Page 20: of Marine News Magazine (July 2005)

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Honduras. Slated for June 2006 delivery, the 152-ft. by 34-ft. vessel will carry 452 passengers at 38 knots. Main power will be a quartet of Caterpillar 3512B engines generating 1,800 hp each driving Hamil- ton HM 651 waterjets. Generators are also

Caterpillar, a pair of 79 kW units.

Island Boats

Tucked away on Bayou Teche near

Jeanerette, La., is Island Boats, a builder of aluminum passenger vessels, generally under 100 ft. A couple of years ago Island

Boats was building vessels in a building on U.S. 90, about five miles from their current location and trucking them to the

Port of Iberia. "That caused us all sorts of problems," reported Miles Thomas, president and founder of the company. "This year we will build eight vessels and we will launch them all from our shipyard."

Most of their 2005 deliveries will be fast passenger ferries for both U.S. and

Caribbean customers.

In August, Island Boats will deliver the

Ranger, an 82 x 28-ft. wide catamaran ferry for Bald Head Island Transportation,

Inc., Bald Head Island, N.C. This vessel is similar to the Patriot delivered in 2003 except it can hold 250 people and a crew of six rather than 150 passengers, and therefore, the new boat is rated as a Sub- chapter K vessel. The vessel provides ferry transportation between Southport on the coast of North Carolina and Bald

Head Island.

Marek Yacht Design, San Diego, Calif., designed the Ranger. A pair of Cummins

KT19AM4 700 hp engines provides main power to ZF reduction/reversing gears through shafts to ZF 38-in. by 38-in. four blade propellers, driving the vessel to a speed of 21 knots. Two Isuzu gensets, 40 kW and 30 kW supply electrical power.

Main deck and second deck seating was supplied by Turnbull.

Other new construction at Island Boats includes a pair of tender-type vessels for

Holland America Cruise Lines. The two tenders, Half Moon Cay #1 and Half

Moon Cay #2 will ferry cruise passengers between the cruise ship and a private island owned by Holland America.

These 72-ft. by 24-ft. vessel have the distinction of being the first steel-hulled vessels built by Island Boats.

Propulsion power is from a pair of

Deutz 488 hp engines with Twin Disc gears and Michigan five blade 36-in. by 36-in. propellers. Speed is 14 knots. A

Westmar 20 hp bow thruster aids the ves- sel in docking.

The vessel is being classed by ABS to +1A1 Passenger vessel. Delivery is scheduled for October 2005.

Island boats has also built a small crew boat for Axxis Drilling, a pair of .23-knot ferries for Boston Boats LLC and a pilot boat in 2005. 20 • MarineNews • July, 2005 ? meets the latest Coast Guard Standards ? Up to 30 days sidelight usage & Up to 160 days special flashing usage on HDM spring type batteries ? Top case & Name plate color coded for ease in installation ? Capable of operating on 1 o 4 HDM Spring type bat- teries ? External stainless- steel hardware throughout “See the Difference”

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Due for a February, 2006 delivery, the 513-passenger Key West Express takes shape in the Gulf

Craft yard. Total propulsion horsepower is 12,400.

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