549 May 2009

Royal Star: New Era Same Reliability

Photo courtesy of Royal Star Sportfishing

The reliable Cummins six-cyliner in-line marine diesel is among the most popular engine on commercial fishing boats from Seattle’s classic long line halibut schooners to Gulf of Mexico Shrimpers. In southern California the 85 by 24-foot (26x7.3-meter) Royal Star, a sport fishing boat out of San Diego, has run up a lot of hours on a pair of these legendary engines. Extended fishing trips with an enthusiastic group of recreational fishermen have routinely taken the Royal Star well into Mexican waters and, on occasion further south in Central America.

The boat was built by Ted Dunn on a Poole hull into which he incorporated many of his design concepts. These included, in addition to the original Cummins engines, integral, structural and mechanical features in a manner that separates the Royal Star from several similar vessels operating in southern California. Since her launch at Chula Vista in 1986, the Royal Star has maintained a 300-day per year operating schedule. “This schedule averages 4000 to 4500 hours of annual machinery use involving an incredibly diverse, heavy duty operating schedule in extremely demanding conditions with zero down time from July through December,” explained Tim Ekstrom, who owns the vessel with Randy Toussaint, “Dependable machinery is a must. Our Cummins KTA1150s (19-liter) gave flawless operation for twenty-three years.”

Photo courtesy of Royal Star Sportfishing

With the original engines giving years of reliable service the choice of replacement engines was obvious. The decision was made to repower with modern environmentally friendly Tier 2 certified engines from Cummins Marine. The electronic controlled QSK19-M with its common rail fuel system was to selected. Based on the same 19-liter displacement block as the original engines, the QSK19-M has been upgraded to maximize the efficiency of the fuel burn in order to meet the stringent requirements of the US Environmental Protection Agency. The two engines installed in the Royal Star have a continuous duty rating of 500 HP each to give her a combined 1000 hp turning the two 40 by 38-inch props through Twin Disc MG518 gears.

For comfortable long-range voyages the Royal Star has 12 staterooms that can accommodate up to 25 passengers with the support of a seven-member crew. Tankage includes 10,000 gallons of fuel and 1500 gallons of water. A pair of 100 kW gen sets keeps the vessel’s extensive freezing capacity and other amenities operating.

Photo courtesy of Royal Star Sportfishing

The added environmental protection pleased the owners at Royal Star Sportsfishing who recognize that their future is dependent on a healthy environment. This commitment has lead to one of their most popular charters. On occasion the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Association and Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Pesca send scientists out on the Royal Star to tag tuna for research purposes. Eighteen guest fishermen get to do the fishing to provide specimens for tagging. This takes place in the tropical waters off the Revilla Gigedo Islands some 240-miles (386 km) southwest of Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of Baja California.

For further information please contact:

Tim Ekstrom
Royal Star Sportfishing
2838 Garrison Street
San Diego, CA 92106
USA
Phone: 619 224 4764
Fax: 619 224 4423
E-mail: royalstar10@cox.net
E-mail: rs@royalstarsportfishing.com
Web: www.royalstarsportfishing.com

Mike Hoffman
Cummins Cal-Pacific LLC
Phone: 949 862 7291
Fax: 949 253 6070
E-mail: mike.hoffman@cummins.com

575-551
550-526, 525-501, 500-476, 475-451, 450-426, 425-401, 400-376
375-351, 350-326, 325-301, 300-276, 275-251, 250-226, 225-201
200-176, 175-151, 150-126, 125-101, 100-76, 75-51, 50-26, 25-0