Mcginnis Inc News

Thrustmaster builds a complete line of Z-Drive azimuthing thrusters from 500 HP to 4,000 HP for the inland towboat industry specifically designed to endure the demanding conditions when operating in brown water. Using Z-Drives on towboats results in substantially improved fuel efficiency, shorter trip times, decreased maintenance downtime and higher customer satisfaction when compared to traditional shaft and rudder installations. All thrusters are developed in-house by a complete engineering department for mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and electronic design.

On Friday, March 11, Jeff Ruby’s Waterfront restaurant, situated on a barge on the Ohio River, broke loose from its moorings and began floating down river, with diners trapped onboard, toward the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. According to local media the barge floated 85 feet downriver and was saved from hitting the bridge by a mooring cable that was still attached. The restaurant is two miles from where McGinnis Inc. keeps its Cincinnati fleet, but some of the company’s towboats were already working in a dock just upriver from the restaurant. The MV Susan E McGinnis arrived on the scene first.

The Department of Transportation has announced 70 grants totaling $98m in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds that will be used to improve small shipyards throughout the United States. The funds, awarded through the Maritime Administration’s Assistance to Small Shipyards program, will help create and preserve jobs, provide valuable employment training and make much needed improvements to shipyards across the country. The Small Shipyards Grant program provides up to 75 percent in ARRA funds for a project and requires the remainder be matched by the shipyard. A detailed list of the grantees is as follows. •    Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc.,  Philadelphia, PA: $2,312,614, for the first year of training program.

McGinnis Inc. of South Point, Ohio at Mile 318 on the Ohio River delivered a new towboat to sister company Excel Marine Corp. of Cincinnati Ohio with a christening ceremony at Ashland Kentucky on January 26 2008. The 75 x 27-f.t boat is the first new build for McGinnis in over 20 years. According to a report in the Ashland Daily Independent, the new vessel was named in honor of James Allen Ward III who has worked for McGinnis since 1978 and oversaw the construction of the $3.5 million vessel. Main engines on the vessel are a pair of 12-cylinder Cummins KTA 38 M1 engines each with a continuous duty rating of 1050 HP at 1800 RPM and turning 72 by 58-inch props through Twin Disc MG532 gears with 5.96:1 ratios. Cummins 6BT engines power the twin 80 kW generators sets.

U.K.-based EJ Bowman has manufactured its range of marine heat exchangers and oil since 1919. The company recently had its range of hydraulic EC to PK shell and tube oil coolers design approved for marine use by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and now hold certificate no. 02-LD302798-PDA. Bowman heat exchangers and oil coolers are suitable for use on engines up to 1,400 kW (1,880 hp) and for gear boxes up to 1,800 kW (2,400 hp). As a result of this design approval EJ Bowman are exhibiting at the Workboat Show in New Orleans in December 2003. Guests at Universal Orlando theme parks benefit from complimentary, on-site transportation to and from its resort hotels and theme park attractions.