Just perfect for
THE ISLANDS!
Mike Garnham reports that the barge he
bought from Commando Boats this year has
been hard at work ever since it arrived in Fiji.
"W
e encountered a few difficulties with Customs in getting
the appropriate duty assessments finalised, then drove it
up to RakiRaki in atrocious weather conditions: wet
but robust.
The shallow draft, 25/30 knot performance, and
the robustly designed "tank landing craft" front end
are absolutely perfect for loading and unloading on
unformed landing points, such as the beaches we have to
contend with on the Islands in Fiji.The only problem we
have encountered so far was with one of the outboard
motors that was supplied in Fiji that had a super charger
fault. That has involved a bit of correspondence with
the local agent and the supplier in Japan, but it has been
resolved. We have had no problems at all with the barge."
Mike's barge is a 10.5m x 3.8m Angelo Lavranos
designed landing craft from Commando Boats. The
multi-purpose high speed barge is being used to assist in
the re-development of Mokusigas Resort, and associated
tourism developments on Nananu I Ra Island, one of
Fiji's pristine islands off the northern coast of Viti Levu.
Built in 5083 marine alloy plate, the hull is constructed
with an 8mm bottom, 5mm sides and 8mm checker
plate deck. All scantlings are in 5mm with the dividing
bulkheads of the four watertight voids being reinforced
5mm plate. The bow ramp is constructed of 6mm
46
NZ WORKBOAT REVIEW 2013
Owner Mark Garnham at the helm
checker plate using 100 x 50 x 8mm C section running
beams and box framing for load strength. The ramp may
be clamped closed giving a nearly watertight seal, and
when lowered is capable of loading a five ton digger. The
barge itself has a design SWL of 10 tonnes.
Built to both Maritime New Zealand SSM and Fiji
near-shore local islands safety standards, the hull shape
contains a five degree dead-rise throughout. For'ard
under the bow-rise is additional strengthening and
sacrificial grounding plates that travel about a third of
the way aft.
Bruce de Baugh from Commando Boats says part of
the build spec was that it had to be bula proof. Bula is
the accepted greeting in Fiji. He said the local boys can
be pretty tough on the gear, so everything had to be
