Innovative Tugboat #Jekyll Isle7 Delivered By Gladding-Hearn

The 7 6 - f o o t tug Jekyll Isle (shown above) has been delivered by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding Corporation, Somerset, Mass., to Jekyll Towing and Marine Services Corporation of Jekyll Island, Ga. With the power and range to perform both mid-ocean and coastal work, the 185-ton vessel fills a void in the towing and chartering market, according to Charles D.

Gibson, president of Jekyll Towing.

Equipped with a wide array of deck gear and electronics, the new vessel is the latest in a series of innovative tugs designed and built by Gladding-Hearn during the yard's 25 years of operation. In 1977, the yard designed and constructed the first U.S.-built tug powered by 360-degree, steerable propulsion units.

The Jekyll Isle is fitted with fuel-saving Kort nozzles, and she has a bollard pull of 171 A tons.

She holds both American Bureau of Shipping and U.S. Coast Guard approval for Unrestricted Ocean Service, and meets USCG stability standards for towing, passenger service, and o v e r - t h e - s i de crane lifts with up to 24-foot outreach.

The boat is designed for crew and passenger comfort as well as performance. For coastal day trips, she can carry a master, two or three crew members, and up to 12 passengers. For offshore missions she has four berths located in the forecastle and two in the dinette area, providing accommodations for f o u r crewmen and three to four guests. The vessel has central heating and air-conditioning throughout.

Main propulsion power is supplied by two General Motors 16V- 92 Detroit Diesel Allison engines with a total output of 1,200 bhp, giving a free-running speed of 11.3 knots. At cruising speed, the boat has a range of 4,000 miles and she can operate for up to 20 days at sea without resupplying when on low-fuel use, such as maintaining a station-holding pattern.

Fuel capacity is 13,000 gallons, and her 550-gallon water tanks can be replenished by a 150-gpd Maxim evaporator.

Two 3-71 Detroit Diesel-powered generators supply 30 kw each. The electrical system is designed for non-parallel operation.

A special feature allows exclusive use of one generator by a charterer while the other provides ship's power.

Two banks of 12-volt dc batteries power electronics, emergency lighting, and auxiliary engine starting. Main engine starting and certain specialized electronics are powered by 24-volt dc batteries.

Deck gear includes three winches, a knuckle-boom crane, 25-ton, pneumatic-release tow hook, and a 6-ton hydraulic A frame. The latter lowers to the deck while the vessel is in the towing mode.

An aft steering station — with controls for the A frame, main winch, knuckle-boom crane, and hydro-winch — and a 600-watt searchlight for aft maneuvering are located on a walkway behind the pilothouse.

A life raft and small boat are stored on the upper deck. A davit is fitted for lowering the boat and handling an over-the-side transducer boom. A wraparound sandwich fender system includes bow fender strips from the rail to 24 inches above the waterline for push-towing jobs.

The vessel's electronics include a Wagner a u t o p i l o t , Raytheon 1025 Commercial Model Radar, a smaller Raytheon back-up radar, Simrad EQ depth recorder with MC expander system, and Wesmar scanning sonar and Towfish sonar. Her Loran is a Raytheon 600 with navigational computer including latitude and longitude readout. Radios are two Nautilus VHFs and one 1,000-watt SSB.

For route and operational planning she carries a Furuno facsimile Weatherfax.

Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 34, Jul 1980

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Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.