Coden, Ala.-based Rodriguez Shipbuilding finished in January a new 78'x30'x11'6" lugger tug for Weeks Marine, Houma, La. The James K was designed by the shipyard, the owner, and MINO Marine, New Orleans.
With a 10'6" draft and ½" steel bottom and side shell plate, the new triple-screw tug is powered by three Cummins QSK-19 MRCS diesels, producing 800 hp at 2,400 rpm. The engines are connected to Kahlenburg 4-bladed 66"x54" props through Twin Disc MGX-5222 DC marine gears with 6.10:1 reduction ratios. The propulsion package gives the James K a running speed of 9.5 knots.
The James K was built to “support Weeks Marine’s dredging and construction projects both on site and making tows throughout the East Coast and Gulf regions,” said David Tuck, Weeks’ chief engineer and projects manager.
Ship’s service power comes from a Cummins QSB-7 DM genset, sparking 65 kW of electricity. The tug has a bollard pull of 24 LT, controls by ZF Electronic, and a Jastram electric over hydraulic steering system.
There are accommodations for a crew of eight and up to four passengers.
The electronics package includes Furuno SC-130 Sat Compass, FA-170 AIS, Navpilot-711C auto pilot, twin GP-33 GPSes, FCV-628 depth sounder, BR-500PA bridge alarm, two 1945 radar 1 (6 kW), twin FR-8125 radar (12 kW), FMD-1945 radar repeater, LH-5000 loudhailer, two NEMO Gateway Rose Point, twin Hatland Rose Point, General Alarm Rodriguez General Alarm, Astron N2412-24 24VDC/12VDC, 10 Standard Horizon VHF radio, two ACR RCL-95 LED spot lights, Perko 16" spot light, Xenon 16" spot light, Airmar 220 WX wind gage, and an Alpine CDE-172BT Sirius radio.
