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 15, 1980

Read Innovative Tugboat #Jekyll Isle7 Delivered By Gladding-Hearn in Pdf, Flash or Html5 edition of July 15, 1980 Maritime Reporter

Other stories from July 15, 1980 issue

Content

Maritime Reporter

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