Macduff Shipyards completes latest new build fishing vessel Gracious

Macduff Shipyards has completed its latest new build fishing vessel.

Gracious (PD 103) is a new design of fishing boat arranged for twin rig trawling and is expected to fish in the North Sea region, primarily targeting prawns.

Upon initial discussion of the new build, the decision was taken to develop a new hull form, with the aim of providing good sea keeping qualities, high propulsion efficiency, as well as improved living conditions for the crew onboard.

A Macduff Shipyards spokesman said: “To achieve these objectives, the yard in conjunction with Macduff Ship Design, set out to develop the new hull form, which would have a waterline length of 25 metres, a registered length of just below 24 metres, and a breadth of 7.5 metres.

“The hull was compared against previous designs by the Wolsfon Unit in Southampton, who utilised Computational Fluid Dynamic technology to assess the hull resistance at a range of different speeds, as well as visualise where the major resistance was occurring.

“With this information, the yard then created progressive design alterations, to further reduce the resistance, and improve the wake that the propeller operates in.

“The initial results from sea trials were very encouraging, with a good speed to power witnessed, and the vessel punching effectively into head seas, with little effect on speed.”

As well as the hull form, the general arrangement of the vessel was carefully considered and set out to increase crew comfort, with a focus on reducing noise levels in the living spaces within.

The spokesman added: “Given the generous length of the hull, and the yards experience with noise assessments onboard vessels, it was decided to arrange the vessel with the crew cabins fitted amidships, between the engine room aft and the fish hold forward.

“By placing the cabins amidships, they were moved away from the propeller which is one of the primary noise sources onboard.

“As well as this, the galley and mess area were situated athwartships, above the cabins below, with no part adjacent to the engine room.

“Another effort to reduce noise was to route the engine exhaust pipes up the trawl gallows, instead of near the wheelhouse where they would traditionally be.

“During sea trials, the noise levels were measured and a noticeable reduction in decibels was witnessed, with an absence of any propeller noise or vibration in living compartments.”

The Gracious was built indoor from start to completion, in the yards dedicated building hall at Macduff.

It features a steel hull, and aluminium wheelhouse and mast. The kit was supplied by Macduff Ship Design.

In terms of main machinery, the Gracious features a Caterpillar C32 main engine, rated 559kW @ 1800rpm.

This is coupled to a Masson Marine W7400 gearbox, which drives the 2.5m diameter propeller, fitted within a high thrust nozzle.

Gracious is the 11th new build fishing vessel delivered with this propulsion package by the yard, which has been well proven to be reliable and robust.

Cooling for all engines, as well as the hydraulic system, is provided by using closed loop fresh-water systems.

The Gracious features a new design of rudder blade, developed by the yard, with analysis conducted by the Wolfson Unit in Southampton.

Main hydraulic power onboard is provided by a Hyundai 4AD086 auxiliary engine, with power output of 199kW @ 1500rpm, which drives two Kawasaki swash plate hydraulic pumps.

In addition to this, two 45kW electric motors are fitted, each driving an independent hydraulic pump, which can be utilised as a net retrieve system, or for using hydraulic equipment in the harbour with only one generator set running.

The hydraulic system is a load sensing type system, with electric control valves and remote joysticks fitted at the machinery. This system delivers power only when requested, with the system running idle when not in use, saving fuel and reducing noise throughout the vessel.

The deck machinery package was supplied by the yard, with a triple barrel trawl winch fitted with Hagglunds compact CA210 motor, as well as two split net drums each with two Hagglunds compact CA70 motos.

Thistle Marine of Peterhead supplied the MFB8 landing crane, along with a BK13 powerblock crane, both with slew ring base.

A dynamic S45 gilson winch is fitted for lifting the catch onboard, and a small Rotzler hoisting winch is fitted to assist unloading the catch at the end of the trip.

Electrical power onboard is provided by two Mitsubishi generator sets, each 98ekW in power output and capable of running the ships power in addition to one of the 45kW hydraulic motor pump sets. If two pump sets are required, the second generator can be started to run it.

The electrical system onboard was designed and manufactured by R D Downie, who supplied the switchboards, frequency drives for motors, starter panels for the machinery, fire/bilge/gas alarm panels, and battery systems.

The fish processing system was designed by the yard, with the catch handling system built by Northeast Fabricators, all from marine grade stainless steel.

The fish hold refrigeration system was designed and installed by Premier Refrigeration, who also supplied and installed the Geneglace 2.5t ice maker.

The equipment is all housed in a dedicated room situated between the sorting area and the winch room forward.

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