Page 44: of Marine News Magazine (October 2013)

MV Karl SennerMV Dickie GonsoulinBuilderBourg Dry Dock Bourg Dry Dock DesignerEntech & Associates Inc.Entech & Associates Inc.OwnerLeBeouf Bros. Towing LLC LeBeouf Bros. Towing LLC DeliveryJuly 2013September 2013Length95 ft.95 ft.Beam34 ft.34 ft.Depth10.6 ft.10.6 ft.Draft, Max.9 ft.9 ft.Speed6 knots6 knotsMain EngineMITSUBISHI S12-RY2MPTK-3 CATERPILLAR 3512C Tier 3 better to your spec, it makes a lot of sense to me to build it stronger from the beginning.? Jon is third-generation in the business, and he said the decision was made to start building boats in-house back in December of 2005. ?That lit a  re under me to build my own equipment. I started building my own tank barges. The  rst two barges were delivered in Q1 2008, and we?re about to launch barge 537, so we?ve built 37 barges be- tween 2008 and now.? While attracting the right people to crew the boats is es- sential, so too is attracting shipyard talent, and Gonsoulin feels he has one of the best in the business running his yard, 33-year veteran Bobby Bartel. Bartel worked for 27 years at Quality Marine, and an- other  ve at Gulf Island, before joining forces with Gon- soulin in 2012 to run Bourg Dry Dock, which today em- ploys about 250, has the capacity to build four or  ve boats and about 10 barges per year. ?I like building towboats, and he had a nice panel line,? said Bartel, explaining why he decided to join Bourg. ?It?s a nice family run operation and I thought it was a good time for a change.?For a boatbuilder, the Gonsoulin philosophy is a wel- come one, in that he believes investing a bit more upfront ? whether it be on thicker steel plate for sturdier barges or a more rugged Reintjes gear to ensure decades of trouble-free performance ? is the prudent  nancial move for compa- nies that make a living moving product on the waterways, versus companies that view their boats and barges are mere assets to be bought, sold and traded for  nancial gain. ?It?s simple,? Bartel said. ?Jon tells me to build it right, and that?s what we do.? While Bourg Dry Dock traditionally has built only for LeBeouf Bros. Towing, Bartel said it is currently building four barges for other customers, and is also considering ad-ditional outside orders for boats and barges. The M/V Karl Senner and the M/V Dickie Gonsoulin are Entech & Associates Inc.-designed boats, the second and third of a  ve boat series, all measuring 95 x 34 feet. MV Karl Senner has Mitsubishi S12-RY2MPTK-3 power and the MV Dickie Gonsoulin is powered by Caterpillar 3512s. All, naturally, will have Reintjes gears. Start to  n-ish, each boat took about 11 months to build, Bartel said, with the Karl delivered in July 2013 and the Dickie, in September 2013. Bartel said there weren?t any unique chal- lenges to building the boats, other than ensuring that they were nice, live-on friendly vessels. The Boats ? at a Glance ?October 201344 MNMN October2013 Layout 32-49.indd 44MN October2013 Layout 32-49.indd 449/30/2013 11:33:48 AM9/30/2013 11:33:48 AM