Work beginning to replace rudder on troubled Bluenose II: N.S. government

LUNENBURG, N.S. — Work is underway to replace the heavy steel rudder on the Bluenose II, as the iconic schooner’s problem-plagued restoration finally appears headed toward a conclusion.

Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan said Thursday that contracts were finalized this week with several Nova Scotia companies.

The work is starting immediately in Lunenburg, with sea trials also being done in the off-season.

The province says the bill for the overall rebuild will end up at around $25 million, following a series of technical problems, cost overruns and delays of more than four years.

When the restoration was announced in 2009, the budget was set at $14.4 million, half of which was to come from a federal infrastructure fund. However, Ottawa pitched in only $4 million because the project failed to meet its deadlines.

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Snyder’s Shipyard will construct and install the wooden rudder, while Lunenburg Industrial Foundry and Engineering will provide the berth.

Canadian Maritime Engineering will fabricate rudder components, but it hasn’t yet been determined who will provide the manual steering gear.

McLellan said the contract was awarded without a competition because of the expertise available in Lunenburg.

“We’re confident in the decision and in their (Snyder’s) abilities. They are the best in the business and they deserve this opportunity and that’s why we sole-sourced it to them.”

A study released in March called for a replacement of the three-tonne steel rudder on the replica vessel. Experts had warned the weight would change the shape of Canada’s sailing ambassador and shorten its life.

MacLellan said there was no estimate on how much the rudder replacement would cost because such things as the time it will take to do the job are unclear.

“We are probably in the $500,000 range, that’s roughly,” he said. “There’s fixed costs associated and then those moving costs will be the time it takes to actually do the installation.”

The Canadian Press