Nichols Boat Company Launches New Towboat

Nichols Boat Company, a boat and barge builder in Greenville, Miss., recently launched a 65-foot harbor boat for Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply Inc. (EMIS). A twin to the mv. Patsy J that the company christened in a November ceremony, the new vessel will be named Danny K, after Danny Koestler, who is vice president of EMIS, a midstream fueling, delivery and harbor service on the Lower Mississippi River near Vicksburg, Miss. Nichols launched the new boat February 26.

Last year at this time, Nichols Boat, besieged by high water that shut down the main yard, had to do pre-fab work on the Patsy J at Mississippi Marine Corporation’s yard nearby. This year, though, the river was expected to be below flood stage by the first weekend in March, said Mark Nichols, general manager, and “we should be finished around the first of April.”

A conventional cabin towboat, the Danny K will measure 65 by 24 feet with a depth of 8 feet. It will be powered by two Mitsubishi S6R diesel engines with a total of 1,370 hp. at 1,800 rpm., which drive 62- by 55-inch, four-blade stainless steel propellers through Twin Disc 5222 reduction gears at a ratio of 6.10:1.

A May christening ceremony is planned in conjunction with the christening of a towboat owned by EMIS’ sister company, Magnolia Marine Transport, that has yet to be christened.