SAILCARGO is proud to be partnering with Café William to deliver the first zero emission sailing cargo ship which will transport coffee beans from South America to Café William’s roasting plant in Ontario, Canada. Café William is a Quebec roaster focused on the production of organic and fair trade coffees.

From the mountains of Monteverde to the masts of a 1943 topsail cargo ship. Learn the story of Kenneth, a man who had never left his country, and his experience traveling across the Atlantic where only a handful of Costa Ricans had sailed before.

SAILCARGO INC. has been short listed for the Small Vessel Innovation Award hosted by the IWSA. Finalists will be announced on Nov. 11, 2021.

See what the team has been up to! Our latest construction update was the complete installation of the top deck beams of Ceiba. Observe the last few months of work through an extensive photo gallery.

What are the options for sustainable shipping? It is a crucial time for the shipping industry as the options are weighed about what the future should look like. This is a broad overview of the sustainable options on the table from hydrogen to wind.

Exciting news! We are honored to receive the 100 years Costa Rica - Canada commemorative 2020 medal. The recognition is made to those who carry out an initiative that contributes to further strengthen the excellent centennial relations between the two countries.

This piece is solid Gaupinol (Hymenaea courabril, Jatoba) and will secure Ceiba’s anchor chain. This complicated piece of joinery is notched into the deadwoods and top deck beams. This piece was cut out over a year ago and has been sitting in the ship waiting to be put up!

Video: Raising the Samson Post

Cargo hatch openings were made using traditional timber frame joinery to ensure structural integrity during cargo loading and unloading. Removable floor timbers are used during loading and a watertight cover secures the lower cargo holds. This provides extra security for the cargo and more floor space for the upper cargo hold.

Gallery: Cargo Hatches

Tween deck beams support the interior floor of Ceiba. The floor divides the lower cargo holds from upper holds. They have been in progress for over a year and are now fully installed.

Video: Tween Deck Beams
Gallery: Tween Deck Beams

Fairing of the interior of the ship has been a continuous process for over a year. Interior fairing is important because it ensures the tightness of the interior planking. Having interior flooring not only gives strength to the entire ship but will be make moving cargo much easier.

Video: Fairing
Gallery: Fairing

Manu, a shipbuilder from Belgium, joined SAILCARGO in October 2020, and since then he has been an important member of the team responsible for raising, assembling and fairing the last stern half frames. Three months after and with almost all the frames in place, Manu gives us an insight into his days at the shipyard.

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After bringing all of the largest interior timbers inside the ship the last frames were installed. Once everything was inside we raised the stern half frames. These half frames are raised one side at a time and connected over the deadwood. Now that the framing is complete interior decks and planking can begin.

Video: Finishing Framing - An update on Past Works
Gallery: Finishing Framing

We have installed the bilge riders. We steamed the long pieces using a wood-fired low-pressure water boiler designed and constructed by Jeroen Visser from the Netherlands.

IG TV: Steam-Bending Bilge Riders

Shipbuilder Elly joined our team in October 2019 and has spent most of her time working on Ceiba’s framing stage and in the wood workshop. In this blog she explains the process of making coaks and trunnels after eleven months at the shipyard.

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This article is our “Introduction to Rigging”. Polish shipwright Artur is design the rigging for our vessel Ceiba and gives some insight into the first steps of this lengthy process.

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Photographer Jeremy Starn writes about his experience taking and sharing pictures at the shipyard. He talks about what it’s like to photograph in the tropics and at a jungle shipyard. Using a few photos as examples, he recalls stories of different images and how they came about.

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The deadwoods are the aftermost massive timbers that create the backbone portions of our ship Ceiba. They are strategically positioned in an interlocking pattern to offer support for the stern half frames, rudder, transom, and propellers. There are twelve deadwoods in total, counting the stern post knee.

Gallery: Stern Deadwoods