Page 30: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 1969)

Maryland Ship Appoints SSI Container Corp. R.F. Lamcke Estimating Names Hofmeister And Contract Manager Sales Manager Grafton Boat Delivers Joliet Harbor Towboat For Switching And Fleeting Service The retractable pilothouse on the John Alexa gives the pilot a 23-foot eye level when raised and only a 15-foot overall height when retracted. Ronald F. Lamcke Hasko W. Hofmeister Capt. Herbert V. Schreiner, oper-ator of the Joliet Harbor Tug Serv-ice, has just placed in service his new 80-foot towboat the MV John Alexa, built by Grafton Boat Co., Inc., Grafton, 111. Captain Schrei-ner, a well-known Illinois River pi-lot, operates a harbor switching and fleeting service in the Joliet-Lemont area. His new craft is the largest ves-sel yet built by Grafton Boat Co., Inc. Two Caterpillar D-353 Series E turbocharged and aftercooled en-gines, developing a total of 850-hp, turn 58-inch diameter, four-blade Kahlenberg propellers. The hull, measuring 80 feet by 24 feet by 8 feet, is built of JHs-inch plate with %-inch plate over the propellers. Having double chine construction and very steep deadrise, the craft has exceptional maneuverability and develops a high thrust for the installed horsepower. The retractable pilothouse de-sign, essential on the upper Illinois River, gives the operator a 23-foot eye level when in its raised posi-tion, with the advantages of only 15-foot-overall height when re-tracted. A very roomy pilothouse is mounted atop a Joyce 10-foot-stroke hydraulic ram and is pro-vided with doors and stairs on both sides allowing access to the pilot-house when in any position of ele-vation. Catwalks on either side allow ready access to the 14-inch, 25-amp. Carlisle and Finch carbon-arc searchlights, and the large for-ward-sloping Humco windshield opens for easy communication with the deck. Engine instruments are installed above the windshield. Steering is controlled by dual sets of levers for the separate followup steering and flanking systems. Morse controls operate the gover-nors, throttles and pilothouse lift. Captain Schreiner has installed a Kaar ten-channel VHF radio, Bo-gen public-address system and an intercom system. The pilothouse is heated electrically and is heavily insulated throughout. On the main deck forward are two 5-hp Beebe remote-controlled electric barge winches operable from the pilothouse or the deck. The 12-foot-high towknees are faced with B. J. Marine Products 'Pushnee'. Roller chocks, button chocks and 36-inch cast-steel kevels complete the deck outfit. The spacious deckhouse accom-modates an owner's cabin forward of the engine room with a galley, washrooms and three staterooms aft. The upper engine room provides a light and air space above the two main engines with double doors and a chain hoist trolley athwart-ship. Forward in the engine room are found two Kohler Model 30R067 120/208 volt 3-phase diesel genera-tors. The main engines drive two Vickers steering pumps while an emergency electric pump is avail-able for standby use. There are two Curtiss 12-cfm air compressors: one electric and one engine driven, and an air receiver which supplies the pilothouse lift, windshield wiper, air horn and engine starting. A 5-hp Jacuzzi centrifugal bilge and fire pump is installed. In a watertight compartment abaft the engine room are installed two freshwater tanks, two Jacuzzi pressure water-pump sets, Cooper split-roller shaft bearings and hot-water heater. Thirteen thousand gallons of fuel oil, 1,800 gallons of potable water and 175 gallons of lube oil are car-ried. On the maiden voyage from Grafton to Joliet, the John Alexa pushed a 1,400-ton tow of phos-phate rock at a speed of mph over the bottom. Making up the de-livery crew in addition to Captain Schreiner were: Mrs. Mary Lou Schreiner, engineer Paul Vitali, deckhand Ray Nofftz, and Timothy Graul, designer of the John Alexa. Grafton Boat Co., Inc., under President Edward Fry, has expand-ed facilities over 50 percent in the last year and is presently building LCM-6's for the U.S. Navy, crew-boats for U.S. Army Corps of En-gineers and workboats for commer-cial interests. Construction of the towboat was under the direction of vice-presi-dent-manufacturing, M. E. Thomp-son, shift superintendents Robert Kappler and Robert Driver, and the Grafton production force. Ronald F. Lamcke has been ap-pointed manager of estimating and contract administration for Mary-land Shipbuilding & Drydock Com-pany, Baltimore, Md., according to an announcement by A. P. Mcll-wain, president of the company. Mr. Lamcke started sailing on United States merchant ships in 1931 on the West Coast/North Eu-rope run. He also worked for his father's marine consulting firm and in 1940 joined a steel company in the engineering department. He joined Maryland Shipbuilding & Drydock Company in 1947, since that time he has worked in the planning and estimating depart-ments. He is a member of The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, Maritime Association of the Port of New York and Turf Valley Country Club, Baltimore. The Maryland Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, a subsidiary of Fruehauf Corporation, is located on a 96-acre tract on the south bank of the Patapsco River in the Port of Baltimore. It is one of the most modern east coast shipyards with complete facilities for large ship construction and repair. The yard has four floating drydocks capable of handling vessels up to 70,000 dwt. Twenty-four hour service, seven days a week is provided by the company. Whittaker Acquires Kettenburg Marine Whittaker Corporation, Los Ange-les, has announced the acquisition of Kettenburg Marine, a privately held company located in San Diego, Calif. Kettenburg is engaged in the manu-facture, sale and reconditioning of sailing and power craft, and is a ma-jor distributor of marine hardware and supplies. The company's boat repair yard is one of the largest in the United States, servicing craft up to 100 feet in length and 75 tons in weight. Kettenburg will be operated under present management as a subsidiary member of Whittaker's Marine and Leisure Time Products Group. Whittaker Corporation, listed on the New York and Pacific Coast stock exchanges, is engaged in the development, production and distri-bution of high-performance materials and in the fabrication of aircraft, aerospace, marine, industrial and ar-chitectural products. Hasko W. Hofmeister has been appointed sales manager of SSI Container Corporation, with head-quarters at 22 Battery Street, San Francisco, Calif. SSI is engaged in leasing and selling dry and refrig-erated containers to steamship lines as well as shippers, and also pro-vides orientation to shippers who wish to move their cargo by means of containers. Prior to joining SSI, Mr. Hof-meister was associated with Bakke Steamship Corporation, San Fran-cisco, where as Pacific Coast opera-tions manager he coordinated all container operations for Knutsen Line and Columbus Line trading between the Pacific Coast and the Far East, Australia, and New Zea-land. He started his shipping ca-reer in 1957. Chandris Lines Names Lesh Port Captain The appointment of Capt. George B. Lesh as port captain to manage Chandris Lines Inc. vessel opera-tions, has been announced by James C. Murphy, executive vice-presi-dent. Captain Lesh has been associated with the shipping industry since 1936. He served as manager of operations for Penn Shipping Co., and also for Trans-World Marine Corp. He will be responsible for Chandris Lines' expanded cruise, trans - Atlantic and around - the -world operations at New York, Boston and Port Everglades, as well as the dry cargo and tanker operations in the U.S. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Schoolship, Captain Lesh com-manded merchant ships during World War II. He is a member of the American Council of Master Mariners and an officer and direc-tor of the Internatioinal Cargo Gear Bureau. Burton To Build Two Oil-Well Supply Boats Marine Service, Inc. has contracted Burton Shipyard, Inc., Port Arthur, Texas, to build two offshore, oil-well supply boats. Designated Hull Nos. 446 and 452, the dimensions for each boat are as follows: 165 feet by 38 feet by 13 feet and will be equipped with 1,700-total-bhp twin-screw die-sel s. 36 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News