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B l i u vice president Timothy Beebe. Offering in-house design according to ACL’s Robertson. “Every ship will be more ef- services is much more ef? cient, agrees Charles A. Rob- ? cient, more environmentally sound than the last one. We ertson, president and CEO if Chesapeake Shipyards and want to continue that forever, so we’ll be using technology

ACL. “I dealt early on in my career with naval architecture not in existence today.” ? rms and shipyards and there was always a lot of ? nger ACL’s most recent new build schedule calls for three new pointing between the two when schedules bogged down.” vessels – two river boats and one modern steam boat – to

With a ? eet of eight vessels, and three more currently be delivered over the next three years. From beginning to under construction, American Cruise Lines says it is “com- end, a cruise ship usually takes 16 months to complete. mitted to continuous growth through innovative ship- Over the last ? ve years, ACL new builds have featured building programs that elevate the standard of cruising in two to three Caterpillar main engines, either models 3512 or

America.” It offers more than 35 itineraries, ranging from C-32 (1,500 horsepower), as many as three Caterpillar gen- 5 to 22 days in length, traversing riverways and coastal erators, either C18s producing a combined 1,275kw, or C-9s waterways in the Paci? c Northwest, Alaska, New England, producing a combined 750kw.; and stern-mounted Z-drive the Southeast, and the Mississippi River. units from ZF Marine, and in a few cases, Rolls Royce Aquar-

ACL’s current ? eet consists of four paddlewheelers: ius 50 active wing stabilizers. In terms of navigation and safe-

America (new this year, accommodating 185 guests), Amer- ty, Robertson, Sr. points to GPS and electronic chart systems, ican Pride (150), Queen of the Mississippi (150) and Queen technology he says is changing and improving quickly.

of the West (the lone refurbish – 100); and four coastal cruise ships: American Spirit (100), American Star (100), O B

N THE OOKS

Independence (stabilized and 100) and American Constel- For delivery in 2017 – at 268 ft long and 56 ft wide, lation, which will also feature stabilizers and support 170 with a capacity 170, the American Constellation cruise passengers when it goes into service in mid-2017. ship is designed to navigate the coastal waters of the U.S., and will feature Rolls Royce active wing stabilizers, the lat-

I Y B I , T W C est green propulsion technology, shipwide WiFi, Otis el-

F OU UILD T HEY ILL OME

You won’t ? nd tired, old or, with one exception, re- evators and seven spacious lounges and observation decks. vamped vessels in the ACL ? eet. The company has kept up The 84 staterooms, said to be the largest in the industry at a steady production run of new, increasingly larger vessels 250 to 450 feet, will feature private balconies, ? oor-to-ceil- since its inception, adding a new ship about every year, ing sliding glass doors and marbled tile bathrooms. It was 41 www.marinelink.com MN

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