Page 41: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 1990)

Nichols Bros. Delivers First 3 Of 6

Ferries For Puerto Rico

Nichols Brothers Boat Builders,

Inc., Whidbey Island, Wash., first entered the high-speed catamaran market in the early 1980s with the delivery of the 210-passenger M/V

Klondike. Last year, the firm deliv- ered the first wave piercer catama- ran, the Nantucket Spray, built in the U.S. based on an International

Catamarans design. Now, Nichols

Brothers has entered the small cata- maran passenger ferry market with the delivery of the first three of six new 75-foot vessels for the Puerto

Rican Government.

Dubbed the "Nichols Mosquito

Fleet," the six 167-passenger cata- marans will each have an overall length of 75 feet 5 inches, beam of 29 feet 4 inches and draft of 5 feet.

Each will be propelled by a pair of

Detroit Diesel model 12V71 diesel engines, totaling 930 hp, fitted to

Osborne five-bladed propellers via

PUERTO RICAN

FERRIES

Main engines (2) Detroit Diesel

Propellers Osborne

Generator engines John Deere

Generators Lima

Reduction gears Capitol Gears

Engine controls MMC

Steering controls Wagner

VHF radio ICOM

Compass Danforth

Bilge/fire pumps Oberdorfer

Eastern Shipyards Converts

Two Offshore Vessels

To Ensco Marine

Eastern Shipyards, Inc., Panama

City, Fla., recently delivered two enlarged and completely refur- bished offshore vessels to Ensco

Marine, Broussard, La.

The former 156-foot supply ves- sels Gulf Stream I and Gulf Stream

II, were acquired by Eastern Ship- yards and contracted to Ensco Ma- rine on a turn-key refurbishment/ sales arrangement. The vessels did not include liquid mud tanks and required extensive re-engineering for the length extensioning and re- furbishment programs.

The converted vessels, Ensco

Cruiser and Ensco Transport, meas- ure 184 feet in length, with a beam of 39 feet and 14-foot depth, with capacities of 4,400 cubic feet of bulk mud, 1,412 barrels of liquid mud, and 118,532 gallons of rig water.

Each has a clear deck length of 130 feet and deck cargo capacity of ap- proximately 700 long tons.

Eastern Shipyards employed ad- vanced modular fabrication tech- niques to construct the 28-foot by 39-foot mid-body sections for both vessels.

All main engines and auxiliary machinery was either completely re- built or overhauled. New bowthrus- ters and drive engines were in- stalled, and independent, direct drive liquid mud pumps and piping systems were installed on each ves- sel.

For free literature detailing the building, repair and conversion ser- vices of Eastern Shipyards,

Circle 15 on Reader Service Card

Powered by twin Detroit Diesels, the ferry Covadonga can reach about 28 knots

Capitol Gears and shafting. The cats will have a full load speed of 22 knots and a normal speed of 28 knots.

The six ferries, which bear the names Martin Pena, Amelia, Covad- onga, San Geronimo, Viejo San

Juan, and Cristobal Colon, are high- ly efficient in fuel, maintenance and crew costs. With most of the large coastal cities experiencing traumat- ic traffic impaction, the trend to- ward alternate movement of com- muters opens new markets for the smaller passenger-only ferries. "We introduced the Incat high- speed catamaran concept to the

U.S. in 1984 which had a major impact on modern marine passenger service," said Matt Nichols, presi- dent of Nichols Brothers. "We feel our 'Mosquito Fleet' extension of this proven design will now help solve many problems of operators and government traffic depart- ments faced with fast and efficient movement of medium and smaller passenger loads."

For free literature detailing the boatbuilding services of Nichols

Brothers Boat Builders,

Circle 60 on Reader Service Card

The Ensco Transport is one of two offshore vessels recently converted by Eastern Ship- yards, Panama City, Fla.

If there's something out there, you'll see it at a glance. ' A t/ •

Mft^^M ~f—| a X rVs-- t i t t

Whatever the weather and clutter conditions, Racal's award-winning colour technology gives you all the information you need. At a glance.

The world's first type-approved colour ARPA, the new 2690 BT provides a clear, bright daylight display, and is exceptionally easy to use.

Just what you'd expect from Racal

Marine - world leaders in marine radar technology.

For the full picture, contact us today.

Leaders in maritime navigation/communications electronics for over 60 years

Mackay Communications, Inc., 441 U.S. Highway One. Elizabeth, NJ 07202 Tel: 201 527-0300 Fax: 201 527-8355 Telex: 4754132

Circle 236 on Reader Service Card

May, 1990 43