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Inland Waterways/ Great Lakes Yards (continued) water, gives him a commanding view of his surroundings. The Southern Belle conforms to all applicable U.S. Coast Guard Regulations, and she is designed, approved, constructed, tested, and accepted to meet these rigid stan- dards. Annual USCG inspections will insure that she will continue to retain her safe and shipshape stan- dards. TWIN CITY Circle 19 on Reader Service Card From a mass production barge yard to a full-service shipyard, Twin City Shipyard, Inc. within three years has transformed its facility in St. Paul, Minn., into a versatile operation from a 4,000-cubic-yard sophisticated hopper dredge to 56- foot aluminum launches. A manage- ment team with a wide range of design and construction experience in medium-sized vessels, and an ag- gressive bidding philosophy has enabled the yard to maintain a steady work load during a depressed period seldom witnessed in the com- mercial marine industry in recent times. Launched from a newly com- pleted, 3,000-ton, tilt beam side launching on June 1 this year, the 8,000-bhp trailing hopper dredge is nearing completion. This vessel is scheduled to begin her journey from the Upper Mississippi River to New Orleans in mid-October, and enter service for Gulf Coast Trailing shortly thereafter. A 100-foot, 3,000-bhp offshore tug is under construction in the yard's large building hall, and is scheduled for delivery in early winter to the Panama Canal Zone. Following completion of five deck barges for the Army Corps of Engineers, a con- tract for five additional barges for the same owner was awarded to the shipyard. The backlog also includes three 3,000-cubic-yard offshore hopper barges and one 55-foot river towboat. Twin City recently was awarded a U.S. Navy contract for construction of a series of landing craft (LCM), adding the Department of the Navy to its successful association over the years with government agencies such as the Army Engineers and the Panama Canal Commission. Twin City has become a leading U.S. shipyard in the design and con- struction of dredging equipment such as hopper dredges and split hull dump barges. Portabarges®, a Photos—Top to bottom: - Marinette Marine's yard, Marinette, Wis.; - Peterson Builders facilities in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. - Launching of the hopper dredge, Ouachita, at Twin City, St. Paul. Mn.; - Installation of a Kort nozzle at Walker Boat Yard, Paducah, Ky.; unique design patented by TCS, enables barges to be transported over the road in modules and then assembled in the water into virtual- ly any size or shape for land-locked lakes or other inaccessible bodies of water. Portabarges are available for either lease or sale. Built in 1973, the Twin City yard features a modern enclosed plant layout. Within this facility, state-of- the-art technology is utilized for high productivity and quality assur- ance. Headlining this technology is a sophisticated computer-controlled plasma arc cutting machine with water table for precise, high-speed cutting of plates without distortion. Of special interest is a robotic panel welding machine that provides au- tomatic, continuous high-strength welding of four stiffeners simulta- neously. WALKER BOAT Circle 20 on Reader Service Card Walker Boat Yard, Inc. is located in Paducah, Ky., at Mile Three on the Tennessee River. The close proximity of the yard to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers makes it a convenient location for repair on a large portion of the inland waterway system. The yard offers a totally inte- grated repair facility for all inland waterway equipment, with six dry- docks ranging in size up to 2,500 tons. A complete machine shop, steel fabrication area, engine over- haul shop, and paint facility rounds out its capabilities. Walker main- tains a work force of nearly 150 skilled employees, with the flexibili- ty to handle both minor repairs and major alterations. Some of the more unusual jobs completed during the past 12 months included complete replace- ment of towboat Kort nozzles, cement barge conversions, and in- stallation of a 4,000-ton crane foun- dation on an offshore deck barge. The yard's machine shop has a wide array of equipment, with lathe capacities up to 36 feet in length and 36 inches in diameter. Metaliz- ing and heat-treating equipment provides the capabilities for major shaft rebuilding. Coupled with the adjacent fabrication shop, featuring a 750-ton press brake, these facili- ties allow Walker to perform all types of work efficiently. The company's Diesel Division has grown rapidly in the past year. In-place overhaul of Electro- Motive, Fairbanks Morse, and Caterpillar engines is offered both at a convenient boat landing near the shipyard and at remote loca- tions specified by the customer. Walker also offers factory-trained mechanics for servicing of Detroit Diesel and Cummins engines, as well as spare parts. The Division's recent assignment as a marine dis- tributor for Caterpillar, M.A.N., and Volvo-Penta engines permits it to provide service on nearly any type of equipment. 12 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
