Working Shallow Draft In the Gulf of Mexico

Rodriguez Boat Builders, of Bayou LaBatre, Ala., delivered one more of their popular lugger tugs to Central Boat Rental of Morgan City, La., at the end October. Designed for the specialized tasks of supporting shallow water oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico they are as much supply boat as tug. Joe Rodriguez explains that the 65 x 24-ft. boat can work in water as shallow as five ft. While it features a model bow for open water work, it is designed to push a supply barge as well as to tow rigs and equipment from place to place. It also can transport liquids with tankage for 9,000 gallons of fuel and 12,000 gallons on potable water. Propulsion for the new boat, the Miss KerriLyn, is provided by a pair of Cummins N14 engines rated for 480 hp each at 1,800 rpm. The engines turn into Twin Disc 516 gears with 5.05:1 ratios and turning four-blade 56 x 40-in. propellers on five-in. stainless steel shafts. The props are supplied by Padget Swan out of Florida while the engines are supplied by Cummins Alabama out of Mobile. This is the second boat that Central Boat Rentals has ordered for their Morgan City operation from Rodriguez. Vice President of the family owned firm, Mike Patterson, says that they have two more Rodriguez boats that have been purchased from other operators. The company operates out of Morgan City and several other Gulf Coast ports, explains Vice-President of operations Gary Gaudet.