"The resurgence in the push boat new-builds for the petro-chemical market has been a
pleasant surprise for Cummins Mid-South," says Calvin Klotz Vice-President for Marine Sales. Mid-South currently has engines for a half dozen or more Cummins-powered push-boats on order. Three of these boats are building at
Kody Marine for Higman Marine Services' associated firm Maryland Marine Inc. The first vessel, to be named Skipjack, was delivered at the end of May. Construction on the two sister-ships is to start by July 1. Each of these three boats will be powered by a pair of Cummins KTA38 M1 main engines rated for 1,000 hp each at 1,800 rpm. The engines turn into Twin Disc MG540 gears with 6.18:1 ratios. The 78 x 53-in. propellers are mounted on 16-ft. by 8-in. cold rolled shafts. Electrical needs are met by a pair of Cummins 6B5.9-powered 55 KW generator sets. Keel coolers for both the main and auxiliary engine are supplied by Fernstrum.
The 74 by 32-ft. boats will have a molded depth of 10 ft., nine in., and will operate with a normal draft of eight ft. The hulls will be framed with 5x3-in. 5/16-in. angle iron with frames on 16-in. centers from the stern for 23 ft. forward, then ten ft. forward on 21-in. centers with the final 39 ft. forward on 18-in. centers. Bottom plating is 5/8 and ½-in. plating. Sides and deck are 3/8-in. plate.
The four-level deck house on each boat will feature accommodations for up to seven crew in five cabins. Tankage includes 26,000 gallons of fuel, 16,000 gallons of water and 530 gallons each of lube and gear oil. Wastewater will be handled by an Owens Model C wastewater system suitable for a crew of ten. The boats will be equipped with four flanking and two steering rudders all on eight-in. stocks. Each boat will have two
Nabrico 40-ton,
electric winches with 208 volt 3 phase power and controlled at the winch locations and in the wheelhouse.
Kody is also just completing the repower of the push boat M/V Cumberland with the removal of the old engines and installation of a pair of Cummins KTA38M0s and MG 540 6.18:1 gears. The job included the replacement of the exhaust, modification of grid cooler boxes and the installation of new grid coolers for the main engines and gear oil coolers.