Ron Burchett News

In 1978 Allied Shipyards of North Vancouver built a series of three big steel purse seiners that have become much-admired classics amongst the excellent fleets of British Columbia. In the years since the boats have changed owners and changed names. One, the Viking Star, has even shifted from being a dedicated purse seiner to a transport vessel for salmon farms for the Walcan Seafood plant on Quadra Island.The success of the design, of which more than a dozen were eventually  built…

The U.S. Patent Office has  issued Patent s/n 9,056,655 to inventors Brandon Durar (JonRie Marine Winches) and Gregory Castleman (Castleman Maritime) for A Staple Torque Aligning Winch System for Escort Tugs. Naval architect Greg Castleman approached Durar in the winter of 2007 with the concept of a rotating fairlead for an escort winch which Durar presented the concept to rotate the winch and staple as a single unit. After JonRie completed conceptual engineering it was defined…

Early on the morning of October 28th, the BRAtt departed Point Roberts, Washington State bound for Seattle. Captain Ron Burchett and his able crew Alan Burchett and Ben Flodquist started out in 12 to 15 knot easterly winds and a two foot chop. With Boundary Bay abeam, the winds increased to NE 20 – 25, with four foot seas on the forward quarter. The ride was lively for this 28-ft tug, but with the heavy ballasted skeg the motions were very good with just moderate spray and no green water on deck.

Corvus Energy, harnessing the power of large format lithium-ion battery systems for marine propulsion, will spotlight its proprietary technology at the International Tug & Salvage (ITS 2010) Conference May 17-21 at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver, B.C. The conference marks the world debut of the BRAtt class training tugs, the first of which will feature Richmond, B.C.-based Corvus Energy’s battery and management system utilized as the house power bank. This direct diesel-powered version, will be available for demonstration to ITS registrants.

Samson, provider of performance cordage announced that the prototype BRAtt, is equipped with Quantum-12, one of Samson’s most popular towing lines. BRAtt, which is the acronym for Burchett Robert Allen training tug, is scheduled to debut at the International Tug and Salvage Convention and Exhibition in Vancouver, B.C. this month. The result of collaboration between Ron Burchett and Robert Allen Ltd, the BRAtt answers the global need for cost-effective azmuthing-stern-drive training vessels for today’s commercial- and naval-ship masters. The BRAtt is designed exclusively by Robert Allan Ltd., Naval Architects of Vancouver B.C., and will be built by Adrenalin Marine Ltd. of Delta, B.C., which has been selected as the licensed builder for all BRAtts in North America.

Robert Allan Ltd., Western Maritime Institute, and Corvus Energy Limited announced that a contract will be signed for the design and construction of the world's first "green" training tugs at the International Tug & Salvage (ITS 2010) Conference, to be held in Vancouver in May 2010. Western Maritime Institute (WMI) is an accredited marine training institute located near Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, providing a wide range of operational and safety training courses for marine personnel at all levels.

The BRAtt project evolved from Ron Burchett’s training programs for tug operators using radio-remote controlled scale models. Why not build a model that is large enough for the operator and instructor to ride on and learn in the same space frame of reference as the boat? The BRAtt is a 25.6 ft by 11.8 ft aluminum-hulled training tug designed by Robert Allan Ltd, with the designer’s distinctive double-chine hull form. Under the counter of the broad stern the hull tucks in quickly providing good water flow over the twin azimuthing drives located aft in the ASD manner.

Tugz International L.L.C., an affiliate of the 101-year old The Great Lakes Towing Company, and a member of The Great Lakes Group, announced Tuesday that the Broward County (Florida) Board of County Commissioners, by a 6-3 vote, awarded Tugz a tugboat and towing service franchise for Port Everglades, Florida. This action put an end to the 43-year monopoly on tug service in the port previously held by Seabulk International, Inc., formerly known as Hvide Marine, Inc. "We are really excited about the opportunity to serve this growing, dynamic port," said Tugz President, Ronald C. Rasmus. "The Z-Drive tractor tugs we are providing for Port Everglades…