Abels Shipbuilders Ltd was a ship and boat builder in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England. In addition to boat building, the company branched out into architectural sculptures,

tidal energy Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods. Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity generation. T ...

and marine restoration, but closed in 2016.

Business

Founded in 1980 by David Abels, the company took over part of the Albion Dockyard formerly occupied by

Charles Hill & Sons Charles Hill & Sons was a major shipbuilder based in Bristol, England, during the 19th and 20th centuries. Background Established in 1845 from the company Hilhouse, they specialised mainly in merchant and commercial ships, but also undertook t ...

who went out of business in 1977. The site includes the large covered

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

originally built by

Hilhouse Hilhouse (also spelled ''Hillhouse'') was a shipbuilder in Bristol, England, who built merchantman and men-of-war during the 18th and 19th centuries. The company subsequently became Charles Hill & Sons in 1845. The company, and its successor ...

in 1820, and has a capacity of 350 tonnes. The company built a wide variety of vessels up to 250 gt and in length in steel and aluminium, typically

tugs A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such ...

, passenger and Roll-on/roll-off ferries,

survey vessel A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pu ...

s, launches and work boats. Around 80% of orders were for UK customers although the company also delivered aluminium patrol and ambulance boats to Nigeria. The company also built

Pero's Bridge Pero's Bridge () is a pedestrian bascule bridge that spans St Augustine's Reach in Bristol Harbour, Bristol, England. It links Queen Square, Bristol, Queen Square and Millennium Square (Bristol), Millennium Square. Structure The bridge is co ...

(the horned foot bridge) which opened in 1999. Later work included a 180gt, 250-passenger

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

for Clyde Marine and the rebuild of the ''

Medway Queen The PS ''Medway Queen'' is a paddle driven steamship, the only mobile estuary paddle steamer left in the United Kingdom. She was one of the "little Ships of Dunkirk", making a record seven trips and rescuing 7,000 men in the evacuation of Dun ...

'' for the Medway Queen Preservation Society.

Ferries

The company built ferries from at least 1985, when the 60-passenger ''Island Princess'' was delivered to Scottish owners, and she still operates as a

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. ...

boat off the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...

. Further ferry orders followed including the Roll-on/roll-off ferry ''

Eynhallow Eynhallow is a small, presently uninhabited island in Eynhallow Sound, between Rousay and the Mainland of Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is in area. There is an unnamed skerry about to the north-east of the island, sepa ...

'' for

Orkney Ferries Orkney Ferries is a Scottish company operating inter-island ferry services in the Orkney Islands. The company operates ferry services across 15 islands. History The company is owned by the Orkney Islands Council and was established in 1960 as t ...

in 1987 and the ''Maid of the Forth'' for the Forth River in 1989. In 1989, the ''Maid of the Islands'' (LOA15m, 130-person capacity) was built for Harvey's pleasure boats of Poole (the yellow boats of Poole); still in Poole today operating between Sandbanks and Brownsea Island for Brownsea Island Ferries. In 1991, a similar design was commissioned for Harvey's. Named Maid of the Lakelands, it is slightly bigger with a completely covered saloon, bar and open deck. It operates from Poole to Brownsea Island and from Poole Quay to Wareham for Brownsea Island Ferries. In 1999, ''Maid of Poole'' (LOA23.5m 195-person capacity), was commissioned for Brownsea Island Ferries for the Poole Quay-Brownsea island service. In 2001 an exact copy of Maid of Poole (Abel's design) was commissioned by Brownsea Island Ferries to be built by Halmatic in Portsmouth. This vessel was called ''Maid of The Harbour''. In 2001, Abels secured a contract to build a twin-deck ferry for the

Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a / biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it ...

Ferry Company. Shortly afterwards the company was awarded a follow-on contract for a second ferry. The first ship, ''

Spirit of Gosport MV ''Spirit of Gosport'' is a vessel owned by the Gosport Ferry Company Ltd and built by Abels Shipbuilders in Bristol. History ''Spirit of Gosport'' was built in 2001 to replace ''Portsmouth Queen ''Portsmouth Queen'' was a vessel owne ...

