Golding Barge Line Adds 33rd Towboat With Mv. Alexa Golding

Golding Barge Line, Vicksburg, Miss., a transporter of liquid commodities with roots dating back to 1960, recently took delivery of its 33rd towboat, the mv. Alexa Golding. The new vessel follows the recently built mv. Gage Golding and, like its predecessor, is a retractable pilothouse boat designed by Sterling Marine. It was built by Steiner Shipyard in Bayou la Batre, Ala.

The vessel’s namesake, Alexa Golding Hodges, is the 34-year-old daughter of Jason Golding and the granddaughter of Lou Golding and the late Warren Everette Golding. She was born and raised in Grenada, Miss., and, following the Golding family tradition, attended Mississippi State University. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2013, she married C.J. Hodges in 2018.

In 2020, after several years of working alongside her father in his businesses – assisting in his crappie outfitting enterprise, Grenada Lake Charters, for one – Alexa decided to follow her lifelong dream of helping others; she became a registered nurse. She now works at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, Miss., although she still helps her father from time to time.

Alexa and C.J. have three children: Cooper James (5), Virginia Grace (3) and Briggs Warren (1). Alexa recently became a life member of Junior Auxiliary of Grenada and is PTO vice president of Grenada Elementary School. She enjoys spending time with her family, attending pilates classes, cheering on her husband’s baseball team and volunteering in her community.

Commenting on her namesake vessel, Alexa said, “A towboat named after me carries more than a name. It carries a legacy. In every mile of river it will travel, it will honor the generations of Goldings who came before, each leaving their mark on the water.”

Vessel Specs

This latest addition to the Golding 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, it sits at 18 feet. There are 11 other retractables in the Golding fleet.

Twin Caterpillar 3512 Tier 4 main engines from Puckett Machinery provide a total of 2,800 hp. They 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 WAF 773 L reduction gears with a 6.154:1 ratio, internal hydraulic shaft brakes, trailing pumps, VULKAN couplings and Emerson electronic throttle controls, all from Karl Senner. A total of 99 kilowatts of auxiliary power is supplied by each of two John Deere 4045 generators from Stanley Parts. The electric-over-hydraulic steering system is from Gulf Coast Air & Hydraulics, which also supplied the alarm system.

The Alexa Golding can hold 36,000 gallons of fuel and 5,000 gallons of potable water, as well as 800 gallons of lube 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 1 1/2 baths. All interior spaces are insulated with Rockwool mineral wool. The hull is fully protected by Schuyler fenders.

Featured photo caption: The mv. Alexa Golding. (Photos courtesy of Golding Barge Line)