114
July 2, 2000

Cummins Power for Catalina Catamaran

Hot on the heals of the announcement that Nichols Brothers Boatbuilders are building a catamaran ferry for San Francisco, comes word that they are building another for Catalina Express Lines. Also designed by International Catamaran Designs of Sydney Australia, the new 37-knot 378-passenger boat will join the owner’s eight-boat fleet to make the 26-mile run between Long Beach and Catalina Island in about 45 to 50 minutes. "This will replace a 27-knot 360 catamaran that is currently in our fleet," says Catlaina Express president Greg Bombard.

Like the 42- metre boat for San Francisco (see Cummins Hotips#113) the Catalina boat will be powered by four of Cummins KTA50-M2 main engines (two in each hull) delivering 1600 HP each at 1800 RPM. Explaining the choice of Cummins engines Bomabard says, "When we decided to go to the quad jets from twins, these engines gave us the best horsepower to weight ratio as well as the best cost of operating in terms of time between overhauls and the fuel burn looked good for the 6400 HP."

Both sets of engines will turn into ZF reduction gears, but the Catalina boat will use four of the larger Hamilton 651 water-jets while the San Francisco boat will drive the same horsepower through four Hamilton 571 water-jets. "When you build a boat like this it is important to look to ahead and the bigger jets give us opportunity to increase the horsepower and speed in future."

The Catalina boat will also incorporate a "third bow" to prevent head seas from slapping on the underside of the boat. The two hulls of the 44.27x10.45 boat will each have beams of 2.75 metres. The new vessel will enter service in the spring of 2001. General arrangements for the boat are available from Bryan Nichols.

For more information:

Greg Bombard
President, Catalina Express Lines
Phone: 310 519-7957 Fax: 310 548-7389

or:

Bryan Nichols
Nichols Brothers Boat Builders Inc.
P.O. Box 580
5400 S. Cameron Rd. Freeland, WA98249
Phone: (360) 331-5500
e-mail: bnichols@whitbey.com

or:

John Walls
Sales Manager
Cummins Northwest Inc.
811 S.W. Grady Way Renton WA 98057_9811
Phone:1 800 274_0336 Fax: 425 545_7374
e-mail: jmwalls@cnw.cummins.com

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