Cascade General Installs High-Speed Kort Nozzle On Factory Trawler

The 307' Island Enterprise made an emergency stop at Cascade General in July after experiencing propeller problems off the Washington coast. The ship put into Grays Harbor, where a diver found the Kort nozzle had de-laminated, peeled back and seriously bent the blades on the CP propeller. The obstruction was cut away under water to enable the vessel to make its way to Portland Shipyard under reduced power.

The 2,000 ton deadweight factory trawler was immediately drydocked and the damage surveyed. Cascade General's Voyage & Small Vessel Repair Division then removed the rudder and cut the damaged nozzle away from the four upper struts and skeg. The replacement, a Rice Speed Nozzle produced in Mazatlan, Mexico, uses a full, stainless steel liner for durability and a long foil section to minimize drag. To ensure precise alignment, it was positioned with the aid of a rotating pointer mounted in the tailshaft. "You can't rush this stage," explained Roy McKay, Director of Cascade General's Voyage & Small Vessel Repair Division. "The nozzle and propeller have to work as a single unit - with this system, we can be certain we get it right."

While Sound Propeller of Seattle rebuilt the propeller blades, the ship's bottom was re-painted, the lower rudder bearing re-set and all through-hulls overhauled. After a sea trial down the Columbia River, the Island Enterprise was due to return to Alaskan waters under a new owner, Trident Seafoods. The owners' representative is confident the new nozzle will result in increased torque and reduced fuel costs.

Previously, Cascade General has completed a drydocking and electronics upgrade on the Vladivostok-registered Kapitan Nazin, one of the largest factory trawlers in the world. The 347', 10,000-ton displacement vessel is classed by DNV to withstand ice to Class 1B, and was drydocked for the addition of a pair of heavyweight, transducer housings for a Simrad ITI sonar, system, CP propeller overhaul, blasting and painting.

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Cascade General operates Portland Shipyard, the largest and most complete ship repair and industrial facility on the West Coast of the United States. We provide full-service repairs and conversions for tankers, cruise ships, bulk carriers, container ships, government vessels, tugs, barges and workboats. Cascade General's Portland facility includes a 60-acre (24.2 ha) yard, 550,000 square feet (51,096 square meters) of craft shops, more than 7,600 ft. (2,326 meters) of full-service repair berths, and two floating dry docks.