GBL Grows Fleet With Mv. Gage Golding

Vicksburg, Miss.-based Golding Barge Line (GBL) recently took delivery of its 32nd towboat, the mv. Gage Golding, a retractable pilothouse boat designed by Sterling Marine and built by Steiner Shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Ala.

The vessel is named after Warren “Gage” Golding, whose father is the namesake of the triple-screw towboat Jason Golding and whose mother, Wendy, is deceased. His stepmom is Ashley Golding, and he has two sisters, Alexa Hodges and Mallory Little. Gage Golding is a cousin of Austin Golding, president and CEO of Golding Barge Line.

“We wanted to continue the legacy through our extended family,” Austin Golding said. “Gage always had a passion for the outdoors, just like his father. From the time he could walk, he was alongside his dad, hunting for big bucks, catching Grenada Lake crappie, spending time on the river or hunting for hogs. His family owned a sporting goods store in Grenada, Miss., halfway between Memphis, Tenn., and Jackson, Miss., and that is how he found his passion and love for the great outdoors. You would catch him in the archery department, testing out all the new bows, or at the gun counter, sighting in scopes for customers.”

Now 23 years old, Gage Golding helps run his family’s business, Grenada Lake Charters. He enjoys taking customers on guided hog hunts in the Mississippi Delta, Austin Golding said. The hunts are the subject of a book named “Panther Tract: Wild Boar Hunting in the Mississippi Delta” by Melody Golding, Austin’s mother.

This latest addition to the Golding Barge Line fleet of towboats measures 94 feet long by 34 feet wide with a depth of 12 feet when loaded to capacity. When raised, the jack-up pilothouse provides a 33-foot eye level. When lowered, the pilothouse sits at 18 feet.

There are 10 other retractable towboats in the Golding fleet.

“We like the versatility they bring and the simplicity in upkeep,” Austin Golding said. “We’ve found they give us a lot of geographical and operational versatility.”

Also, having a single deck streamlines maintenance aboard a retractable towboat, he said.

Twin Caterpillar 3512 Tier 4 main engines from Puckett Machinery provide a total of 2,800 hp. Main engines turn Sound propellers on 8-inch shafts with Simplan seals and Thordon bearings and are cooled by Duraweld keel coolers. The boat is equipped with Reintjes 773 reduction gears from Karl Senner LLC. A total of 99 kw. of auxiliary power is supplied by each of the two John Deere 4045 generators from Stanley Parts. The electric-over-hydraulic steering system is from Gulf Coast Air & Hydraulics, which also supplied the mv. Gage Golding’s alarm system.

The Gage Golding can hold 36,000 gallons of fuel and 5,000 gallons of potable water, as well as 800 gallons of lube oil and 2,950 gallons of diesel exhaust fluid.

The Furuno electronics package includes two radars, a Sounder, GPS, four Icom radios and a Star Link internet system. On deck are two Patterson 65-ton deck winches and a Schoellhorn-Albrecht capstan.

Three self-contained Carrier units are dedicated to the vessel’s cabin, while a First Choice air conditioning unit is situated in the pilothouse. There are 10 bunks for the crew, two full heads and one half bath. All interior spaces are insulated with rockwool mineral wool. The hull is fully protected by Schuyler fenders.

Featured image caption: The mv. Gage Golding, pictured with its pilothouse in the raised position. (Photo courtesy of Golding Barge Line)