New Generation delivers pushboat to Martin Marine

Rex Dobson breaks the traditional bottle of bubbly over the bow of his namesake vessel

AUGUST 16, 2015 — New Generation Shipbuilding, Houma, LA, recently delivered the 75 ft x 30 ft x 10 ft pushboat Rex Dobson to Martin Midstream’s La Porte, TX, based Martin Marine fleet.

The pushboat is named for New Generation’s structural superintendent, Rex Dobson, who survived a severe stroke last year and who broke the traditional bottle of bubbly over the bow of his namesake vessel.

With an operating draft of 8.5 ft, New Generation’s series of pushboats of this size have a 32 ft eye level from the wheelhouse. The wheelhouse has huge windows extending to the deck level forward and a full walk around exterior deck extension. The elevation is gained by having the wheelhouse sit atop three lower decks. These contain five crew cabins providing accommodation for up to seven crew members.

A well-appointed galley, with granite counter tops, and mess, with large flat-screen TV, occupy the forward part of the main deck cabin with the aft part or fiddly providing storage over the main engines.

The main engines are a pair of Cummins QSK38-M diesels, each of which develops 1,000 hp at 1,800 rev/min. The engines are fitted with Twin Disc MG5321 gears with 6.39:1 reduction turning open stainless-steel five-bladed Kahlenberge 74 in by 53 in propellers on 7 in shafts. Each propeller has two forward mounted flanking rudders with a single steering rudder behind. The props and rudders are protected by stump-jumpers fabricated from six-inch square 1/2 in tubing.

Main deck equipment includes two 40-ton electric winches mounted forward. Auxiliary power is provided by a pair of Cummins 6BTA 5.9- liter powered 85 kW generators.