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OUTSTANDING SHALLOW-DRAFT PASSENGER VESSELS With U.S. shipyards busy build- ing and converting a number of pas- senger vessels, cruise boats and fer- ries, the editors of MR/EN have put together a feature on 10 of the most notable shallow-draft passenger vessels delivered in the past year, which include nine newbuildings and one conversion. ANNABEL LEE Service Marine Service Marine Industries, Ame- lia, La., recently christened a 600- passenger dinner/cruise boat for operator Heritage Cruise Lines, Richmond, Va. The M/V Annabel Lee, which will cruise on the James River out of Richmond, Va., is 108 feet long, has a beam of 34 feet, draft of 3 feet 9 Photos: (clockwise from top left): Spirit of Chicago (Blount Marine); Island Countess (Freeport Shipbuilding); Vineyard Spray (Gladding-Hearn); and Catalina Flyer (Ni- chols Bros). inches and hull depth of 7 feet. She is powered by a pair of rebuilt GM8V-92 diesel engines rated at 310 hp each at 1,800 rpm furnished by Johnson's Diesel Service. Electri- cal power is provided by two 99-kw KATO generators driven by rebuilt GM6-71 diesel engines. The cruise boat features two en- closed decks and an open top deck. She is fully air conditioned by four 10-ton Carrier air-cooled units, with 15-kw heating each, furnished by Johnston Brothers Enterprises, Inc. The Annabel Lee is carpeted and will feature live bands, dancing and ANNABEL LEE Equipment List Main engines GM Generators KATO Generator engines GM Reduction gears Twin Disc A/C Carrier Music system Aiphone Paint International Paint Ceiling Armstrong Electrical panel Power Panels Windows Southern Glass full bar service, as well as be able to seat over 400 passengers for dinner. Tom Hensley, owner and presi- dent of Service Marine Industries, Inc., called the Annabel Lee "a 90- day miracle," since that's how long the vessel took to construct. CATALINA FLYER Nichols Brothers Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Whidbey Island, Wash., have deliv- ered reportedly the largest high- speed passenger catamaran built in the U.S. to Catalina Passenger Ser- vice, for service between Newport Harbor and Catalina Island in southern California. The 118-foot, 500-passenger fer- ry, the Catalina Flyer, is the 10th of a series of passenger catamarans built by Nichols Brothers. Like the other vessels in the series, the Cata- lina Flyer is a Catamarans Interna- tional-designed boat. Nichols Brothers and Gladding-Hearn Ship- building, Somerset, Mass., are the only U.S. yards licensed to build the Australian-designed boats. Nichols Brothers believes that the Catalina Flyer could be the largest high- speed catamaran built to date in terms of both size and passenger capacity. The Catalina Flyer, which re- places the Catalina Holiday on the Newport-to-Catalina route for Cat- alina Passenger Service, is powered by two specially lightened 2,000-hp Caterpillar 3516 TA diesel engines coupled to Reintjes WVS-1023 2.538:1 reduction gears and fitted with Lips three-bladed Cunial- bronze propellers. The Catalina Flyer's auxiliary power is supplied by two 40-kw generators driven by two John Deere engines. She has a beam of 40 feet and a draft of 8 feet. According to Bob Black, man- ager of Catalina Passenger Service, an increasing demand for speed on the Catalina route prompted the 22 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News J
