Page 63: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 1994)

BOATS AND BARGES

Hike Metal Products Designs,

Builds Array Of Vessels

Hike Metal Products, a ship- and boatbuilding company located in southwestern Ontario on Lake Erie, builds a wide range of vessels for both the government and commer- cial sectors, as well as pleasure craft for private use.

Most recently Hike has deliv- ered a 30.5-foot Fisheries Patrol

Vessel; a similar vessel is currently under construction for the State of

Vermont Police. The Lake Erie patrol vessel, built and designed by

Hike Metal Products for the Minis- try of Natural Resources of Ontario,

Canada, is an all-welded, alumi- num constructed boat powered by twin Volvo Penta AD41DP diesels.

Built to be used for law enforce- ment of the commercial and an- gling fishing industry on the open waters of Lake Erie, the vessel has a top speed of 40 mph.

Hike Metal Products also deliv- ered a 63-foot Ice Management Ves- sel, a boat christened Niagara Queen

II and delivered to Ontario Hydro.

The vessel is powered by twin Cater- pillar 3412TA diesels, which deliver 1,250 bhp at 1,800 rpm that allow the vessel to navigate through ice in the dangerous waters above Horse- shoe Falls.

The company builds vessels in steel, aluminum or a combination of both. Specific examples of the large craft it builds include: fishing ves- sels, patrol vessels, research ves- sels, self-propelled workbarges, pas- senger boats, crew boats, tugs, off- shore supply boats, car ferries and many more. The company also sports an impressive selection of and expe- rience in building smaller boats. Hike features an in-house design staff, or can build to owner-supplied draw- ings. For more information on the vessel building capabilities of Hike,

Circle 15 on Reader Service Card

ABB Turbocharger Repairs

VTR..4 Turbine Blades

ABB Turbocharger Co. has ex- tended its turbine blade remanufacturing program to include welding repairs of damaged VTR..4 series turbocharger turbine blades to original design specifications.

The new technique was developed jointly with ABB Turbo Systems

Ltd., Switzerland, and the service is performed by ABS-certified welders at the company's 13,000-sq.-ft. re- pair facility in New Jersey.

The remanufacturing of welding

VTR..4 series turbine blades joins that of VTR..0 and 1 series blades, which has been performed by ABB

Turbocharger Co. since 1985. Tur- bine blade remanufacturing must follow the latest ABB proprietary, factory-approved procedures. "Two years were spent in the development and testing stages to assure that ABB Turbocharger's quality standards were satisfied, since welding ofVTR. .4 series blades requires a distinctly different tech- nique," said Mark Rothmann, president. An earlier procedure developed by ABB included remanufacturing VTR..0 and 1 se- ries turbocharger blades of forged steel alloy, subjected to pressures up to three bar during operation.

VTR..4 series turbocharger blades are cast steel alloy, according to Mr.

Rothmann, and are subjected to even greater operating pressures.

VTR..4 series turbine blades pro- vide extra durability, but they are harder and more brittle compared to earlier designed blades. As a result, changes in weld material and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding procedures were developed. Dam- aged and worn blades received for remanufacturing are cleaned and inspected for cracks and excessive wear, against ABB proprietary guidelines. Cracked and excessively worn or damaged blades are replaced by new ones. Repairable blades are

TIG welded at low amperage, under an inert gas bath to guarantee a pure weld. All turbine blade weld- ing is performed in a totally en- closed, environmentally-controlled "clean room." The weight is checked and marked on each blade, and a final check for cracks is performed before identification stamping. In keeping with the company's ISO 9002 Certification, "the utmost in quality, procedural documentation and service records are always main- tained to guarantee customer satis- faction," said Mr. Rothmann.

Remanufactured turbine blades are covered by ABB Turbocharger's warranty. "The normal time to remanufacture a set of turbine blades for a main propulsion turbo- charger is one week; however, the actual time can be substantially re- duced if a customer's schedule is tight," said Joseph Kersulic, shop service manager. ABB Turbo- charger is increasing its stock of complete sets of remanufactured turbine blades, which are available on an exchange basis, to further assist customers in an emergency.

The turbine blade exchange pro- gram allows the company to com- pletely overhaul a turbocharger ro- tor—including cleaning, blade re- placement, shaft seals and balanc- ing—in as little as 48 hours, said

Mr. Kersulic. For more informa- tion on ABB Turbocharger,

Circle 69 on Reader Service Card

NEW TECHNOLOGY

Volvo Sponsors 40-Foot Concept Boat

Nautilus 3

The Nautilus 3 is a 40-foot award- winning design concept sponsored by Volvo Penta. The next genera- tion, 10-ton sport cruiser is a hull of composite core with epoxy gel coat, reinforced with unidirectional

Kevlar.

The boat, with inner and outer skins of glass fiber, is powered by two Volvo Penta KAD 42 diesel sterndrive units, and is designed to travel 50 mph.

The vessel won the prestigious

Giorgetto Giugiaro prize for Trans- port Innovation at the Royal Col- lege of Art, London, a reward tradi- tionally reserved for automotive de- sign. Volvo Penta was approached by the designers—Iain Robertson,

Fran Cush and Nick Talbot—to provide technical assistance with the engine configuration in the early stages of development. The engine- maker was reportedly so impressed with the depth of design and re- search that it agreed to sponsor the project.

The KAD 42/DPX is a 3.6 liter marine diesel developing 230 hp at 3,800 rpm. The engine features di- rect fuel injection, a freshwater cool- ing system and a charge air com- pressor. For more information on

Volvo Penta,

Circle 85 on Reader Service Card The Nautilus 3 award-winning boat design is sponsored by Volvo Penta.

Hike Metal Products, which delivered this Volvo Penta-powered patrol vessel to the Ministry of Natural

Resources, is building a similar vessel for the State of Vermont Police.

January, 1994 65