS Engineering worked with Nichols to coordinate these engineered systems for production installations ship wide, integrating systems with Architectural systems. JMMS designed and installed the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system for operation from Alaska to the tropics.  A key feature is the use of redundant units for both central cooling and heating, which ensures reliability.

JMMS worked hand-in-hand with NBBB to coordinate these engineering systems for production installations shipwide, seamlessly integrating mechanical and electrical with architectural systems to result in a ship exhibiting highly-functional expeditionary voyage capabilities, remarkable visual appeal and luxurious comfort for both passengers and crew.