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August 21, 2000

Kvichak Marine: Diversity in Catamarans

The U.S. maritime community largely ignored the evolution of the smaller catamaran in recent decades, but now the twin hulled vessels are winning wide acceptance. As with their single hulled predecessors, different catamaran hulls are suited to different jobs. The people at Seattle’s Kvichak Marine Industries are making a name for themselves in matching a variety of designs to a range of customer needs. Two boats currently building at Kvichak serve as illustrations of this.

A 54x14-foot 70 passenger boat is being built for Atlantis Submarines of Hawaii. Designed by Morrelli and Melvin, the vessel carries a relatively narrow beam in order to meet harbour restrictions in its home port. The designer estimates that it will be capable of 20-knots at full throttle and 18 knots cruising when loaded with a full complement of passengers, four crew, 300 gallons of fuel, 100 gallons of fresh water and 50 gallons of waste. Power will be provided by two Cummins 6CTA diesel engines rated for 350 HP at 2600 RPM. Mounted on Cummins-supplied engine bed vibration isolators, the engines will turn into ZF IRM 305A down angle marine gears with 1.97:1 reduction and two-inch shafts turning 28-inch Ni-BrAl 4-bladed, skewed screw propellers.

A second boat, currently under construction at Kvichak, also destined for Hawaii, is a 64x28-foot whale watching catamaran for Sea Sport Cruises. Similar to the "Hula Kai", delivered last spring, the new vessel was designed by Crowther Multihulls of Newport, Australia. With a passenger capacity of 149 on her broad-beamed hull, she will be constructed to meet or exceed the requirements of the United States Coast Guard per 46 CFR subchapter T for excursion vessels carrying no more that 150 passengers on exposed coastal routes less than 20 nautical miles from shore in warm waters.

The vessel has a speed of 23.5 knots at full throttle (2100) RPM), and 20 knots cruising at 1900 RPM, when loaded with six crew and a full compliment of passengers as well as 880 gallons of fuel, 100 gallons of fresh water and 145 gallons of waste water. This performance will be provided by a pair of Cummins six-cylinder KTA-19 M4 marine diesel engines rated for 700 HP each.

The design and technological challenges of building successful catamarans may be relatively new to Northwest boat builders, but a commitment that is consistent with the tradition of the respected old plank on frame builders is included in the Kvichak contract, "Kvichak prides itself on producing and delivering high quality products. Accordingly, this vessel will be built with workmanship that meets or exceeds the best in the aluminum boat building industry."

Both vessels are scheduled for delivery later this year. For general arrangements and additional information of either of these vessels, contact:

Jennifer Rose
Kvichak Marine Industries
469 NW Bowdoin Place, Seattle, WA 98107
Phone: 206 545_8485
Fax: 206 545_3504
e-mail: jenniferr@kvichak.com
web page: www.kvichak.com

For more on the Cummins Engines:

John Walls
Cummins Northwest, Inc.
811 S.W. Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057_9811
phone: 1 800 274_0336
e-mail: jmwalls@cnw.cummins.com

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