46 August 14, 1998

More Power, Less Fuel For Shallow Draft Tug

"We call it moving rigs around in the duck pond," says Matt Cheramie with Louisiana based Central Gulf Towing. He explains an important focus of the company is towing inland barge rigs in the bays and bayous of the Gulf South. Central Gulf currently has a fleet of nine boats in their fleet which work inland and offshore from Texas to Massachusetts to the Caribbean. In early August the keel of their tenth boat was laid at Rodriguez Boatbuilders in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. The new boat will be a sister to a pair of shallow draft 65X22-foot conventional model bow tugs which were delivered earlier this year.

The first two tugs, the Helen and the Jane, have 12-cylinder two-cycle diesels. In the planning stages of the third tug, they looked at the possibility of increasing horsepower and fuel efficiency. They were told about Cummins' six-cylinder N14 engine which promises better fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs. In addition, the N14 package had a $40,000 savings over the previously purchased engines.

For charter purposes the industry designated the two earlier boats, with their twin engines rated at 359 hp each, in 900-hp class. The new boat, with a pair of N14s rated at 440 hp each will be a 1200 hp class boat. One of the challenges for increased power in shallow water towing is to maintain a shallow draft. To maintain the 6.5-foot draft, they decided to lower the gear ration on the Twin Disc Model 5114 gears from 5.17:1 on the 359 hp engines to 4.86:1 on the 440 hp Cummins N14 engines. This allowed them to keep the same size propeller which will turn faster to take advantage of the increased power while maintaining the same shallow draft. A pair of Cummins 4B 40 kW gen sets will complete the vessel's power package.

Once painted in the company's red and white house colors over a black hull the new boat, to be named "Celia Ann" will join her lower powered sisters 'moving rigs in the duck pond."

For more information on Central Gulf Towing contact:

Matt Cheramie
Vice-President
Central Gulf Towing
Cut Off, Louisana
Phone: 504 632-4400 Fax: 504 632-4410

For drawings and full specs:

Joe Rodriguez Jr.
Rodriguez Boat Builders
Bayou LaBatre, AL 36509
Phone: 334 824-4067 Fax: 334 824-4074

For more detailed engine specs contact:

Larry Neff
V-P Marine Marketing
Cummins Alabama Inc.
3422 Georgia Pacific Ave.
Mobile, Alabama
Phone: 334 452-6426 ext 206 Fax: 334 473-6657

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