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Twin Tube
Blount hull#6
Construction on Blount hull #6, named the “Twin Tube”, started on a vacant lot on the Warren River shoreline, May 1, 1951. Two 6’ diameter, _” steel plated cylindrical tubes were pre assembled and delivered to Blount’s worksite. The same catamaran concept used to build Rhodoyster (hull#2) would be followed, but Luther took it a step further. The area between the tubes was closed in and a bow and stern were configured. A monohull with dimensions of 64’-6” x 15’ x 5’-0” (light draft) would be built.
Luther set the tubes 6’ apart, then proceeded to enclose the space creating an engine room aft, and two watertight voids forward. A _” plated steel boxed keel with a rudder shoe was cut and welded. Heavy transverse framing joined the keel to the tubes. _” steel plating covered the hull bottom. Bessenger steel was used, and as Luther explained, it is a custom made type of steel, carefully made by a skilled ironworker in a blast furnace. It was a difficult alloy to make, but Luther says it was a work of art. The steel purposely contained certain impurities, which gave it excellent corrosion resistance.
An air-cooled P&H Harnishfeger 150h.p. diesel was installed. It swung a 48” heavily geared-down wheel. Luther was able to get a lot of thrust through a fairly low h.p. engine. A dry exhaust ran up the back of the house through an overhead stack. A basic 32-volt electrical system supplied the started motor, and the running and deck lights. On August 28, 1951, she slid down the ways.
This project turned out to be a big success. It was an inexpensive and fast boat to build, with a hull of exceptional strength. A round tube is the strongest form used in boat building, much like an arch in a stone building is the strongest span. The two tubes became wing tanks to hold bunkers. On January 1, 1952 she completed the 150-mile run from Warren, Rhode Island to New York Harbor, to the Staten Island Oil Company. This unique utility boat went immediately into service, running to most all points of one of the busiest harbors in the world, delivering bunkers for tugs, commercial fishing vessels, and other workboats. The modern, efficient design with its good handling characteristics and catchy name brought Blount’s new boatyard a lot of great exposure. The success of the Twin Tube began the corporation known as Blount Marine.
In 1970 she was purchased by Reynolds Shipyard, located on the northeast shore of Staten Island. A new inline 6-71 Detroit Diesel with an Allison 3.75:1 gear replaced the original propulsion package. During sea trials, it became apparent that the 48” wheel was too much for the engine to turn up. After a fair amount of trial and error, a 42” x 38”, 3-blade propeller was installed, pushing the hull to its service of about nine knots while operating the engine within the guidelines for its type of service. Fuel consumption is about 5 g.p.h., and with the single 980-gallon fuel tank, she could run continuously around the clock for a week.
The Twin Tube services New York harbor out to Ambrose Light, as a floating workshop for ship repair. Once inspected, up to 32 electricians, welders, mechanics, technicians and other workers rode her. An occasional cargo of ship stores was carried out to a waiting ship.
In the late 1980’s the floating ship repair business slowed, and Reynolds focused on just transporting ships stores. To acquire the desired COI for cargo the Twin Tube had to undergo some upgrades, mostly in firefighting capabilities. The COI now onboard permits a maximum deck load of 60,000 pounds, not to exceed 9’ height above the deck. The deck boom is rated at a maximum load of 3,000 pounds at no greater than a 45 degree down position. Reynolds keeps the boom at a permanent 75 degree up position. A radiator cooled, deck-mounted Detroit Diesel 2-53 provides power to the boom.
The vessel is skippered by Mike Kolarovic, and all at Reynolds considers the Twin Tube his boat. Mike was born and raised on the coast of Croatia, where he ran commercial fishing boats, almost all still made of wood. He came to the U.S. in 1970 with a 500- ton near coastal license from his country, and landed his one and only job in the States with Reynolds. He promptly learned English, received a 500-ton U.S.C.G. issued license, and left the deck for the wheelhouse. He is presently on his sixth issue. Although now the Captain, he still is very hands on with the deck work. Many stevedore operations use the large cargo nets for transferring cargo over the water. Mike is adamant about the use of slings. Ninety percent of the cargo delivered to Reynolds is palletized. By using slings, Mike can better secure a load and lift it straighter with less surprises. He finds it easier to check the integrity of a few slings vs. checking the many pieces of spliced line that makes up a cargo net.
