WESMAR announced that Savannah Georgia’s newest passenger ferry will use itsmodel V2-18-inch all stainless steel dual prop, counter rotating bow thruster for docking and positioning.
The system will be powered by WESMAR’s signature hydraulics. Bob Sentz, WESMAR Vice President, made the announcement, saying the 67-foot T-Class ferry will be delivered in the Fall and will carry up to 150 passengers from downtown Savannah to the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center on Hutchinson Island. The thrusters will be used to maneuver in crowded waters and to safely snug up close to the docks and hold tight, to load and unload passengers. This is one of dozens of passenger ferries around the world with WESMAR bow thrusters,” said Sentz.
The ferry, designed by the Jacksonville Naval Architectural firm of DeJong and Lebet for the Chatham Area Transit Authority, Savannah, Georgia, was built by Custom Steel Boats, Inc. of Merrit, Georgia.
Andy Lebet, naval architect of record for the project, says it has been shipyards like Custom Steel Boats that have made WESMAR’s commercial thrusters a choice by naval architects. “We’ve specified 20 to 30 WESMAR’s mostly because that is what the boat yards are asking for, and we are absolutely satisfied with them. The dual prop design with added thrust from counter rotation fits into a smaller tube without compromising the thrust and we like that for the vessels we design.”
The ‘Mary Musgrove,’ will join two other ferries, affectionately called ‘The Belles,’ to provide passage across the sometimes turbulent and swift Savannah River, daily. Although less than a quarter mile, the crossing presents a strong current amid a mix of tour boats, ferries, tugs and ocean-going vessels. The, ferries are all named after Savannah women of historic significance.
WESMAR with nearly five decades of marine design and manufacturing provides commercial grade equipment to commercial, private, and government operations around the world to whom the WESMAR brand means reliable, rugged, commercial grade bow and stern thrusters; high-powered triple axis gyro driven roll fin stabilizer systems, custom hydraulics and advanced sonar systems.