Frank Kowalski: Safehaven Marine
Readers of MJ will be familiar with the stunning photographs of Safehaven boats pitching through giant waves at the mouth of Cork harbour and visitors to SeaWork might have been aboard some of those boats to witness the high level of fit out, while internet surfers have enjoyed the dramatic sequence of manned self-righting trials.
Not everyone, however, will realise that the photographs are taken by Safehaven’s MD, Frank Kowalski, also the man at the helm of the rotating boat and sole designer of the company’s range of working vessels that includes pilot launches, survey, research, SAR and crew transport vessels.
Frank Kowalski came into boat building after working as a commercial workboat skipper, who first modified then constructed his own grp boats. English-born, but with an Irish mother, the young Frank relocated to County Cork, where he now has fabrication facilties and offices in Youghal and Cobh
His original design of workboat hull was inspired by the RNLI ‘s Arun class boats, and his big break came after he had been building workboats for eight years when he was approached by the then Port of Cork harbourmaster.
“He suggested I develop a pilot boat version of my well proven Interceptor 42 hull, so I took on this challenge, entered the tender and won, delivering the vessel 12 months later. The Interceptor 42 pilot turned out to be a very successful design leading to more orders.” In 2012 a second boat was delivered to the Port of Cork.
Over the years he expanded the range to include 55ft, 48ft and 38ft boats and to date he has delivered over 30 pilot boats around the world. The latest delivery in September was a multihull research vessel for Poland. “Our order book is healthy with work for 12 months ahead,” he adds.
Mr Kowalski runs a lean and efficient company. “Safehaven has a relatively small workforce of 30, and most have been with me for many years. Virtually all our work is undertaken in house, myself undertaking all design and naval architecture.”
His involvement with the marketing of his products combines business acumen with a sense of drama, aesthetics and excitement. As he explains: “I enjoy photographing the power and majesty of the sea during storms, as well as action photography of boats. While I do enjoy the excitement of trialling my vessels, especially in rough weather, I wouldn’t consider myself an adrenalin junkie. If you want to design boats that excel in rough weather, it’s not something that can be done from an armchair. To truly see how your design handles when surfing down the face of a 20ft wave, you just have to go out in a gale and show her that wave, put the hammer down and see how she behaves.
“Doing these sea trials over the years has allowed me to understand a hull’s behaviour in large waves, as well as refine many other aspects, such as their handling and responsiveness, in addition it has enabled me to incorporate design functionality that better allows their crew to safely operate in challenging conditions. It is through fully experiencing and understanding those conditions myself that it has been possible.”
By Graeme Ewens
