From Boatbuilding to Naval Architecture: Christa Specht’s Career on the Water
Christa Specht's career in the marine industry began on the water.
Growing up in Digby County, Specht developed an early interest in boats, even working on her own fiberglass sailboat in high school. After moving to Halifax to study engineering, she completed a two-year engineering diploma at Saint Mary’s University before enrolling in mechanical engineering at DalTech.
But one semester into her degree, something hit her: "I was supposed to get a work term placement," she says, "and was thinking 'what am I doing, I'm going to end up with an office job!'" She wasn't ready for it.
“What drew me to engineering wasn't sitting in front of a computer calculating piping sizes for oil companies,” she recalls. “It was the tinkering and the doing and trying different things and thinking about how things work and how to improve things.”Specht left school and began looking for work at local boat shops.
In the spring of 2002, she landed a job in the fairing and painting department at Intertech Marine in Dartmouth. Her engineering diploma helped her get hired, as the company was considering adding drafting and design work to the position.
Over the following years, Specht worked at several boatbuilding shops, gaining experience with a remarkable variety of vessels and construction materials. "There were constant ups and downs in the market, so I was always getting laid off and starting new somewhere else, which allowed me to see a very wide range of boats, construction methods, people, etc," she says. "It was an awesome experience."
From sailboats and trawler yachts to power catamarans, she worked with steel, aluminum, fiberglass and wood. There was lots of opportunity to tinker, and she met a variety of people.
After seven years, Specht found herself back at the same Dartmouth facility where her career had begun, working for Yachtsmiths International, formerly Intertech Marine. She began spending her Fridays doing drafting work at nearby E.Y.E. Marine Consultants. She had also been studying small craft design through the Westlawn correspondence program, eventually earning her diploma in 2012.
In January 2010, E.Y.E. hired her full-time, beginning the next chapter of a career that has now included nearly 17 years in vessel design and naval architecture.
Today, Specht works on a wide range of projects, particularly those involving fishing vessels. These include stability assessments, drawings for Transport Canada approval, structural calculations and modifications to accommodate changing vessel operations.
Among Specht’s favourite projects is the Blue Heron 8, a glass-bottomed 65-foot, double-deck tour boat designed to carry 200 passengers around the Flowerpot Islands in Georgian Bay on Lake Huron.
Equipped with transparent bottom panels for viewing shipwrecks in shallow water, the vessel has 3,600 horsepower, triple waterjet propulsion and a cruising speed of 25 knots.
"That's the kind of job I enjoy the most," says Specht, "starting with a basic list of ideas...and figuring out how to make it all work." Starting with a concept, making educated guesses about size, weight, stability and more, and then adjusting things as the vessel is built (while checking to see how close your guess was) is rewarding for Specht.
Today, her role has evolved to include more project management, reviewing colleagues’ work, guiding design decisions and communicating with clients. It's a transition she has learned to over time, since that big-picture imagination is just as useful in project management as it was in concept design. Plus, there's lots of people to work with. "The hands-on experience of boatbuilding has definitely been the most satisfying experience of my career to date," she says, "but I think the most interesting part of the industry is the people."
The desk job has turned out to be less boring than Specht thought it would be at first, too. “I love just the huge variety of different jobs we get in this line of work,” she says. “If I was just doing the same type of drawings and calculations all day every day, I'd never be able to survive sitting in front of a computer for almost 17 years now!”
If you're thinking about seeking work in the marine industry, Specht says to get out there. You might be surprised what you can find. "Just start asking around, and see where your existing skills can be used. A lot of companies are looking for good workers," she says, "but not necessarily advertising that they're hiring. If the right person comes along at the right time with the right skills and attitude, you can likely find a start somewhere."
More than two decades after leaving engineering school in search of something hands-on, Specht has built a career that combines the practical experience of a boatbuilder with the technical perspective of a designer. She's been able to use all the skills she gained over the years. Even better, she still gets to work with boats.
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