Ferry captain Dave Clapp keeps a gentle thrust on the spring lines and an eye on deckhands while about 450 passengers hop aboard the 8 a.m. boat at Highlands, N.J. “It has a little more windage, and you’ve got to be careful because it’s so powerful,” Clapp said of the new 150-foot Seastreak Commodore. The 600-passenger ferry is the highest capacity Subchapter K fast passenger vessel ever built in the United States. “When you’re up on top (plane) at 35 knots you don’t throw much wake,” said Clapp. The four MTU Tier 3 12V4000M64 diesels collectively deliver up to 7,274 hp, with 1,740 rpm at the top end that achieved 39 knots in sea trials after the vessel was completed in spring 2018 at Gulf Craft of Franklin, La. On New York-New Jersey runs, Clapp favors 1,680 rpm. “Saves 200 gallons of fuel a day. Six days a week, it starts to add up,” he said. (Source: Work Boat 07/26/18) Since 1965, Gulf Craft has been a provider of custom built aluminum boats for commercial use and continues to be the preferred builder of new aluminum vessels hailing from ports throughout the world. It is one of the nation's leading family-owned and operated companies, and has partnered with Australia’s multi-hull design groups, Incat Crowther Pty Ltd, to be the only licensed Gulf of Mexico builder of Incat Crowther quality designed high-speed passenger catamaran vessels.
Shipbuilding and maritime related news from the Central Gulf Coast region
