cover story
Heading out into a calm southern day
VIP.S95
spend a lot of time at idle when hauling and setting pots and at
1000rpm when working between pots, fuel consumption average
for a day's fishing is surprisingly low and can average less than
20lts per hour.
With 6000lts of fuel on board with 2000lts of water, the
number of operating days this vessel can do is quite large.
The main engine also drives the twin hydraulic power-packs
via the power take offs on the back of the ZF gearbox. One pack
drives the deck hose, anchor winch and crane, while the other
powers the pot hauler and main fishroom freezer refrigeration.
Also below is a Kohler 9kva genset to provide shipboard
power for backup domestic battery charging, inverters and deck
wash pumps and night flow to the live cray tank.
The next compartment is the six tonne freezer hold, designed
to carry bait at minus 40 degrees Celsius. This large hold is so
heavily insulated that once the boys are back in Doubtful Sound
and return home, the bait on board will remain frozen for over 10
days – until the next trip – without deteriorating.
Aft of the freezer is the lazarette along with the steering gear,
refrigeration units and the on board hydraulic crane pumps, plus
ULLRICH
ALUMINIUM
Proud suppliers of
Aluminium Plate,
Extrusion, Fasteners
& Sealant to
GOUGH BROS LTD
25 Bond Street
Invercargill
Phone John 03 218 4124
Fax 03 218 4024
Email invsls@uacl.co.nz
www.ullrich-aluminium.co.nz
14
Professional Skipper September/October 2013
a bit of general stowage racks for replacement buoys and lines.
Once back on deck, the Quicklift 350 hydraulic crane has a
maximum lift of 2200kgs but at full 6.70m reach can handle
355kgs, which is more than enough to swing the 80kg pots
around the deck. The Prospect is capable of carrying 10 tonnes
on deck, or up to 50 pots when shifting them about at season's
start or end. The pot rack holds six pots, which may be slid by
hand to the hydraulic pot setter. Gone are the days of the back
breaking work of lugging pots around on deck.
"Not only are we getting older," David says, "but we should
be getting smarter," so the crane is a must to ease the strain on
weary bones.
Moving forward is the raised hatch giving access to the six
tonne freezer hold. At minus 40 degrees it is not a place the
deckhand wants to stay in long when tossing out boxes of bait
for the next day's fishing.
Next is the large on deck 2000lt live cray tank that will hold
20 baskets of 25kgs, totalling 500kg of live export product. This
tank is hooked up to the saltwater deck hose pumping system and
may be run off the genset at night to keep the crays alive and in
pristine condition.
Beside the tank and to starboard, there is the hydraulic pot
lifter and catch sorting bin. This bin/lifter is operated by two
through-deck hydraulic rams, so that once the pot is landed and
emptied, it is re-baited and raised in preparation for deployment.
Then the catch may be measured and sorted at table height
before the next pot is hauled. The graded catch is subsequently
dropped into the baskets in the cray tank via two small sliding
hatches; the whole operation is designed to be easy on the health
and safety of the fishermen working the deck.
Moving forward onto the bow, there is a small escape hatch
from the accommodation below and the large Gough designed
and made hydraulic anchor winch and drum – a must when
working in the deep waters of the Sounds.
With the recent loss of the K-Cee and two of her crew off the
Fiordland coast, local memories remain raw. But these southern
fishermen have learned from the lessons of this tragic accident
www.skipper.co.nz
