514 July 2008

Another New Boat from Hope

History painted on the bulwarks.

Over the years I have sent out several accounts of Hope Services' popular 72x30-foot push boats. Powered by a pair of Cummins equally popular 850 hp KTA38 M0 main engines. (see Hotips#339, #269, #180 and #90) In fact most times that I have visited the Dulac Louisiana yard over the past decade, there has been one or more of the Frank Basile-designed boats under construction.

Capt. Jack Higman on the Ohio River, Photo by Jeff L. Yates
courtesy of Cummins Marine

Higman's Albert de La Puente, Hope's Maurice LeBlanc and Cummins Mid-South's Tracy Gallardo recall some history on the stern of the Capt. Jack Higman. This photo and all photos below by Alan Haig-Brown courtesy of Cummins Marine.

Such was the case when I stopped by at Hope Services in December 2007. They were well along in building the Preston N. Shuford, scheduled for a February 2008 delivery, and they were putting the finishing touches on the Capt. Jack Higman . Three men with good knowledge of this boat took a few moments to speak about boats built to his design by Hope Services for Maryland Marine and its predecessor company Higman Towing. Higman's Alberto dela Puente, Cummins Mid-South's Tracy Gollardo and Hope Services Maurice LeBlanc figured that the Capt. Jack Higman would be the 27th delivered since the Grebe took to the water for Higman in 1996. A total of four more boats were scheduled for delivery in 2008.

A pair of Cummins KTA38 M0 engines fill the engine space.

I took a few pictures of the boat alongside at the dock but such shots are never so good as a boat doing what it was designed to do. Recently marine photographer Jeff L. Yates of Paducah Kentucky sent along this photo of the Capt. Jack Higman doing what it was designed to do on the Ohio River. It is a nice shot and so we are passing it along in a high resolution file compliments of Cummins Marine. I have included some low-resolution versions of the photos that I took in the yard last December. If you want any of these in high rez let me know.

Company colors.

Two mains and two gensets equals four exhaust.

The ramp makes it safer and easier to work empty barges.

Fitting out in Dulac, Louisiana.

For more information:

Lou Parker
Hope Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 957
Houma, LA 70361 U.S.A.
Phone: 985 563-7801
Fax: 985 563-4660
E-mail: hopeservices@direcway.com

For more information on Cummins Mid-South:
Calvin Klotz
Cummins Mid-South
Kenner, LA 70062 U.S.A.
Phone: 504 465-3406
Email: Calvin.B.Klotz@Cummins.com

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