Shaping a vessel’s design and construction to the its function is the aim of most commercial boat building.
Often, the demonstration of success is in how the boat does its job and makes money for the owner, and the definitive proof of good design and construction is defined by the owner’s return to the original yard for a sister ship.
Fleet-owner Stan Cvitanovic of Cvitanovic Boat Service, Inc and shipyard owner Joe Rodriguez have demonstrated this once again with the late 2012 delivery of the lugger tug Ana Maria C. A sister ship to the George C delivered earlier in 2012 (Cummins Hotip#656) the boat has the same aft house design on a 67.5 by 26-foot hull. The 8.5-foot molded depth assures a reasonably shallow draft for working in and around the levees and deltas of the sprawling Mississippi estuary and into the margins of the Gulf of Mexico.
The wood protected forward deck allows for delivery of light cargos to oil and construction rigs in the area while the fendered bow and deck winches allows the boat to make up to barges from production platforms. It is a compact, efficient and powerful vessel. For pushing power the boat, like most of Cvitanovic’s fleet, is a pair of Cummins QSK19M 6-cylinder diesels. For economy of operation, each engine is rated for 500 HP at 1800 RPM rather than the potential 660 HP. The engines turn four-blade propellers from Byrne, Rice and Turner on five-inch Aquamet 17 shafts with 1.2-inch bearing journals.
Accommodation is provided for up to six crewmembers. Tankage includes 14,000 gallons of fuel and 16,000-gallons of water.