Fresh from the drydock in the former Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Z drive tug Robert E McAllister pushes against the dock to place a heavy load on the engines and gears to make sure all is operating properly. From Tugboat Information: ROBERT E. McALLISTER Built in 1969, by Peterson Builders Incorporated of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin as the YTB-803 (Nanticoke) for the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on May 26th, 1969; launched on December 14th, 1969 and delivered to the United Stated Navy on June 21st, 1970. She was allocated to the 12th Naval District at San Francisco, California. The date she was placed out of service with the Navy is unknown, but she was struck from the Naval Register on November 9th, 1999; the tug was transferred to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS). In 2002, she was acquired by the Fournier Towing and Ship Service of Belfast, Maine, where the tug was renamed as the Canal Protector. In 2005, the tug was acquired by McAllister Towing and Transportation of New York, New York, where she was renamed as the Robert E. McAllister. In 2005, she was rebuilt/reconfigured. Originally powered by a single Fairbanks Morse 10 cylinder "38-1/8" opposed piston diesel engine she was rated at 2,000 horsepower. She repowered with two Caterpillar 3516B diesel engines. Her single rudder and single propeller were removed and replaced with a pair of Schottel SRP 1012 "Zdrives." for a rated 4,000 horsepower. The Robert E. McAllister was the sixth conversion of a United States Naval tug by McAllister Towing from a single screw configuration to a "Z drive" configuration and the fourth conversion to feature twin "Z drives." Also, she was the fourteenth tractor tug to enter service for McAllister Towing and Transportation. The tug's original Detroit 6-71 generators were removed and replaced with a pair of 99kW, Tier II compliant, John Deere PowerTech generator sets. She was outfitted with a Goulds fire pump, (2000 gpm capacity) driven by a Detroit 6-71 diesel engine, feeding two fire monitors rated for 1,500 gpm foam capacity. Her capacities are 20,000 gallons of fuel oil, 710 gallons of lube oil and 1,290 gallons of potable water. Her deck equipment was modified with the addition of Jon Rie InterTech 200 winch mounted on the bow, outfitted with 450 feet of 7 inch Neutron Rope. Her original underwater submarine fendering was kept, and refurbished.

• published: 16 Jun 2016
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