The Looping Boat
Alex Chinneck
The Looping Boat for Alex Chinneck. Making the improbable work.
Millimetre worked closely with Alex Chinneck to design, make, and install The Looping Boat, a permanent artwork on the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal. From the outset, the challenge was clear: the boat needed to look completely familiar, while forming a continuous loop.
The main hull was built in mild steel using traditional boatbuilding methods. The looping section was fabricated in aluminium to reduce weight and avoid instability. Significant counterweighting was built into the hull to prevent the structure becoming top-heavy once installed.
Every part was drawn in 3D, then cut, rolled, and welded over CNC-cut plywood templates. Accuracy came from careful templating, repeated checking, and close attention to how steel and aluminium met and moved together. The loop section was worked over several times until its geometry read as a smooth continuation of the hull.
Installation was planned in detail. The boat arrived in three sections. To install the loop, the canal was lowered so it could pass beneath a bridge before being craned into place and connected. The canal bed was scanned in advance for unexploded ordnance.
The finished work sits in the canal as intended: recognisable, convincing, and resolved. For Millimetre, it reflects close collaboration with the artist, careful material judgement, and the patience required to make something complex feel entirely normal.
