Hike Metal Products
Encyclopedia
Hike Metail Products is a Wheatley, Ontario
based manufacturer of small to mid sized boats used for firefighting, lifeboats, research vessels, law enforcement and other rescue and patrol operations. The company also performs ship refitting and metal fabricating.
Founded in 1958, the company's clients are in Canada
and United States
with vessels used mostly in the Great Lakes
. The company faced financial problems in the 1980s and restructured to meet changing business environment.
Hike's facilities are located within Wheatley Harbour, consisting of a large metal manufacturing building, otdoor building berths.. Assembly of vessels take place outside (vessels over 100 ft in length and inside (less than 100 ft in length). Located along Lake Erie
, the business caters to regional buyers.
:
Hike is the only Canadian shipyard on Lake Erie, but second to be located on the lake:
Other Great Lakes shipbuilders include:
(Dry Dock Engine Works and the Detroit Dry Dock Company) 1892-1929
Wheatley, Ontario
Wheatley is a community in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, within the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It lies about east of Leamington. Nearby parks include Two Creeks Conservation Area, which has 15 km of hiking and bicycling paths, Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area, Hillman Marsh Conservation...
based manufacturer of small to mid sized boats used for firefighting, lifeboats, research vessels, law enforcement and other rescue and patrol operations. The company also performs ship refitting and metal fabricating.
Founded in 1958, the company's clients are in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with vessels used mostly in the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. The company faced financial problems in the 1980s and restructured to meet changing business environment.
Hike's facilities are located within Wheatley Harbour, consisting of a large metal manufacturing building, otdoor building berths.. Assembly of vessels take place outside (vessels over 100 ft in length and inside (less than 100 ft in length). Located along Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
, the business caters to regional buyers.
Products and Clients
- Canadian Coast Guard Arun-class lifeboatsCanadian Coast Guard Arun-class lifeboatsThe Canadian Coast Guard maintains a number of Canadian Coast Guard Arun-class lifeboats.The Arun class lifeboats are considered "high endurance" lifeboats.They are staffed by a crew of four.The first vessels of this class were ordered in 1990....
- 10 boats built - Toronto Port AuthorityToronto Port AuthorityThe Toronto Port Authority is a Canadian port authority responsible for management of the harbour of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport...
David Hornell (ex-TCCA 1) car ferry 2006 and Marylin Bell 1 (ex-TCCA 2) car ferry - Chicago Fire DepartmentChicago Fire DepartmentThe Chicago Fire Department, also known as the CFD, is the principal fire suppression, prevention, and rescue agency of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the mayor of Chicago. The Chicago Fire Department is the second largest fire department in the United States after the New York City...
fireboat Christopher Wheatley 2011 - ship's name and place of manufacturer are the same - Baltimore Fire Department fire boat John R. Fraizer 2007
- Canadian Coast GuardCanadian Coast GuardThe Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
tug research vessel CCGS SharkCCGS SharkThe CCGS Shark was a research vessel employed by the Canadian Coast Guard.She was employed on the North American Great Lakes. Shark was built by Hike Metals & Shipbuilbing Limited of Wheatley, Ontario. She was a converted tugboat commissioned into the Coast Guard in 1971.She was retired in late...
1971 - retired 2009 - Canadian Coast GuardCanadian Coast GuardThe Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
SAR hovercrafts CCGH Siyay and CCGH Sipu Muin 1998 - Maid of the MistMaid of the MistThe Maid of the Mist is a boat tour of Niagara Falls. The boat starts off at a calm part of the Niagara River, near the Rainbow Bridge, and takes its passengers past the American and Bridal Veil Falls, then into the dense mist of spray inside the curve of the Horseshoe...
V 1983 - Canadian Coast GuardCanadian Coast GuardThe Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
CCGS GoelandCCGS GoélandCCGS Goéland is one of three training vessels of the Canadian Coast Guard and located at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Westmount, Nova Scotia. The ship is based on the 44-foot motor lifeboat, a converted self-righting lifeboat and similar to the Waveney class lifeboat....
training vessel - Toronto Police ServiceToronto Police ServiceThe Toronto Police Service , formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Police, is the police service for the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Canada and second largest police force in Canada after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...
Marine Units 1 (dive platform and command vessel), 4 (patrol) and 7 (patrol) - Ontario Power GenerationOntario Power GenerationOntario Power Generation is a public company wholly owned by the Government of Ontario. OPG is responsible for approximately 70% of the electricity generation in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Sources of electricity include nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind, and fossil fuel...
Niagara Queen IINiagara Queen IIThe Niagara Queen II is a small icebreaker that Ontario Power Generation uses to keep the inlet ports open at their plant on the Niagara River at Niagara Falls.The shallow draft river vessel was designed by OPG and STX Marine-Specifications:...
tug 1992 - Copasetic - largest ship built by Hike and one of few to be used outside of the Great Lakes (Florida)
See also
Hike is one three surviving Canadian shipbuilders on the Great Lakes with most others disappearing after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
:
- Toronto Drydock CompanyToronto Drydock CompanyToronto Drydock Company is a shipbuilding repair company in Canada and the name of two shipbuilders in the 19th and 20th Centuries respectively....
(c. 1917) - does mostly ship repairing - Port Weller DrydocksPort Weller DrydocksPort Weller Drydocks is a shipbuilder located on the Welland Canal at the Lake Ontario entrance.Founded in 1946, the two drydocks are located on the east side of the canal in Port Weller, Ontario...
1946
Hike is the only Canadian shipyard on Lake Erie, but second to be located on the lake:
- Amherstburg Royal Naval DockyardAmherstburg Royal Naval DockyardAmherstburg Royal Naval Dockyard was a Royal Navy yard from 1796 to 1813 in Amherstburg, Ontario. The yard comprised blockhouses, store houses, magazine, wood yard and wharf.Vessels built or serviced at the yard included:...
- located in nearby Amherstburg, OntarioAmherstburg, OntarioAmherstburg is a Canadian town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario. It is approximately south of the U.S...
and built ships for the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
from 1796 to 1813
Other Great Lakes shipbuilders include:
- Erie Shipbuilding LLCErie Shipbuilding LLCDonjon Shipbuilding & Repair LLC is a United States shipyard located in Lake Erie port of Erie, Pennsylvania. The shipyard was founded by Dirk VanEnkevort in October 2005, when he took over the lease of the former Litton Industries property from the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority for a...
of Erie, PA (Lake ErieLake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
) - still active - Dry Dock Complex (Detroit, Michigan) of Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
(Dry Dock Engine Works and the Detroit Dry Dock Company) 1892-1929
- Great Lakes Engineering WorksGreat Lakes Engineering WorksThe Great Lakes Engineering Works was a shipbuilding company with a shipyard in River Rouge, Michigan that operated between 1902 and 1960. Within three years of its formation, it was building fifty percent of the tonnage of all ships in the Great Lakes. During World War II, GLEW was...
of River Rouge, MichiganRiver Rouge, MichiganAs of the census of 2000, there were 9,917 people, 3,640 households, and 2,504 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,713.9 per square mile . There were 4,080 housing units at an average density of 1,528.0 per square mile...
(Detroit RiverDetroit RiverThe Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
) 1902-1960