26 Feb. 12, 1998

Cummins Power For Boston Incat

"We operate 28 boats now and we find that unless you have a continuous rating at a relatively low RPM you won't get the longevity," says Ken Anderson who was instrumental in the decision of Boston Harbor Cruises to select Cummins power for their new Incat designed commuter ferries. "In our associated companies we operate heavy construction equipment, buses and machinery that uses over a thousand diesel engines. I like what I've seen with the Cummins."

These new boats are a particularly exciting move for Boston Harbor Cruises as they are the first of their fleet to utilize catamaran hulls. Explaining that they went with the four-engine rather than a two-engine configuration, Anderson said that they wanted the redundancy in order to provide reliable commuter service. "I've been on catamarans down in New York with two big engines, but if one of those goes down the boat is down. With four engines we can keep going on three if we need to."

Anderson knows his engines and he shopped hard for this particular application. "We wanted a smoke free engine," he says, "If you blow black smoke all over a commuter in a white dress she is not going to like it."

Anderson also credits the accommodating attitude of Cummins Northeast staff with consolidating the engine choice. "In this hotly sought after project, we weren't the only bidder," says Cummins Northeast sales manager Mel Molgard, "But we were able to demonstrate the durability and reliability required for fast commuter ferries."

With a growing share of the high speed Gulf Coast crew boat market, Cummins Marine has now won a major contract to supply two sets of four KTA38-M2 engines to the highly respected Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corp. for installation in their latest catamarans. Being built under license of the Australian Incat design firm, the two boats, in the initial contract, will serve as commuter and whale watch vessels in the Boston Massachusetts area. The 121.6X33.6-foot, 350 passenger boats will each be powered by four of the 12-cylinder KTA38-M2 engines delivering 1300 hp heavy duty each at 1800 RPM driving through ZF BW450-1D reduction gears to four MJP model J500S-DD Bird-Johnson waterjets. Designed top speed for the ferry is 38 knots. With a full complement of 350 passengers it will cross the harbour at more than 33 knots.

The vessels will be operated by Boston Harbour Cruises Inc. on commuter runs under contract to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority the balance of their time will be on whale watch tours. These will be the first catamarans for Boston Harbour Cruises who currently operate over 20 vessels in the harbour as commuter and whale watching vessels. Boston Harbour Cruises' Managing Partner Frederick L. Nolan III says, "We see the catamarans as the right step into the next century. We were thrilled when we found the KTA38s to power them. The vessels currently under construction will ultimately be the largest and fastest ferries operating in northern New England, and will set new standards for commuter service and whale watching in our region."

Not only will this new vessel be the first of this class of fast ferry to be Cummins powered, the main engines are the first commercially rated KTA38s to fully incorporate that latest environmental systems technology. The two central components of which are the:

ELIMINATOR FILTER: Ala Laval in cooperation with Cummins, has developed the Eliminator Filter system that effectively eliminates the need for replaceable components in the lube oil system. Taking the place of six conventional oil filters, the Eliminator system makes disposable lube oil filters a thing of the past.

CENTINEL: This electronicly controlled system actually removes small amounts of lube oil from the engine on a monitored basis. Removed oil is blended with fuel and burned. At the same time the lube oil in the engine is replenished from a make-up tank. This system dramaticly increases the time between oil changes which saves on down time.

In addition to the significant reduction in used oil and filter disposal, research has shown that the typical operating costs on a KTA38-M engine are dramaticly reduced. These "off the shelf" Cummins components significantly reduce pollutants to provide a safer and cleaner working environment and greater operator profitability.

The first of the current order of two all aluminum vessels is scheduled to begin service in July with the second in October. Given their ability to move large numbers of passengers quickly and efficiently, these Gladding-Hearn boats will take Boston area citizens into a new era of daily commuting.

For further information and an artist's rendition contact:

Mel Molgard
Cummins Northeast Inc.
100 Allied Drive
Dedham, MA 02026
Phone: 781 329-1750 Fax: 781 329-4428

Peter Duclos
Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding
The Duclos Corporation
P.O.Box 300
Riverside Ave. Somerset, MA 02726-0300
Phone: 508 676-8596
Fax: 508 672-1873

Rick Nolan
Boston Harbor Cruises
Boston, MA
Ph: 617 227-4321

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