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New Paddlewheel Vessel Under Construction At Scott Steel, Ltd. This spring the North Saskatchewan River Boat Company, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, will begin operating a new 170.6-foot, 400-passenger, paddlewheel dinner cruise vessel on the North Saskatchewan River. The project is the result of years of And out of them, of course. Because if you're bold enough to steer your vessel through rocky channels, into fog- shrouded harbor entrances, or to the edge of international boundaries, chances are you're already more than familiar with the risks. And you've probably heard about dif- ferential GPS—the technology that corrects errors caused by selective availability (S/A) signal scrambling, Efgf^juul^W^^^H to give you ultra- I precise position and jffiRH speed information. ••••••HI Well, I where Trimble's NavBeaconXL™ I comes in. That and JNB a few other products from Trimble. The solution starts with differential ground stations along the shore, which com- pare their positions to those reported by GPS satellites. The stations calculate the dif- ference, determine whatever corrections are needed, and broadcast that information out to sea via radio waves. The NavBeaconXL then picks up these signals and passes the corrections on to your other equipment. For instance, Trimble's NavGraphicXL GPS™ NavTracXL GPSor even products made by other manufacturers. Regardless, with Trimble differential GPS, your accuracy will be better than ten meters and a tenth of a knot. Which is probably all you need to know when it comes to differential GPS technology. Unless, of course, you care to know more—in which case you can call Trimble at 1-800-949-9444 for a free book, Differential GPS Explained. Or, you could just call for the name of your nearest Trimble marine retailer—and get ready to conquer those treacherous waters. E3 Trimble The Leader in GPS Solutions Marine Products 645 North Mary Ave.. P.O. Box 3642 Sunnyvale, CA 94088-3642 1 -800-827-8000 In U.S. and Canada 408-481-8000 outside U.S. FAX: 408-481-6057 Trimble Navigation Europe Ltd., FAX (44) 256-760-148 Trimble Navigation New Zealand Ltd., FAX (64) 3-371-3417 planning and the financial commit- ment of private, provincial and fed- eral groups. The sternwheeler was designed by the Vancouver-based na- val architectural team of Peter S. Hatfield, Ltd. and W. R. Brown and Associates. Scott Steel is in charge of all steel construction and mechanical work, including all outside construc- tion and wiring. MSC Maritime Canada, Ltd., of Vancouver, B.C., is supplying and installing the vessel's interior, including colors, fabrics; fur- niture, lighting, and floor coverings, all of which will comply with the latest Canadian Coast Guard fire and safety regulations. The vessel will be based in Edmonton and is scheduled for comple- tion in March 1993. With a 39.4-foot beam and a draft of two feet, she is specially designed for operations on the shallow North Saskatchewan River, where it will be the only pas- senger craft of its size. Two Cummins diesel engines will drive two 16.4-foot diameter sternwheels and a Schottel 360-de- Company'ssternwheelerdinnerexcursionboat. gree bowthruster forward, which wil also be used for propulsion, to a to] speed of 10 knots. While this is the first paddlewhee project for MSC Maritime Canada, it: U.S. parent, Maritime Services Cor poration, has outfitted similar vessels through MSC Maritime Canada's Vancouver, B.C., office and its owr U.S. regional offices. Those projects included the cruise ship Pacific Prin- cess and several Washington State ferries. MSC Maritime Canada and MSC Maritime Services Corp. supply and installs complete vessel interiors in- cluding full accommodation outfittings, galleys, windows, lumi- naries, insulation and ventilation. To receive additional information about the project's naval architects, Peter S. Hatfield, Ltd., and W. R. Brown & Associates, Circle 44 on Reader Service Card For more information on MSC , Circle 11 on Reader Service Card Halter Marine Lays Navy Oceanographic Ship's Keel Moss Point, Miss.-based Halter Marine, Inc., a subsidiary of Trinity Industries, Inc., has begun construc- tion of the first of three new design oceanographic survey vessels (T-AGS) for the U.S. Navy. Halter was awarded the $140 mil- lion contract for the design and con- struction of two of the 328.5-foot ships in January of 1991, and the Navy exercised the option for a third vessel in the spring of 1992. Trinity Marine Group's (TMG's) in-house engineering department spent the past year working on the detail design work. According to TMG's president John Dane III, this was the Trinity team which designed the Navy's most recent hydrographic sur- vey ships, T-AGS 51/52 and the AGOR- 23 oceanographic research vessel. The approximately 4,700-ton T-AGS 60 class ships will be capable of per- forming oceanographic survey opera- tions in coastal and deep ocean re- gions around the world. The new class of ships has been designed to meet specific operational and mission objectives including: state- of-the-art diesel electric propulsion systems; a minimization of hull vibra- tion; and the ability to launch, re- cover and tow a variety of scientific packages. The TMG will complete the first T- AGS 60 ship in October 1994, with the second and third vessels to be deliv- ered in six month intervals. For more information on Halter Marine and the Trinity Marine Group, Circle 45 on Reader Service Card Count on Trimble GPS to get you into dire straits. The NavBeaconXL receives GPS corrections from differential beacons on land, and translates them into the RTCM SC-104 format accepted by many GPS receivers. This Trimble receiver is so sensitive that it's capable of picking up even the weakest of signals. Thanks to NavTracXL GPS's innovative user interface, all you have to do is point your boat dawn the "road" on screen and you'll quickly see the best route to reach your destination. The NavTracXL shows all the information you need on a high-contrast display. With the NavGraphicXL GPS, you can track a moving image of your boat on a real nautical chart. You can zoom in for delicate maneuvering or zoom out for an overview of your voyage—all on a high-contrast screen that's easy to read in direct sun or total darkness. 66 Circle 274 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News