tugboat
regular
Reged: 01/05/2004
Posts: 1168
Loc: Devon
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Seen a pic in the latest 'Telegraph' of the 'Bourbon Orca'. I've been out of 'the game' for some time now but there are aspects of this design that puzzle me. Maybe some current tuggies can put me right.
North Sea winter, steaming into the Wx on passage- with no flared bow, what stops the greenies smacking straight into the wheelhouse windows? Maybe she has monster freeboard but I used to drive 65 metre jobbies and have seen water over the top of the monkey island on many occasions.
A flared bow provides increased reserve buoyancy, is this being replaced by the volume within the dramatically raised topsides for'd?
She is classed as a 'tug' in the article, yet she has a couple of cranes sticking up above the bulwarks aft. Surely a tug needs to be able to turn about it's towing fulcrum and the wire needs to be able to ride up along the rail as far as a towing stop. Have towing practices changed so much since I left? I towed many a rig in bad weather and course changes would have been impossible with obstructions on the quarters like those cranes.
I know the current new boats have squillions of horsepower compared with what I had available but surely good seamanship/shiphandling principles are not been replaced by brute grunt! A good shiphandler uses the minumum amount of power to get the job done.
I first went Master in the days when we used to anchor and tie up to the rigs. On one occassion the dog clutch on the starboard windlass shattered so we couldn't retrieve the anchor. We had to hang off an anchor in the pipe and retrieve the anchor and cable using the port windlass (wahay- a bit of proper seamanship!) Imagine trying to do something like that with an X-bow? OK, I know everything is done with joysticks and technology now but I can't help but regret the passing of the days when we used to drive 'by hand'. Felt more in touch with the boat and the weather.
Oh yeah, and she looks like you'd need parking sensors on the bow! 
P.S. And she's feckin' ugly as well! Looks like she's been punched on the nose. You wouldn't want to take her home to meet your parents! 
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The sign on my cabin door says 'Not enough bucks stop here'
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Dyflin
regular
Reged: 16/03/2002
Posts: 2303
Loc: Dublin
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I've seen plenty of just as ugly conventional design psv and ahts in Aberdeen (the old stirling pegasus was just plain ugly). She's just very new looking:
"Vessels with the inverted ULSTEIN X-BOW® will have lower fuel consumption, easier handling in rough seas with less loss of speed, less slamming, less rolling and a better and more comfortable workplace for the crew." All sounds good to me... As usual the british sector will be slow to embrace this technology and stay with their outdated fleet... I've spent enough time dodging in horrible weather looking at a rig and wondering if there isn't an easier way to make living. Thanks all the same, but stick me on a PX105 any day!
The Ulstein website is well worth a look:
Ulstein website
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Killing forum threads since 2002.
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BrendanS
regular
Reged: 11/06/2002
Posts: 38371
Loc: Me: Wilts. Boat: Lymington
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can see both sides, but that does look like a fantastic ocean going tug. No cranes though, so I guess we'd need to see the real thing with cranes
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See http://www.frappr.com/ybw to add yourself to the forum map
and as everyone else is doing it
www.plaintalkconsulting.co.uk
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tugboat
regular
Reged: 01/05/2004
Posts: 1168
Loc: Devon
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Thanks for the heads-up on the Ulstein site- enjoyed looking at that.
Quote "Thanks all the same, but stick me on a PX105 any day!"
The PX105 is an X-bow PSV it seems, so are you saying there are some in service and you have sailed on one to justify your remark, or are you just believing the Ulstein hype? I'd be really interested to get some firsthand feedback.
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The sign on my cabin door says 'Not enough bucks stop here'
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Dyflin
regular
Reged: 16/03/2002
Posts: 2303
Loc: Dublin
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I'm saying that I've spent enough time dodging with the existing style slamming and pounding and keeping all wide awake, that I'd welcome any change to this...
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Killing forum threads since 2002.
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Axebow
new user
Reged: 28/01/2007
Posts: 1
Loc: Norway
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The boat is exellent in rough sea. Nobody beats her at speed and comfort when the sea is high.
If you want proof, look at this movieclip that is filmed 16.01.2007, when she and two supply boats went out from Mongstad Oil Base in Norway, they started before her and could only keep 8-10 knots because of the waves. She came behind them and sailed between them in steady 13 knops.
Moveclip is 7 mb and you can download it from here:
http://www.fireflate.no/Bourbon_Orca_filmet_fra_siden_16.Januar_2007.wmv
3 more movieclips to be downloaded of the same boat if you go into www.fireflate.no and click on the Bourbon Orca link.
Note the text is in Norwegian.
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Dyflin
regular
Reged: 16/03/2002
Posts: 2303
Loc: Dublin
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Excellent clips, thanks for posting them.
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Killing forum threads since 2002.
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Mirelle
regular
Reged: 30/11/2002
Posts: 4515
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Seeing is believing!
Makes very good sense!
(I never did understand why bulbous bows are fitted to offshore support vessels, because it seems to me the energy lost in pitching must be greater than the energy saved in calm weather.)
Thank you.
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tugboat
regular
Reged: 01/05/2004
Posts: 1168
Loc: Devon
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Hey, thanks a lot for taking the trouble to post these, they certainly seem convincing. Great to see her in action.
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The sign on my cabin door says 'Not enough bucks stop here'
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AJW
regular
Reged: 16/04/2002
Posts: 657
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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BBC News reporting that the Bourbon Dolphin which appears from their photo to be a X-bow vessel has capsized off Shetland. 4 crew missing feared trapped in the upturned hull.
More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6550077.stm
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