Photo Op

Capt. Ken- We have been following your excellent journalism in the boating magazines for years and have enjoyed not only your unique writing style and voice, but your thoroughness and obvious skill in researching the subject matter. Your continuing postings on this site is a welcome addition to your career. As you do, we call New York City our home port and while our boating experience has spanned some 40+ years now, completing many ICW, Great Loop, Panama Canal, Caribbean and Bahamas, and Inside Passage trips, we never tire of our own harbor. Here’s a sunset picture we took this past fall as we motored past the Statue of Liberty on our way up the East River to an overnight stay in Port Washington. Keep up the good work.

–Daniel & Jan Richards, NYC

 

Maintenance

A Cleaner Machine

SeaClean offers a solution to transom and hull soot stains from your diesel generator’s exhaust.

By Capt. Ken Kreisler

Ever since the first internal combustion engine was fired up, making both our work and pleasure time increasingly easier, we’ve had to deal with the compounding negative results of what comes out of the exhaust pipe. Advances in design and technology are protecting the environment while improving performance, but the tradeoff is still not very pretty. Noxious fumes, including dangerous carbon monoxide, the now-familiar greenhouse gases along with a host of other sundry materials, and the scourge of many a transom and hull, the staining particulate matter, primarily soot, are still ever-present even in today’s high-tech and compliant diesel power plants and generators.

“Diesel particulate matter has been shown to be a health risk,” said Jorge Lang, Operations Manager for Ft. Lauderdale-based DeAngelo Marine Exhaust, a respected company whose expertise in the field is well-known, as we discussed the problem. “In addition, many of these particles will embed themselves in the microscopic pores that are present even in the highest quality hull finish.”

Constant hull cleaning due to particulate soot staining the area by the generator exhaust can be controlled by SeaClean.

As we all know, the latter notion Lang is alluding to is the damage that can result from attempts, with a seemingly endless range of cleaning aids, to remove the unsightly stains, known around the dock as ‘soot islands’, coming from the generator exhaust.

The solution seemed to lie in being able to stop the soot at the source. “We were called in to fix some filter problems with a generator’s catalytic converter by Richard Boggs, the former Technical Superintendent with Camper & Nicholsons as well as being the inventor of the SeaClean System,” said Lang.

As Lang described it, a catalytic converter works best with higher exhaust temperatures and as long as it stays that way, the system will function properly and more efficiently. “After that, we came up with the idea of using the generator’s excess electrical capacity to heat up the exhaust gases.”

Taking this information, Lang and Boggs were able to successfully modify a number of generator’s on several yachts resulting in a positive outcome. Knowing they were onto something, Boggs and DeAngelo partnered up and came up with a collective system.

The SeaClean unit can be easily retrofitted in most engine rooms.

According to Lang, the SeaClean Diesel Particulate Filter System is able to capture 95 percent or better of the soot and other materials in the generator’s exhaust flow that would otherwise be discharged into the atmosphere, the water, and on to the hull. It does this by first heating the exhaust gas before it enters the filter housing and then traps the particles, unburned fuel, and lube oil in the filter medium, reducing them to carbon dioxide and water vapor. In addition, much of the all too familiar odor associated with diesel exhaust is also eliminated. For maintenance, the filter element can be removed on a periodic cleaning schedule.

“Unlike other particulate filters which depend on high generator loads to create exhaust temperatures, exhaust is delivered to the filter at the correct temperature and thereby eliminates soot and the hydrocarbons associated with diesel smells and oil slicks,” explained Lang. This ability to have the trapped soot and unburned hydrocarbons delivered to the filter element is known as regeneration.

To insure the highest level of particulate removal and longest possible filter life between cleanings, SeaClean incorporates an electrically powered exhaust gas heater, which adjusts power consumption in relation to the load on the generator and its exhaust gas temperature. This means that when the generator is operating at a low load (and at its dirtiest) the heater maintains the correct exhaust temperature into the filter to achieve constant regeneration.

As generator load increases and exhaust temperature rises, the power delivered to the heater is smoothly reduced until the point where exhaust temperature is sufficient to maintain regeneration. The heater then consumes no power and the system does not draw on the yacht’s power distribution system. Full generator power is available to carry the load. At low output energy operations, the heater will function as an exhaust cooled load bank to provide a healthy electrical base load as well as keep the filter operating correctly.

