Page 43: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (May 1990)

John J. Kelly, president of Tex- tron Marine Systems (TMS), Divi- sion of Textron Inc., recently an- nounced the delivery of Landing

Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC)-24 to the U.S. Navy. Following remarks by Eugene E. Shoults, program manager for the Amphibious War- fare and Strategic Sealift Program (PMS 377), in a ceremony held at the Naval Coastal Systems Center in Panama City, Fla., Mr. Kelly presented LCAC-24 to Lt. Comdr.

U.H. (Jack) Rowley, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and

Repair, USN. Commander Rowley then released the craft to Lt. D.

Weid of Assault Craft Unit (ACU)- 5, located at Camp Pendelton, Cal- if.

LCAC-24 was ferried nonstop from the TMS shipyard in New

Orleans to Panama City, Fla., the first LCAC to be delivered under a production contract awarded to

TMS in 1987. Five more are sched- uled to be delivered under this con- tract in 1990. Previously delivered

LCACs are based for fleet deploy- ment at Assault Craft Units (ACU) at Little Creek, Va., and Camp

Pendleton, Calif.

According to TMS, the LCACs performed well beyond contract re- quirements. In terms of speed, pay- load, range, and reliability and maintainability, the craft have sig- nificantly exceeded their original design requirements. They have ex- hibited excellent Mean-Time-Be- tween-Failure characteristics ex- ceeding the contract specification requirements by 500 percent.

The LCAC is an air cushion land- ing craft designed to carry troops, weapons and equipment at speeds in excess of 40 knots from support ships over the horizon to the beach.

It is the first significant technical improvement in waterborne landing craft since World War II and is con- sidered a cornerstone in moderniz- ing U.S. Navy/Marine amphibious warfare capabilities.

Textron Marine Systems has con- tracts to build 45 LCASs. Delivery of LCAC-24 represents the 15th provided to the U.S. Navy by TMS.

Currently, TMS has nine LCACs in construction, two in testing, and nineteen in preproduction plan- ning.

Textron Marine Systems is the

U.S. leader in design and construc- tion of advanced technology air cushion vehicles and surface effect ships and other advanced marine craft for both military and commer- cial customers. Its offices and ship- yard are located in eastern new

Orleans.

For more information and free lit- erature,

Circle 70 on Reader Service Card

Freeport Shipbuilding & Marine

Repair, Freeport, Fla., is construct- ing a 110-foot steel-hulled yacht de- signed by the late John Brever of

Florida, with interior by Dallas- based CD A.

The vessel will be christened Al- pha Centauri when delivered to Star of Texas, Inc., founded by Dallas businessman G. Ray Miller.

Mr. Miller and Jim Murray, president of Freeport Shipbuilding, decided to fashion the 110-foot hull from a combination of existing de- signs in order to make the boat as tough as any at sea. This require- ment was fulfilled by a 23-foot bow (measured from keel) fashioned af- ter a North Sea workboat, the stern fashioned after a deepsea fishing boat, with the entire hull made of solid 5/16-inch steel.

The Alpha Centauri is consid- ered a new concept in "space" ships, a fact that is evident in its height of 42 feet from keel to mast top, and its 27-foot beam. Mr. Miller's scheme was for a ship capable of accommo- dating anyone's fantasy. His con- cept in this case encompasses room for on-deck stowage of a Maule (STOL) seaplane, a 27-foot Boston

Whaler Outrage complete with tuna-tower and twin 225-hp en- gines, a 15-foot Boston Whaler, a 13-foot hard-bottom Zodiac and at least two Waverunners and Wind- surfers. The "Sports Yacht" is

ALPHA CENTAURI

Equipment List

Engines Cummins

Generators Cummins

Sanitation Humphrey

Watermaker Humphrey

Communication system . . ... JRC

Backup communication system Raytheon

Video plotter Raytheon

Radar Raytheon

Loran Raytheon

Autopilot Robertson

Auxiliary boats Boston Whaler equipped with a 10-ton-capacity crane to move the Maule, as well as the other boats, on and off the deck.

The vessel's twin 400-hp Cum- mins engines provide more than ad- equate power to turn the large 42- inch propellers. This, combined with twin 60-kw Cummins diesel generators and a 10,000-gallon fuel storage system, provides a cruising range of 2,800 miles at 20 knots.

Alpha Centauri, the mother ship, will be available for charter, pri- marily in the Caribbean, by fishing, diving and business groups.

For free literature on the facilities and capabilities of Freeport Ship- building,

Circle 66 on Reader Service Card

LCAC-24 shown during builder's trials on Lake Borgne in Louisiana.

Textron Marine Systems Delivers

LCAC-24 To U.S. Navy Cummins-Powered Yacht At Freeport Shipbuilding

Despite its size, the luxurious Alpha Centauri draws only 6 feet. Shown under construction at Freeport Shipbuilding in Florida, the yacht will have a 10-foot by 27-foot "sports plat- form" extending from the stern that can accommodate divers, fishermen and equipment.

Bender Monitoring Systems

Prevent Ground Faults —Literature Available

Bender Incorporated of Paoli,

Penn., makes a series of insulation monitors, residual current devices and ground fault location systems that can predict the presence of a ground fault without system shut- down.

Insulation monitors operate on ungrounded, AC 1PH/3PH systems, pure DC systems and AC networks with large DC components, all the way up to 10,000 V. These units send out a DC measuring voltage over the system and will alarm when the insulation value declines below the present level. The residual cur- rent devices function on all types of systems. They measure for current imbalance and are sensitive enough to detect leakages as low as 10 mA.

All units are available with me- tered output, adjustable alarm set- tings and adjustable time delays.

Bender also offers a complete ground fault detection system. This is the best solution for large, com- plex systems. The system combines an insulation monitor and ground fault location units in a 19-inch rack frame. It looks at every circuit once the monitor alarms and then indi- cates the circuit on which the fault has occurred.

Bender makes over 1,100 differ- ent units to suit many voltages, housings and applications. Insula- tion monitoring provides an ideal, cost-effective way to safeguard both people and equipment from electri- cal hazards.

For more information and free lit- erature from Bender,

Circle 30 on Reader Service Card

Free Brochure Details

Rigid Inflatable Craft

From Task Force Boats

A free brochure from Task Force

Boats Ltd. details its full line of

Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boats from 5.7 to 9.5 meters (18.7 to 31.1 feet) for the commercial, military, rescue, patrol and recreational markets.

The new HF "Typhoon" range utilizes a unique patented and quickly interchangeable Modular

Air Collar Systems (MACS). The modules are independently mechan- ically secured to the topside gun- wales by very high grade woven polyester fastening straps. This sys- tem has been proven in service with the British Royal Marines, Royal

Hong Kong Police and the German

Lifeguard. The heavy duty density module material has an excellent resistance to petroleum, diesel and oil. Individually molded in one piece, without joints and weak points, these units are manufac- tured using well established tech- niques.

In the event of damage, each module or fastening can be simply and quickly replaced.

The rigid hull is available in both aluminum and GRP.

For a free brochure detailing

Task Force Boat products,

Circle 236 on Reader Service Card

May, 1990 45