Shipfitter

This reading sits behind the What a Trade Is panel for the trade named below. The panel gives the trade in 250 words; this gives the trade its context — what the work is, how it is learned here, and what it costs and pays.

The panel text

What. A shipfitter turns steel plate into a hull: cuts, fits, tacks and lines up the pieces so the welders can join them. The shipyard's carpenter, working in tons.

Tools. Oxy-fuel and plasma torches, come-alongs, wedges and dogs, levels and plumb bobs, the lofted template, the ship's lines drawing.

A day. Pull the unit drawing. Cut and bevel plate. Fit stiffeners to the shell within the tolerance. Tack. Check fairness with a batten. Turn the unit over to the welders. Log the joint.

Pay. $42k entry to $82k experienced; supervisors and marine surveyors beyond.

Path. Universal core → hull construction → steel and aluminum welding → shipfitting layout → marine coatings → outfitting. Credentials: NCCER Shipfitting, NCCER Maritime Welding, AWS D1.1/D1.2, ABS/USCG weld test.

See it. Hull cross-section in G1; the hull mold and lifeboat in Gallery G6.

Reading further

The panel's series (What a Trade Is) hangs together in Gallery G10, the Hall of Makers. Each panel in the series is printed at 48 inches on aluminum composite, lent to schools and libraries, and archived here with its reading.

The program behind the panel: Shipbuilding / Marine Fabrication

12.0–12.0 months full-time. Curriculum: Hull construction; steel & aluminum welding; shipfitting layout; marine coatings; outfitting.

Courses

• 1. Universal Core: Safety, Math, Communication & Career — 148 hr (core), $1,185
• 2. Hull construction — 205 hr (trade), $4,000
• 3. Steel & aluminum welding — 205 hr (trade), $4,000
• 4. Shipfitting layout — 204 hr (trade), $3,980
• 5. Marine coatings — 204 hr (trade), $3,980
• 6. Outfitting — 204 hr (trade), $3,980
• 7. Capstone Project — 216 hr (capstone), $2,160
• 8. Externship / Worksite Placement — 324 hr (externship), $1,295
• 9. Certification Exam Preparation — 90 hr (exam_prep), $900

Credentials: ABS/USCG Weld Test; AWS D1.1 Certified Welder; AWS D1.2 Aluminum; NCCER Maritime Welding; NCCER Shipfitting.

Every course above carries a written exam, an observed skills demonstration, a signed log and a safety audit; the program ends with the capstone, the externship and the credential exam.