Forty year old fishing vessel gets a heart transplant

new in-line, six cylinder, four stroke Cummins KTA19

DECEMBER 18, 2018 — A fishing vessel originally delivered as a purse seiner in 1978 by Allied Shipyards of North Vancouver, BC, has recently been given a heart transplant in the form of a new Cummins engine.

The forty-year old steel-built Viking Star is now serving as a transport vessel for salmon farms for Walcan Seafood and, in a tribute to the initial quality of its build and its subsequent maintenance, the owners opted to invest in a new in-line, six cylinder, four stroke Cummins KTA19 marine engine to replace the original 8V149 two stroke. At 500 HP the new engine has the same output as the previous engine but has been paired to a new Twin Disc 5170 marine gear with a 5.03 ratio compared the prior 4.04. To obtain the optimum torque curve, the original three bladed propeller diameter and pitch were taken from 61.5D X 40P to 61.5 X 53.

The re-engining was carried out at the Arrow Marine Services shipyard in Richmond, BC, by a team, led by Gerry Harris from Infinity Marine Systems of Gibsons, BC

Access to the engine room was created by cutting a door in the hull at the waterline. This avoided having to cut into the fiber-glassed fish hold.

After moving a genset and two hydraulic power packs out of the way, and with the creative use of come-alongs as well as a lot of careful wrench work, the old came out and the new went in.

After just six weeks out of the water, the Viking Star made 11.3 knots on sea trials, up from a previous best of 10 knots and is projected to burn 20% less fuel.