The SeaClean System also incorporates a data logger and display for set points and exhaust temperatures, back pressure indicator and, for immediate operational oversight, historical reference of the system’s performance. An alarm for high back pressure can be interfaced with any alarm and monitoring system.

“Right now, we’re working on boats 160-feet and above and have gotten great results,” said Lang. “But we are just waiting for the right opportunity to someone to ask us to have a go at their 70-footer. And after that, well we’re looking at developing a system for main engines as well. It’s all within reach.”

If you’re tired of having a dirty hull because of soot stains from your diesel generator, give Lang a call. He just may have the right kind of solution for your particular situation.

DeAngelo Marine Exhaust, 3330 S.W. 2nd Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. 33315.
954-763-3005 ext. 320. 954-467-8133 (fax). http://www.deangelomarine.com

 

Photo Op

Thank you for sharing all these wonderful photos from travelers all over the world. On a recent early morning crossing to the Abacos from Palm Beach, Florida, on a very beautiful day, we snapped this one off and were so taken by the vastness of both the ocean and sky, we would like to share it with others. There is nothing, to those of us who travel with our boats, whether under sail or power, that can match the grandeur and awesome power of the natural world. Please keep posting these photos. They are most welcome and interesting and we will keep looking for more to send in as we travel. P. & M. Kline, Savannah, GA

 

Sea Trials

The Viking 92 EB is the present culmination of the family owned company’s 50-year history.

By Capt. Ken Kreisler

Viking’s 92 EB cuts an eye-catching profile as she powers across the water. With her proportions in perfect balance, she is as beautiful as she is a formidable tournament fishing yacht.

Where do you start when you start out to design and build a 92-foot sportfishing boat? If you’re Patrick Healey, President and CEO of Viking Yachts, it goes something like this:

“Back about four+ years ago, we were in Ocean City, Maryland, aboard a customer’s 115-foot motoryacht,” said Healey. “He owned one of our sportfishing boats as well and I really enjoyed the spaciousness of being on the kind of yacht that allowed a large group to hang in the country kitchen, entertain others in the main salon, and allow the owners to sit outside with more guests on the aft deck area.”

The expansive helm offers the captain all the room necessary for monitoring critical engine functions as well as any electronic displays and controls.

The concept impressed Healey so much so that he and Viking’s Design Manager Dave Wilson and Capt. Ryan Higgins, the company’s South East Sales Manager and demo skipper, also along on the visit, had a shared moment. “We’ve got to figure out a way to make this kind of set up happen on a big sportfish boat,” Healey said.

Taking cues from the highly successful Viking 82C, design and engineering set out to make the next big thing a reality. With a $7+ million a year investment in R&D, countless meetings and analyzing input from customers as well as internal departments and an extensive tank-testing regimen, the two and a half-year project culminated in a nine month build schedule that was the dockside crown jewel in Viking’s recent 50^th Anniversary celebration and dealer meeting held in Atlantic City this past September.

The view from up on high.

The first thing I noticed as I watched the 92EB come to a stop outside the long row of slips at the far end of the Farley Marina before spinning around and backing down along the face dock, and while still quite a distance away, was how well proportioned she looked. “It was one of the primary directives; to make her look as good and well-balanced whether dockside or out at sea,” said Wilson.

Fantastic is a more apt description. As she approached, it became apparent that Healey’s team had achieved something really special. Under the expert hand of Capt. Higgins, she came to a gentle portside-to rest, her deep-throated pair of 2,600-hp M96 MTU diesel power plants shut down as the first group of 23 people standing there, eager to board, waited.

The main salon is ready to take care of large gatherings.

“With the 92EB, we can attract some folks from the larger yachts, who also owned a smaller sportfishing boat, and want to scale down to one,” said Higgins. “Therefore,” he noted, with a smile and a nod in the boat’s direction, “As you can readily seen, she’ll be more than able to take such an owner to the next level.

Incorporating both the large yacht features while keeping the successful fish amenities found on all Viking open convertibles and enclosed bridge models intact, the 92 offers an impressive full service galley, a free-standing dining table space, a full beam master with his and her heads, walk in closets, separate crew quarters aft with lounge and galley, a bridge deck that is a good as it gets, the kind of storage spaces throughout that can accommodate long trips away from home, and a six stateroom layout.

