Tatco Shipbuilding Corporation, San Diego, Calif., has delivered the first vessel in an entirely new class of 83-foot steel tuna clippers incorporating a unique hull design and interior arrangement. The new tuna clipper was christened the Tropicana in ceremonies at Tatco's San Diego yards last October. Sea trials for the $240,000 ship were conducted early in December before the Tropicana was turned over to her new owner, Moises Llanes, a veteran of 20 years at sea.
The Tropicana-class vessels are of welded steel construction and feature a new bulbous-bow design constructed especially for tuna fishing off the coasts of North and South America. Naval architect Elmer Olson of Chula Vista, formerly the owner of Olson Marine Construction in Chicago, adapted the hull concept from the highly successful bow bulges incorporated in the hull design of large tankers for stability and added speed.
The December sea trials of the Tropicana were more than successful. The performance characteristics of the new hull design were termed outstanding by owner and builder alike. In a fully-loaded condition the Tropicana cruised at 10.5 knots with her engines turning less than their design speed of 1,800 rpm. Excellent handling under all speed and turning tests further proved the soundness of the new hull design, which minimizes the pitch, roll and yaw frequently found in fishing vessels of this size.
The Tropicana is 83 feet long with a maximum beam of 24 feet and a draft of 11 feet. Displacement is 242 tons. The boat has a total capacity of 126 tons of frozen fish - 106 tons in its eight fish wells and 20 tons in the bait tank aft.
Main propulsion for the Tropicana is a single Caterpillar D-343T turbocharged diesel engine rated at 300 hp at 1,800 rpm. The engine is equipped for keel-cooling and has separately cooled after-coolers capable of adding 30 hp to the rating of the engine. The main engine is direct reversing and uses a 6:1 reduction gear driving a bronze five-bladed 62-inch Coolidge propeller with a 56-inch pitch.
Auxiliary power for all the boat's internal systems is generated by two Caterpillar Model D-330 diesel engines driving 60-kw, 3-phase, 60-cycle a-c generators built by the Kato Engineering Company. The ship has both 110-volt and 220-volt a-c electrical systems.
With the exception of hand flashlights, the Tropicana uses no batteries. All engine starting is by air stored in two large air receivers. The ship's two air compressors are Quincy Model 214, 2-cycle rated at 17.6 cfm at 125 psi.
The wheelhouse on the upper deck is equipped with radar, automatic direction-finding equipment, Sperry autopilot, ship-to-shore radiotelephone with single sideband, a citizens-band radio and loran navigational equipment. Steering is hydraulic with an integrated autopilot.
Crew's quarters are located on the main deck along with the galley and crew's recreation area. Three staterooms provide accommodations for the crew of ten. All living space is air conditioned.
Richard Tatus, Tatco's vice-president and general manager stated that Tatco is negotiating with several companies for the construction of additional vessels in the Tropicana class, and there is increasing interest in the Tatco 57, a 57-foot steel vessel which, with minor modifications can be built as a trawler, bait boat, dragger or gill netter.
The first of these smaller boats is now under construction and will be ready for delivery in June 1969, Mr. Tatus said.