At Reynolds yard, Mike usually operates a shore side crane to load the boat. A typical 30- ton load can be lifted and placed on the deck in about 15 minutes. When alongside the ship, Mike generally stays in the wheelhouse and communicates with his one deckhand through the forward drop down windows. They prefer offloading the cargo themselves, by way of the boat’s boom. When serving a high sided ship, or with cargo exceeding the booms 3,000 pound lift capacity, they work with the ships crane operator and crew. The majority of ships have crews and the language barrier can create some real problems, especially on a high-sided ship where their crew can be eight stories up.
The Twin Tube averages 16 hours a day underway, handling between seven and 10 ships a day. Spending this much time alongside a ship under all weather conditions is very demanding. Sections of the Upper and Lower bay have a fairly large fetch for a sea to build, and most areas are subject to wakes from both commercial and pleasure craft. As Mike points out towards Manhattan, he describes how a strong Northeast wind in the upper bay with a strong flood current can build a steep chop as high as four to seven-feet. In the more exposed Lower Bay, a strong wind from the northeast through the southeast can build seas up to 10 feet. Parts of the Lower Bay are also subject to large ground swells. Currents in the anchorage, where the Twin Tube does the majority of its cargo transfer, move at speeds approaching three knots.
Mike describes the Twin Tube as “the perfect boat for the job, too bad she is not another six feet longer”. He describes her as an “excellent heavy weather boat with strong rudder power. She occasionally takes green water over the bow, but with her buoyant, broad bow, she quickly rises and drains her deck. Cargo occasionally is shifted on deck, but there is nowhere for it to go”. Reynolds welded heavy vertical stanchions about 1” inboard of the gunwale. The bulwarks have been lowered about 1’ so that the boat could better handle getting up under the turn of a ships hull. A large aviation type, pilot boat style fender tire is chained about 15’ aft of the bow stern on both sides. A similar set up is aft just before the quarter. The bow has a rounded piece of D shaped fendering following the sheer line. The deck forward of the wheelhouse has been strengthened and replaced. Like the side of the boat, the deck takes a lot of abuse, especially when transferring cargo in a surging sea, when the deck is heaving up and down, and a heavy load is either being lifted or set down.
The cargo transfers are done when the ships are both at anchor and underway. An advantage to being underway is the ship can generally turn on a heading, which will provide the Twin Tube with the best possible lee. The ship makes a lee by swinging its stern up into the weather at an angle. When maneuvering the Twin Tube close alongside the ship, Capt. Mike works a headline from the center bitt up to the ships bitt. He also used a stern line as needed. Using whatever amount of power is necessary on the headline, he holds the boat alongside the ship, and rolls the bow in enough to keep the wheelhouse from hitting the ship. Even with all the fendering, in bad weather the Twin Tube occasionally gets thrown against the unforgiving side of a ship. Pilot boats experience similar problems when alongside ships, but there are two major differences: a) pilot boats only stay alongside long enough to transfer the pilot (usually less than a minute), b) most of the pilot boats are high horsepower and twin screw – providing the operator with many times the maneuvering power of the Twin Tubes.
On a cold winter, New York Harbor can get a fair amount of fresh water ice, much of it originating up the Hudson and everything into the Upper and Lower Bays. Mike says, “she is a good ice boat. When breaking ice, the hull configuration keeps most of the ice from getting down near the wheel. The bow stem has added plating, which appears to be about double the original thickness.”
The Twin Tube is usually run by one operator who also oversees her maintenance. The annual inspections by the Marine Safety Office are getting more and more stringent. Steel plating and frames are replaced as needed. Engine and gear rebuilds are done as needed but are usually far and few between. Mike runs Mobil synthetic lubricants and the engine never turns over 1750 rpms. When weather conditions are bad, the engine and gear are worked hard when alongside a ship, but they are run within their respective guidelines. The durability of the Detroit Diesel engines and their large Allison gears are legendary. Much of the 32-volt electrical system is original. Steering is provided by original Blount designed and built cable steering. Mike has purchased a hynautic system to replace the original system, but is waiting for a slow couple of days to install.
As our conversation winded down, I told Capt. Mike that Blount would love to build them a new model. As he stepped back in the wheelhouse to shut down the engine, he thought for a second, then looked out across her deck. He didn’t have an answer, it was obvious that the Twin Tube a lot of life ahead.
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