Shipbuilders at Breaux Brothers Enterprises Inc., New Iberia, La., have turned over the hull of a new hybrid-electric tour boat that is being built for Port Houston.
The hull of the 73’x28′ aluminum catamaran was constructed upside down to allow welders to work efficiently on the outer plating. Once the hull was completed, cranes from H. Brown Inc. lifted and rotated the structure. Workers can now begin installing the hybrid propulsion system, plumbing, and interior passenger spaces.
Designed by the U.S. office of naval architecture firm Incat Crowther, the newbuild will be equipped with a Twin Disc battery hybrid propulsion system featuring two 265-kW propulsion motors that will drive fixed-pitch propellers through Twin Disc MGE-5065 SC gearboxes. The vessel will have a maximum speed of 12 knots…