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18 • MarineNews • April, 2006 By Don Sutherland Whatever else it was, the Edward J. Moran was a milestone. The second 98-ft. Z-drive tug by Washburn & Doughty, it was the twelfth boat the yard has built for Moran so far. In the next bay, a 92-ft. Z- drive, like Moran's preceding eleven, was taking shape, and at least one more is scheduled. Everyone at the small shipyard in East Boothbay, Maine, had plenty to feel good about on February 28, as the first of a new class for Moran's fleet eased into the Damariscotta river. Nineteen Z-drive tugs have come out of the yard since 1998, based on Bruce Washburn's design. Counting those already launched plus those now under construction, plus contracts pending, Bruce Doughty sees 25 W&D Z-drive tugs at work in the next couple years. More than half of them were built for one owner, in three classes so far, according to equipment. Said Moran president Ted Tregurtha at the launch, "I'm hopeful that this is a tra- dition we can continue many years into the future." The happy relationship had its origins in a magazine article, according to Mr. Doughty. "The first Z-drive 92 we built was the Fort Bragg, for Cape Fear Towing in 1998. There had been Z-drive tugs before, but it was only around then that they were being accepted, so you might say we were in the right place at the right time. When we got to the point where we could put out press releases, some of the sales people from Moran happened to see the announcement and sent Jimmy Coyne up here. He was already in Maine on his vacation, and they encouraged him to come down and check-out that Z-drive tug. And that led to the first six that we built for Moran, for the Norfolk navy con- tract." And it wasn't just a question of running a half-dozen tugboats off the assembly line. "One of the big things with the Moran tugs," said Bruce Washburn, describing his adaptation of the Fort Bragg design to Navy-specific need, "was they had to be able to dock submarines. This meant com- ing up alongside the subs, and the Navy gets a little touchy if you make steel con- tact." Fendering would be required low on the boat, but exactly how low? "They were quick to tell us what the diameter of the missile boats was and what the diam- eter of the attack boats was, but when asked where they sit in the water -- they responded that's classified." Evolution of Design Mr. Washburn traces the origins of the current Z-drive hulls to a conventional tug, W&D's first, the 90-ft. Alice Winslow of 1991, W&D's Hull 39. They didn't build another tug until Fort Bragg, Hull 64. Feedback from the Winslow made its way into the new design. "The Fort Bragg was widened out to a 32-ft. beam. We lengthened the hull about two feet by angling the transom, keeping her drier when running backwards, and faired down to the back end, in order to support Washburn & Doughty: Another Milestone Designed with general shipdocking in mind, the Edward J. Moran is equipped with massive winches, escort keel, and fifi-1 firefighting capability for the LNG trade. (Photo: Don Sutherland.) APRIL MN2006 3(17-24).qxd 4/7/2006 3:04 PM Page 18
