Dixie Towing upgrades veteran tug with corrosion-resistant winches

Written by Marine Log Staff
Dixie Towing

Dixie Towing needed winches resilient enough to operate reliably in an environment where splashing salt water and mud is unavoidable.

When Jacksonville, Fla., based Dixie Towing acquired the Dixie Trader in 2021, the 1,800-horsepower tug, built in 1972, was approaching her 50th year in service and needed new deck winches to take on the salt water dredging support that makes up Dixie Towing’s primary business.

The company recently opted to upgrade the vessel with products from Pittsburgh, Pa., headquartered Patterson Manufacturing.

Dixie Towing Vice President Robert Gibbs Jr. said that Patterson winches selected for the vessel were the “obvious choice” for Dixie’s business.

The Dixie Trader is now outfitted with a pair of Patterson 40-ton, 7.5-horsepower winches that are galvanized for corrosion resistance.

“We needed a winch not only strong enough to handle loaded ‘Super Jumbo’ hopper barges but also resilient enough to operate reliably in an environment where splashing salt water and mud is unavoidable,” he said.

Patterson has a decades-long history of providing winches paired with corrosion protection packages to customers working coastal environments, including the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and has gained a reputation as the go-to winch for this application.

“Protecting products for corrosive environments, specifically salt water, requires experience and attention to detail,” says Taylor Grapes, president of Patterson Manufacturing. “Over the past 70 years, Patterson has continuously evolved its corrosion protection packages to ensure that, whether it is galvanizing or zinc plating, specialized paints, or use of stainless steel and other corrosion resistant materials, your product will hold up over time and provide you with long-lasting quality and operational efficiency.”

The Dixie Trader is now outfitted with a pair of Patterson 40-ton, 7.5-horsepower winches that are galvanized for corrosion resistance. As for their performance, Gibbs notes, “After several months of uninterrupted service, this pair of winches has proven to be the correct choice.”

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