Page 92: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 1994)

National Park Service Ferry

Gets $2.7 Million Restoration

At San Francisco Drydock

The giant hull of the 300-foot (91.4 -m) steam ferryboat has been restored with 12,000-sq.-ft. of new copper plate at San Francisco Drydock.

The vessel is the 1890 San Francisco ferry

Eureka, and the copper sheathing on her wooden hull is the culmination of a $2.7 million National

Park Service restoration project at San Fran- cisco Drydock. The steamship has been in the shipyard since October 1993, employing a spe- cially-gathered crew of 45 skilled craftsmen.

The vessel's last major shipyard repair was com- pleted on May 19, 1954. The Eureka, now offi- cially designated a National Historic Landmark, is part of the fleet of historic vessels maintained afloat at San Francisco Maritime National His- torical Park. She is berthed at the park's Hyde

Street Pier, located at Fisherman's Wharf.

San Francisco Maritime National Historical

Park shipwrights will put on the final touches— to the decks and the above-water superstructure —over the next 18 months after the vessel has returned to her regular berth at Hyde Street

Pier. The restoration was funded by a Congres- ehi^BMBEE it -ullilsr yi. "2ft. V i 1.1 _ Ell- "r SiiafefiEr . npil • 1 i Ml 'iLlilESBT'El'Ss-ft"-if :j | -'SIHIfii'^tf T*55 1M f . : •mmmmi

The steam ferryboat Eureka being outfitted with 12,000-sq.-ft. of new copper plate at San Francisco Drydock. sional appropriation sponsored by San Francisco

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who rechris- tened the Eureka on its 100th anniversary cel- ebration four years ago. Eureka is 299.5 feet (91 m) long and 78 feet (24 m) wide. Her walking beam engine is the only one afloat (its design can be traced back to 1780) and her two 27-foot paddle wheels are driven by a single steam cylinder, which is 65 inches (1,651 mm) in diam- eter and 12 feet (3.65 m) tall. Her engines were built at San Francisco's Fulton Iron Works.

SeaArk Delivers Water Ambulance To Ft. Meyers

Ft. Meyers Beach Fire and Rescue District took delivery of a one-of-a-kind fire/ambulance boat from SeaArk Marine of Monticello, Ark.

Designed for speed and durability, the 32-foot (9.75-m) Advanced Life Support Ambulance is constructed of all-welded aluminum and fea- tures a deep-vee hull. Powered by twin 250-hp outboard engines, the new water ambulance can travel at speeds up to 45 mph.

According to customer specifications, SeaArk added a Stokes Litter rack to the aft deck, a port- side dive door, and a 500 gpm fire system with monitor on the forward deck.

The new SeaArk also features a full array of electronic equipment, including a siren/P.A. sys- tem, emergency response lights, radar, GPS,

VHF radio and local Fire Department radios.

According to Fire Chief John McCarthy, this boat is the first certified Advanced Life

Support marine ambulance in the Continental

U.S. Chief McCarthy speculated that having this new craft will enable the district to respond to crises in areas unreachable before. "SeaArk worked closely with us on concept, design and construction, to deliver an emer- gency response vessel that exactly fits our needs," said Chief McCarthy. According to Chief

McCarthy, the boat also proved its seaworthi- ness recently when it performed without prob- lems in eight-foot seas.

For more information on SeaArk Marine,

Circle 14 on Reader Service Card 32-Foot Advanced Life Support Ambulance

Equipment List

Main engines Evinrude

Propeller OMC

Engine controls Morse

Steering control Teleflex Seastar

VHF radio Raytheon

Radar Icom

Compass Ritchie

Bisso Marine Launches Bender-Built Gaming Vessel North Kansas City

Bisso Marine Co. launched the gaming vessel

North Kansas City at Bender Shipbuilding &

Repair Co., Inc. in Mobile, Ala.

The 295-foot (90-m), 700-ton hull was launched with Bisso Marine's heavy lift derrick barges

Cappy Bisso and Lili Bisso. Later that day, the three-story super structure weighing 800 tons was lifted into position by the two Bisso Marine derricks. Versabar, Inc. of Harvey, La. provided the spreader bars and rigging.

For more information on Bisso Marine,

Circle 11 on Reader Service Card 78

Vessels in ASRY's floating docks, which can commodate ships up to 120,000-dwt.

ASRY Improves Performance In 1993

Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard Co. (ASRY) was able to increase ship repair revenue by five percent in 1993. Aided by the greater flexibility of two additional floating docks, the yard also raised vessel numbers by 25 percent overall, to 113. Owners of smaller vessels also took advan- tage of the large increase in dock space available to vessels up to 120,000-dwt and the num- ber of small ves- sels docked rose by 30 per- cent to 75.

Although expenditure per vessel fell,

ASRY in- creased the vol- ume of steel re- newal by 50 percent and good increases were also seen in engine work, pump and valve work, overhaul of turbo-chargers, boiler repairs, electrical work and cable renewal.

Hans Frisk, ASRYs general manager and

CEO, said he was pleased with the first full year's operation of ASRY's two additional floating docks and the flexibility which they have added to dock operations and encouragement to owners of prod- uct carriers, bulk carriers, gas carriers, general cargo vessels and other smaller craft to take advantage of the extended repair facilities now available at Bahrain.

ASRY believes that the downturn in overall repair demand, which has caused such problems for many ship repair yards west of Suez and in the

Far East, is now coming to an end and that owners would be well advised to bring forward repairs now in order to take advantage of the highly competitive repair prices on offer since these cannot be maintained indefinitely.

For more information on ASRY,

Circle 5 on Reader Service Card

Boston Whaler Delivers New Fire

Boat To Milwaukee Fire Department

Boston Whaler Inc. delivered a customized 32- foot (9.75 m) Vigilant to the Milwaukee, Wis. fire department. The boat was then subjected to two and a half days of testing in the Milwaukee environment. The boat features a 130-hp fire pump with a bow monitor capable of discharging 1,000 gpm at 100 psi. Water is drawn via a six- inch through-hull intake. During its trials, the

Vigilant reached a top speed of 32 knots carrying a crew of four and 140 gallons of fuel. It is powered by twin 7.4 L Mercruiser inboard/out- board engines. Its 12-foot (3.7 m) beam allows ample access around the large center cabin for personnel carrying equipment. For more infor- mation on Boston Whaler,

Circle 10 on Reader Service Card

Circle 282 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News