Young people growing up on Puget Sound and coastal British Columbia in the 1950s and ’60s could attend a Saturday afternoon movie to see landing craft carrying Marines to amphibious landings on beaches in the South Pacific.
They could then walk down to their local dock and see the same craft, or a modified version, loading cargo to take to one of the small islands that dot the coast. Made of plywood at the Higgins Industries shipyard in Louisiana, these boats were only 36 by 10 feet and typically were powered by a single 250-horsepower Gray Marine 6-71 diesel.
By the 1980s and ’90s, the children of these young people would have seen the first surplus Vietnam War-era LCM-8s (landing craft mechanized) showing up at their local docks. These 74-by-21foot vessels were, and often still are, powered by a pair of Detroit 12V-71 engines. The commercial mariners of the Pacific Northwest were quick to add their own modifications to these versatile boats. The most important was a full aft accommodation block with a galley and bunks down and wheelhouse up.
A good many of these landing craft, especially the LCM-8s, are still working in the Pacific Northwest and around the world. Capt. Dan Crookes owns and operates a particularly fine example out of Anacortes, Wash. Built for the Vietnam War in 1968 by Higgins Industries, developers of the original wooden World War II craft, Crookes’ welded steel boat sat, mothballed and engineless, at the Higgins yard until 1989. Finally, it was given a pair of Detroit 12V-71 engines and was briefly stationed in Tacoma as an Army training vessel. It was then sold at auction to buyers who brought it to Orcas Island in Puget Sound’s San Juan Islands. These civilian owners lavished nearly $1 million on the boat. Most significantly, they had a 24-foot section added amidships to stretch it to 98 feet long. They also added an accommodation block with a galley. They topped it with a handsome West Coast style wheelhouse salvaged from a sunken Alaska limit seiner, which also provided a Skookum anchor winch. The winch now holds pride of place on the stern deck for the transom-mounted emergency anchor.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2017 من Professional Mariner.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2017 من Professional Mariner.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Mariner's role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed
Mariners’ role still unknown as autonomous shipping gains speed
Piracy edges closer to home with wave of raids in southern Gulf
In the brief cellphone video recorded by a crewmember on the offshore supply vessel (OSV) Remas, the pirates walk back and forth on the deck of the ship, clenching their guns and using them to point as they order around the crew. Their faces are draped in clothing and bandanas.
Casualties
NTSB: Dredge hit Texas gas pipeline, causing fire that killed four
IMO emissions report raises new concerns about methane slip
A recent report from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reveals that global shipping emissions increased nearly 10 percent from 2012 to 2018, with the industry facing a growing challenge concerning methane slip.
Bay State brothers find industry niche by making old into new
Zero non-conformities is what you want to hear when the U.S. Coast Guard inspects your tugboat. Once you’ve prepared your vessel, the inspectors come aboard to peruse your paperwork. They ask you pointed questions, to which they expect straightforward answers. Perusal completed, they then scrutinize all of the related safety systems, from bilge to antennas — even the ship’s bell.
Signals
A year into the pandemic, thousands ‘essentially indentured’ on ships
Analysis points to faulty loading, low ballast in Golden Ray rollover
While the salvage of the sunken vehicle carrier Golden Ray has been delayed for months due to COVID-19 and the hurricane season, analysis by the U.S. Coast Guard has determined a possible cause for the rollover: a combination of vehicles placed too high on the ship’s decks, and not enough ballast water gave the placement of the cargo.
Seastreak newcomer pushing through dip in demand
Two years ago, Seastreak LLC took delivery of Seastreak Commodore, a 600-passenger fast ferry, from Gulf Craft of Franklin, La. Designed by Australia-based Incat Crowther, the vessel is the largest of its kind in the United States and was built to meet the burgeoning demand for service in the New York-New Jersey market.
New year in a new world: Navigating COVID's maritime realities
In a matter of days, the decorative time balls will drop, “Auld Lang Syne” will fill the air, and ships at anchor will sound their horns as the world welcomes in the new year.
Advanced props, rudders provide new efficiencies below the waterline
It took a decade or two from the invention of the marine propeller in the 19th century for the technology to become widely accepted. Thereafter, adoption has been nearly universal, but progress toward improved efficiencies has come in fits and starts.
