Page 26: of Marine News Magazine (July 2011)

26MNJuly 2011Repowering with new engines is often a way to get a nearly new vessel for much less cost. Recently, the Klondike Express, a 137-ft, 342 passenger catamaran ferry, operated by Phillips Cruises & Tours, LLC, under- went a major refit and emerged a practically new boat. What we did was a little unconventional,? said Gary Sommerfeld, Manager of Marine Operations at Phillips Cruises & Tours. Most fast ferries of Klondikes size use more intermediate rated engines.? After a careful study, the Klondike Express was ultimately refitted with a pair of MTU 16V4000 M63L engines. The original engines were M70s, and the newer version, the M73 was considered for the refit as well. Sommerfeld said the M73, is a very pop- ular engine, however, the Klondike was refitted with the M63L which has a higher displacement. We put a tug- boat engine into a fast ferry, although it serves as a tour boat,? Sommerfeld said. Our reason was based on the feeling that the workboat engine would be more reliable.? The boat was custom built for the tour that it does daily, May through September, in Alaska,? Sommerfeld said. Nichols Brothers Boat Builders launched the Klondike Express in 1999 and ever since the five-hour- long 26 Glacier Cruise has been the Klondikes primary purpose. For the cruise, the Klondike Express runs from Whittier, Alaska to Esther Island, College Fjord and Harriman Fjord for glacier and wildlife viewing. In the off season it has been assigned to different charters as a fast ferry in San Francisco and Washington state, and has been employed as a private charter for Princess Cruises, shut- tling the cruise lines passengers back and forth in Prince William Sound. The original engines, the M70s, were supposed to be more toward the continuous rating,? said Sommerfeld, but still serve a slightly intermittent rating. However, the Repowering the Klondike Express Workboat Power