'' was delivered successfully, but the second, to be named ''Spirit of Portsmouth'', was only partially constructed when the customer cancelled the order, and the unfinished hull remained at Abel's shipyard for many years. However, in 2016–17, the uncompleted hull was completed as a medical ferry for Vine Trust in South America, under the name '' Forth Hope''. The last ferry built was the '' Clyde Clipper'' for Clyde Marine and delivered in July 2009. She is a 125gt

of length and beam and able to carry up to 250 passengers. Powered is supplied by two Doosan

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s and the vessel has a speed of around .

Survey Vessels

In the late 1980s, Abels began to construct a series of

s for the UK

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

. ''Vigilance'' was the first of four similar vessels and delivered by Abels in 1990 for work in the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

. The follow-on ships constructed were the ''Sea Vigil'' based on the South Coast, ''Coastal Guardian'' for the

Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it ...

and ''Water Guardian'', based on the North East Coast, but spending some time in the Bristol Channel while

Plymouth University The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

chartered the ''Vigilance''. Ranging from 42 to 71gt and in length, they are ships operated by the Agency's National Marine Service. Their complement includes scientists and each are fitted for survey activities such as taking seabed samples,

trawling Trawling is an industrial method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch di ...

and

water sampling Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tre ...

as methods to monitor the area's coastline, including use of Meteorological

sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the ocean temperature, temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea ...

equipment on a tow fish when required.

Vessels built by Abels Shipbuilders

Vessels built by Abels Shipbuilders in Bristol include: *''Maria McLoughlin'' (1981). steel

tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

. *''Sarah McLoughlin'' (1981). steel tug. *''Island Princess'' (1985). 60 seat passenger

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

. * (1987). 104gt

Ro-Ro Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

vehicle and passenger ferry. *''Surta'' (1988). steam passenger vessel. *''Vigilance'' (1989). 42gt environmental

. *''Maid of the Forth'' (1989). 70gt 225-seat passenger ferry. *''Maid of the Islands'' (1989). 130-seat passenger ferry. *''Sea Vigil'' (1991). 55gt survey vessel. *''Avon Monarch'' (1991). 75-seat passenger vessel. *''Maid of the Lakeland’s'' (1991). 130-seat passenger ferry * ''Coastal Guardian'' (1992). 74gt survey vessel. *''Water Guardian'' (1992). 51gt survey vessel. *''Sir William Pulteney'' (1993). 85-seat passenger ferry. * ''Impulse'' (1994). 52gt steel pusher tug. *''Georgina'' (1995).

motor boat A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard motor, inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, contain ...

. *''The Georgian'' (1995). motor boat. *''Lenie'' (1997). 121gt multi-purpose tug. *''PAD.42'' to ''PAD.51'' (1999). , aluminium-hulled Nigerian police launches. *''Maid of Poole'' (1999). 195-seat Passenger Ferry. * ''Spirit of Gosport'' (2001). 300gt passenger ferry. *''Beauchamp'' (2001). floating classroom vessel. *''Spirit of Portsmouth'' (2002). 300gt passenger ferry (unfinished), renamed '' Forth Hope'' (finished), (2017). 320 gt medical ferry. *''Faoilean'' (2002). 58gt

fish farming Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial breeding of fish, most often for food, in fish tanks or artificial enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is the controlled cultivation and harvesting of ...

vessel. *''Corrine Marin'' (2004). Floating café and restaurant for Arbi'n'Tap. Due to a contractual dispute Dave Abel ceased trading after going into receivership following the build of this ship. *''Leanne McLoughlin'' (2005). Line running vessel. *''Noleen McLoughlin'' (2005). Line running vessel. *''Clay Barge No 8'' (2005). motor

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

. * ''Clyde Clipper'' (2009). 125gt catamaran ferry. *''Seagreen'' (2010). 304 gt Work vessel for the French transport & utility company

Veolia Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. In ...

. * ''Medway Queen'' (2010). Rebuild of the iron

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

. *''West Country Schooner'' (2011). 60 t

topsail schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail s ...

References

{{coord, 51.4484, -2.6098, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title British boat builders Manufacturing companies based in Bristol Defunct shipbuilding companies of England Bristol Harbourside 1980 establishments in England British companies established in 1980