Page 41: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 15, 1969)

Tustumena Returns To Alaska Ferry Service A Better Ship After Jumboizing By Bethlehem MV Tustumena, her modifications completed, passes under tne ban I-rancisco-UaKiand Bay Bridge on her way to Alaska after leaving Bethlehem's San Francisco shipyard. The new jumboized MV Tustu-mena has recently returned to service for the Alaska State Ferry System after having been modified and enlarged by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Shipyard Divi-sion, San Francisco. Now she is much larger, faster, more seakind-ly, and maneuverable than she had been previously. The enlarged ferry will ply the waters between Kodiak Island, Seward, Homer and Anchorage, Alaska. Philip F. Spaulding and Associ-ates, original designer of the ship which was built by the Christy Corporation at Sturgeon Bay, Wis. in 1964, has in the redesign virtual-ly created a new vessel with the addition of a 56-foot midsection. The overall length of the Tustu-mena is now 296 feet and the maximum draft is 16 feet 4 inches. Passenger lounge accommodations were increased from 116 to 138. Vehicular capacity was increased from 40 to 59 vehicles, and pas-sengers' sleeping accommodations were increased from 42 to 58. All of this was accomplished with no sacrifice in efficiency, or service. Speed was increased from 14.1 knots to 14.6 knots due to a reduc-tion in the speed length ratio brought about by the vessel's in-creased length. In spite of the in-creased parasitic drag of the fin stabilizers and the bow thruster, the speed was gained with no change in the diesel propulsion en-gines. The addition of the fin stabi-lizers and bow thruster have con-tributed to smooth riding char-acteristics and a greater maneu-verability of the vessel. Philip F. Spaulding, the design-er, said that extensive model tests were conducted by General Dy-namics/Convair Corporation at their San Diego tank to predict performance and justify the overall undertaking. The Tustumena plies the waters of the Gulf of Alaska and Schilikof Strait where the tidal range is 32 feet. The violent, short, steep con-fused seas combined with the ves-sel's original short length and broad beam caused the Tustumena to roll and wallow badly. Through outstanding work of the model testing and the addition of activated fin stabilizers, both the pitch and the roll characteristics of the vessel were completely modi-fied. By adding 56 feet to the length, the vessel was 'tuned' to be out of phase with expected wave frequency. The original generous flair and easy 'vee' sections for-ward combined with the new addi-tional length now gives the vessel an easy pitching motion at sea and completely dry foredeck. All of this together with an effective roll re-duction of 87 percent brought about by the fin stabilizers make the Tustumena completely accept-able to the most squeamish stom-achs. Great attention was paid to the interior decoration to see that the designs for the new deck covering, lining, ceiling and trim and the furniture and fixtures were all com-patible with and blended in to the original ship's interior. A solarium or protected prome-nade was added on the house top in order to improve the vessel's passenger amenities. The solarium is provided with infrared heating to ward off the chill of the north-ern latitudes. The original diesel generator sets were removed and replaced with two 450-kw Waukesha Enginators (diesel-driven generators) of great-er capacity in order to accommo-date the greater electrical load caused by the additional hotel load, the added Carrier reefer machin-ery, the Pacific Mark X fin stabi-lizers manufactured by Pacific Products Inc., and the Bird-John-son KaMeWa bow thruster. The Tustumena's Pacific Mark A sraDil-izers are of the horizontal, swing-out os-cillating fin type. The remote location of the ves-sel's route demanded increased capacity for ship storeroom and refrigerated stores. The new mid-section provides an ideal location for these storage spaces. In addi-tion, a new ship's laundry is pro-vided for the convenience of the crew. A dumbwaiter was installed from the storeroom to the main fore and aft passage way to serv-ice the galley. The unusual elevator and turn-table assembly at the stern was originally designed in such a man-ner that the Tustumena could land at any conventional pier, accom-modate herself to a 32-foot tidal range, and load or discharge any legal over-the-highway vehicle. The elevator can handle trailers up to 40-feet long and 40-tons in weight at a one minute time cycle. Experience has shown that the Tustumena is the life line to Kodi-ak. In order to provide a greater versatility to the vessel's opera-tion, the conversion created a large open deck space forward of the observation lounge. This space will be utilized for deck loads of con-tractor's equipment or other over-sized vehicles which cannot be han-dled by the elevator. No cargo gear has been provided forward, there-fore shore-based gear must be used to service this space. A Markey Ma-chinery Company warping winch was added to aid in docking. The greatest satisfaction to the designer and builder came when the vessel was placed in operation, everything worked as planned, and the master stated she is "fantastic." Carrier Appoints Wylie District Representative J. David Wylie J. David Wylie has been ap-pointed district representative in Washington, D.C. for marine, transportation and military equip-ment produced by Carrier Air Con-ditioning Company, according to William LaGrange, special prod-ucts group sales manager. Mr. Wylie is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and served in the U.S. Navy before joining the Carrier marine department in 1956. Prior to his current assignment he spe-cialized in Syracuse sales and en-gineering projects involving re-frigeration and air conditioning for ships, containers, and rail trans-portation. Dillingham Initiates New Pacific Service A new steamship service between San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam has been initiated by the Dilling-ham Corp., according to Rae F. Watts, San Francisco port direc-tor. Dillingham has chartered the C-2 cargo vessel Surfer for the serv-ice which began July 8 when the ship sailed from Pier 80, Army Street Terminal. The Surfer, under a five-year charter, calls at San Francisco every six weeks. Burton Shipyard Building Oil-Well Supply Boat For Dearborn Marine Dearborn Marine, Inc., Detroit, Mich., has ordered a twin-screw offshore oil-well supply boat from Burton Shipyard, Inc., Port Ar-thur, Texas. Equipped with 1,700-total-bhp diesel machinery, the boat will be 165 feet by 38 feet by 13 feet. It is a duplicate of another ordered earlier this year and has been designated Hull No. 461. For greater passenger comtort in the new soiarium, trie neignt ot tne stacK was in creased by three feet. The solarium is heated electrically. August 15, 1969 43