On Aug. 25, Yank Marine rolled out the first of two new 400-passenger catamaran ferries at its Tuckahoe, N.J., shipyard. Designed by LeMole Naval Architecture of Tuckahoe, the 110'x31'x5' ferries are being built for Port Imperial Ferry Co. in Weehawken, N.J., and operated by NY Waterway, also of Weehawken. According to Bette Jean Yank, “We trailered the vessel out of the building (using an old Ford truck & trailer) to be picked up by the new 300-metric-ton Marine Travelift purchased with the assistance of a US DOT Maritime Administration grant in 2012.”
Now that the first vessel has been removed from the construction building, work started immediately on the second. The first ferry is scheduled for March 2015 delivery, but Yank told WorkBoat’s Michael Crowley last spring that they hope to complete it in January.
The new aluminum ferries will be powered by pairs of 2,250-hp Caterpillar 3512C main engines with ZF 3600 gears turning traditional shafts and propellers. Cruising speed is expected to be 27 knots.
Yank Marine, the only commercial shipyard in New Jersey, has done considerable repair and repower work for NY Waterway, but this is the first newbuilding project for them.
