Cummins Vessel Reference #714

Raymond Viguerie and, more recently his son Peter, have been building pushboats at a yard on a bayou just off the Itntacoastal Waterway that skirts the Gulf of Mexico. Their Intracoastal Ironworks sits between the bayou and the Bourg-LaRoxe Highway has recently expanded into the neighboring property.

In the past they have built a variety of boats, but in recent years they have focused their efforts on a standard 72 by 30 by 10-foot push boat with two steering and four flanking rudders. Powered by a pair of Cummins 12-cylinder 38-liter engines, each producing 1000 HP at 1800 RPM, they are, explained Peter Viguerie recently, “just right for the tight canals but can still handle the (Mississippi) River. Typically they are pushing two 30,000 barrel barges. On the Intracoastal they push these one wide for an over all length of about 1300 feet.”

While the yard has been able to increase efficiencies to remain competitive by standardizing much of the vessel, there will be some variation from owner to owner. Some owners will prefer Twin Disc while others may specific Reintjes, although ratios are typically about 6:1. Propellers will vary from 72 to 74-inch diameter and 56 to 54-inches of pitch with four or five blade. “Some operators say the five blade are smoother but may not back down as well as the four blade, but they push better so you can back off on the throttle a bit,” Viguerie said.

While the yard has been able to increase efficiencies to remain competitive by standardizing much of the vessel, there will be some variation from owner to owner. Some owners will prefer Twin Disc while others may specific Reintjes, although ratios are typically about 6:1. Propellers will vary from 72 to 74-inch diameter and 56 to 54-inches of pitch with four or five blade. “Some operators say the five blade are smoother but may not back down as well as the four blade, but they push better so you can back off on the throttle a bit,” Viguerie said.

By mid-October the yard had already delivered five of their standard push boat in 2013 and had number six scheduled for delivery before the end of the year, “We have only about 35-guys in our crew and very few subcontractors,” reported Viguerie, “We will deliver another in January and the next in March. It is taking us about six months to build a boat so we get one out of the yard about every six weeks.

Photos by Jeff L. Yates and A. Haig-Brown courtesy of Cummins

1. The Diane Cenac, shown here on the Ohio River at Paducah, KY, went into service in September of 2013. (Jeff L. Yates photo)

2. Peter Viguerie stands in front of the shipyard’s sixth boat of 2013 with the seventh off to the left. ( A. Haig-Brown Photo)

For further information:

Peter Viguerie
Intracoastal Iron Works Inc.
743 Bourg Larose Highway
Bourg LA 70343 5207
USA
Phone: 985 594 7277
E-mail: carol@iiwshipyard.com