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John W. Gilbert Associates |
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A fascinating project that we were fortunate to have the opportunity to be involved with is a structural change to the bow
section of the P/V Cape Henlopen. The Cape Henlopen Ferry was built as a World War II landing ship (LST 510)
in Jeffersonville, Indiana and participated in the D-day invasion at Normandy. In 1966, it was converted to a passenger
and auto ferry and served on the Lewes, Delaware - Cape May, New Jersey Route. It was purchased in 1983 by Cross Sound
A lot of energy has been committed to a replica of the fishing schooner Columbia. The vessel is going to serve as a private yacht for a family based in Florida. There has been a significant concentration of repowering work for John W. Gilbert Associates in the recent past. Three passenger
ferries, the J.J. Callis, the Shahan II and the Daniel Salmon, were repowered for Department
of Homeland Security FSSI Plum Island Animal Disease Control in New York. The higher speed of these ferries has been
John W. Gilbert Associates has also been involved in an in-house speed power study for offshore oil supply vessels. The study was initiated by a perceived need in the industry for higher speed vessels relative to the dimensional parameters and function of these types of vessels. |
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Ferry and underwent a total refurbishment before entering service. When the vessel was originally converted to a
ferry from an LST, the ramp used to get landing craft onto shore was retained and the bow doors were welded
closed to form the existing bow. A new main deck and bow door were added above for the ferry service. Over time, the
remaining ramp deck and articulating ramp support became difficult to maintain. In an effort to improve the compartment,
the old ramp and some other pre-existing structure has been removed and JWGA was tasked with the design of the new
structural details which will tie into what is leftover of the original structure.
A variety of stability related consulting jobs are on-going in the office. Several fishing vessels have recently been
inclined in an effort to determine their lightship after years of service.
In the instances where the vessel's do not comply with the 79' USCG commercial fishing vessel rules, we have sought
to improve the stability via fixed ballast or adjustments to tank usage. We always recommend that the owner's take
measures to comply with the USCG rules no matter whether the vessel is of 79' registered length or less.
In most instances, the owners can get an insurance benefit by meeting these criteria as well. 
a major asset for the facility. The owners are also pleased that the fuel consumption has remained the same as before the repowering
despite the increase in horsepower and also the vessel consumes less lube oil. The M/V Adirondack also underwent a
repowering on Lake Champlain in Vermont. This is another older vessel, like the M/V Cape Henlopen that has seen many
renovations over the years. The 130 ft double-ended ferry was originally built in 1913 and was powered by a coal-fired steam engine.
After several changes, the vessel was brought to Lake Champlain, VT and had two Detroit Diesel 12V71 engines installed in 1970. We
are currently replacing those engines with CAT 3412D 540 HP engines. The M/V Adirondack is the oldest in service double-ended
American ferryboat of all time. 
Plans for a change to the steering gear on the M/V Susan Anne have been completed by JWGA. This change will
require additions to the hull sides in way of the steering apparatus to allow additional room within the compartment
for the new assembly.
Other consulting work that our firm has completed is fitting the P/V Susan Anne with an elevator
that will be replicated on Cross Sound Ferry's M/V John H. 