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| Hull Design, Cat C32 ACERT Power and Outstanding Craftsmanship Deliver Ultimate Tribute A new 72-foot sport fishing boat built by Tribute Performance Boats for Andres Fanjul, owner of US-based food company Florida Chrystals, is likely to give this highly competitive former Gold Cup winner even more of an edge in the competitions he enters this year. MV Alican is built with a cold molded epoxy hull and traditional wood decking and interiors as well as the latest space age Kevlar, carbon fiber and 'foam glass' technology. It also features twin Cat C32 ACERT marine diesel engines (rated 1343 kW/1825 mhp at 2300 rpm) powering through twin ZF2070A marine gears, to produce what the owner considers to be the ultimate in current sport fishing performance. "We wanted a big comfortable boat, " says Andres Fanjul, "but we got a whole lot more. Yes it is very comfortable and extremely well appointed and finished, as we have come to expect from Tribute (this is our second boat from this yard), but the performance is stunning. We have a top speed of 42.6 knots at 2350 rpm but it is at lower speeds where the combination of power train and hull design really comes into its own. At 1700 rpm, or 60% rated power, we have a comfortable cruising speed of 30.0 knots but we're 'in the power' at all times and acceleration comes instantly if and when required. And at 30 knots we're only consuming 80 gph." "My experience suggests that this sort of performance would usually mean 140 gph using other hull and engine combinations together with the added maintenance, piston wear and other downsides that we simply do not have with the twin Cat C32 configuration. This combination will certainly make us competitive should we decide to enter sport fishing competitions this year, but it's also already delivering a great deal of pleasure and sheer fun, which is what this kind of boat is all about." Built at Tribute Performance Boats' facility in Jupiter, Florida over the last 30 months, MV Alican is a custom built 72-foot sports fishing boat featuring four staterooms, three of which are doubles, three heads and showers as well as a large salon and galley with a unique dinette that can turn into a big lounge or sleeping area. There are seven flat screen TV's and state of the art entertainment/navigation electronics. The cockpit has a custom "Release Marine" offset tuna chair and a large mezzanine with massive freezer, ice bin, drink box and storage built in. The bridge has two "Release Marine" helm chairs, glass and teak enclosed electronics, "Bausch American" tower and "Rupp" riggers. MV Alican also features a Caterpillar multi station control system with multiple engine information outputs in the engineer's station and the skipper's cockpit to ensure optimum monitoring and performance. Local Caterpillar dealer Pantropic Power, which supplied the engines and engineering assistance to Tribute Performance Boats is also providing a dedicated engineer to work for the owner in order to ensure that scheduled – and unscheduled – maintenance work can be carried out as effectively as possible around the owner's schedule. Tribute Performance Boats' Rich Scheffer Sr. comments: "We're proud of this boat. We think that we have created a winning combination and the fact that we most often build for existing customers, as repeat business for the yard, suggests that we are getting something right. We are delighted with our new Alican 72 and wish Andres every success in his leisure and sporting pursuits." The Cat C32 ACERT 12-cylinder diesel engine is a turbocharged and after-cooled 32.1 liter (1959 cu in) unit which delivers 1343 kW (1825 mhp) at 2300 rpm. Launched in 2005 around the world, it secured record pre orders for a Caterpillar marine engine and has subsequently achieved worldwide sales of 450 units. The Cat C32 has become the engine of choice in its power (and hull size) range across the marine pleasure and performance craft marketplace with customers including all of the major yacht builders in the US, Europe and emerging markets in the Far East Australasia and Russia. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Construction News :: home page |