Following the successful construction of L/B Myrtle, Bollinger Shipyards (Lockport, USA) will build another advanced liftboat L/B Kayd with delivery planned for September 2005. Equipped with 245-foot legs, the self-propelled floating platform will have the ability to work in water depths to 180 feet with a 15-foot air gap while lifting a total of 950 KIPS of variable load. The L/B Kayd will be different from other liftboats in that it will be equipped with a bow thruster and controllable pitch (CP) propellers for greater manoeuvrability and precision placement of the huge legs on the ocean bottom.
The L/B Kayd will be equipped with 40 foot by 16 foot pads, much larger than those on other liftboats, to provide for greater bottom stability and greater deck loads. It will also be able to jack with a full pre-load and its pre-load system has quick acting stainless steel dump valves to discharge water faster.The liftboat will be 137.5-feet long, with a 92-foot beam and hull depth of 13-feet. Open deck will be 6,000 square feet and its three legs will be 72 inches in diameter and constructed of 1½-inch wall thickness high strength steel. Power will be supplied by two Caterpillar 3512 diesels developing a total of 3,000 bhp. They will drive Berg controllable pitch propellers through Reintjes reduction gears. Electrical power will be produced by two 190 kW generators driven by Caterpillar 3306 diesels and a 350 bhp hydraulic motor will drive the bow thruster.
The Hydraquip jacking system is designed using the latest hydraulic and computer technology to accurately control the leg position. The programmable logic controller provides all jacking system logic, safety interlocks, leg position and alarm monitoring. The hydraulic system incorporates a three speed jacking system that allows leg tagging at 10 ft/min, normal jacking at 4 ft/min and preload jacking at 2 ft/min. The liftboat is designed to comply with ABS loadline, SOLAS/MARPOL and USCG Subchapter L regulations.