As far as the accommodations are concerned, an owner has some leeway, for

The master suite combines elegance, roominess, and the kind of storage space found on larger yachts.

example, converting the pantry on the main deck’s starboard side into another stateroom should that be necessary. Indeed, on Hull #2, the owner is eliminating the free-standing dining table and reworking the salon layout along with the his and her heads by making one side a walk in closet with the other a special locker design. And with Hull #3, that owner asked for some changes including a dinette area inside.

To say the least, the interior fit and finish, along with the décor package, is as tastefully and well done as I’ve seen on any vessel of her class and then some.

Offering a three-level cockpit, the 92 EB’s business end features a mezzanine and above that, another seating area with a dining table.

The team paid special attention to the aft deck, wanting to keep that as an outdoor dining area. The variation on the theme incorporated the mezzanine area and created two levels—a yacht aft deck and a separate fishing mezzanine with seating, livewell, and refrigeration for the massive business end of the 92EB, the lower cockpit. Any fishing crew will be more than able to be highly competitive in this space and to seriously compete in any tournament event.

Aiding that ability is her amazing performance capabilities. On my particular test day, Capt. Higgins had her up and running along at a cruise speed of 30 knots with a fast cruise of 32. Her WOT hit an impressive 37.2 knots at 2450 rpm all in troubling four-to-six foot seas and into the wind and current. During backing down maneuvers she pirouetted like a prima ballerina and while running up and down sea, I had to look out at the conditions to remind me we were in this kind of water. Of course the Seakeeper M35 Gyro was of great help in keeping us rock steady.

“We’re 200,000+ pounds with full fuel and water,” explained Higgins in the noticeable quiet of the enclosed bridge. “But that all goes to our design and engineering teams with our resin infused hull and deck house reinforced with carbon fiber, Nomex honeycomb in many of the interior panels for weight saving, and along with the hull bottom featuring flush and recessed engine pickups, and to help further eliminate drag reduction, we eliminated the keel resulting in a straight V.”

The engine room space allows total access to every piece of equipment, pump,

As engine rooms go, this is as good as it gets…and then some.

valve, connection, switch, filter, and any other critical area that needs attention and maintenance. A lot of the components normally found in an engine room and which sometimes makes for a rather tight space, have been allocated to a dedicated space. Aboard the 92EB, it’s known as the mechanical room. Here one finds, again with complete access and serviceability, the ice chipper, ac power converter system, refrigeration units, compressors, cable masters, centralized water system, and generators. And of course, getting to the mains is everything one could want in being able to perform total critical engine maintenance with complete ease and accessibility. Another big yacht feature is that aforementioned ac power converter system. It gives the 92EB complete and worldwide dockside abilities with single-phase, three-phase, 50hz, 60 hz plug-in abilities.

“We’re a big team and along with our design and engineering folks, we left nothing to chance with this boat,” commented Higgins when we got back, tied up, and waited for the next group to board. “I get to see a lot of reactions when we introduce a new model and the response to this one has been nothing but spectacular. Once you take the wheel and realize how maneuverable she is, I notice a feeling of complete confidence quickly settles in over whoever is at the helm whether around the dock or heading out to sea.”

With all the advances Viking has incorporated in its past designs, and all the developments integrated into the 92EB, she will be sure to influence the next yacht, assuredly already on the drawing board, at the New Gretna, NJ facility.

“It’s been that way for 50 years,” said Healey. “And there is no reason to change that at all. It’s something my father and my uncle, the founders of the company, always held true: We’ll build a better boat every day.”

Specifications:

LOA: 93′ 3″

Beam: 24′ 1″

Draft: 5′ 1″

Weight: 205,000 lbs. (standard fuel load)

Fuel/Water: 3,410/485 U.S. gals.

Power: 2x 2,600-hp MTU 16V-2000-M96 diesels

Cruise/Top Speed: 30/36 knots

Range: 612nm @ cruise w/opt. power

Contact: Viking Yachts, Route 9 “On the Bass River” P.O. Box 308 New Gretna, N J 08224 Phone: (609) 296-6000 Fax: (609) 296- 3956. vikingyachts.com