Heavy Gaming Equipment News

Every year, MarineNews chooses a handful of vessels delivered in the past 12 months and bestows upon them the distinction of “Great Boats.” The boats are chosen for innovations in design, construction and utilization. Following are the 17 vessels or groups of vessels chosen as the Great Boats of 2000. Crowley Marine Services delivered Alert, Attentive, and Aware, a series of three 140-ft., 10,000-hp Prevention and Response Tugs (PRTs), to Alyeska Pipeline Service Company in Valdez, Alaska. Specifically designed and developed for Alyeska, the boats will be used by Crowley in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System trade. Alert was deployed in February; Attentive was delivered in June, and Aware was delivered in July.

Washburn & Doughty Associates launched a 186 ft. offshore casino vessel for Cajun Express, Inc., of Boston, Mass. Hull 65, yet to be named, is the largest vessel built by Washburn & Doughty, edging out 185-ft., Great Point, an 800-passenger vessel running from Hyannis, Mass. The new vessel is a lengthened and widened version of 162-ft. Big M Casino, which was delivered to Cajun Express in July, 1996, and now operates out of Fort Myers, Fla. Specifically designed to handle offshore conditions with heavy gaming equipment on board, Hull 65 measures 186 x 38 ft., with a 7.5 ft. draft. It will carry a minimum of 500 passengers and 72 crew. The vessel's anticipated running speed is 15 knots, making for a quick trip to gaming waters.

Washburn & Doughty has signed a contract with Cajun Express, Inc., of Boston, to build a 186-ft. offshore casino boat. Hull 65 is the second vessel to be built by Cajun Express at Washburn & Doughty. The first, Big M Casino, is operating out of Fort Myers, Fla. Hull 65 wil be a longer and wider version of the first vessel, and was designed by Washburn & Doughty and John W. Gilbert Assoc., Inc. It was designed specifically to handle off-shore conditions with heavy gaming equipment aboard. Hull 65 measures 186 x 38 ft., with a 7.5 ft. draft. It will carry a minimum of 500 passengers and up to 72 crew. The vessel will be powered by two Caterpillar 3508B DIT main engines rated at 1,100 bhp @ 1,800 rpm.

Measuring 175 ft. in length, dinner cruise vessel Starship was recently delivered to Starship Cruise Lines of Biloxi, Miss. Boasting a mega-yacht style, the vessel was designed by Naval Architects Dejong & Lebet of Jacksonville, Fla., and constructed by Freeport, Fla.-based Freeport Shipbuilding. Plachter-Vogel Design provided interior architecture. USCG-Certified under Subchapter K for 600 passengers, plus 30 crew, Starship carries a Stability Letter for Partially Protected waters. The vessel is designed to have a 5-5.6 ft. full load draft enabling it to access some of the Biloxi area's more shallow waterways. The hull features tunnels to allow large enough propellers while minimizing the draft.