The Cheramie family has a long history of using Markey winches. An older TDSD-28 model purchased in 1974 still works perfectly and other winches and capstans have been purchased subsequently.

'The Markey people have treated us like family and I can't think of a service issue we have had with any of their deck equipment, said Tony Cheramie. 'That real life experience made the wisdom of buying another Markey winch obvious.'

Markey's TDSD-34 on the Ann T Cheramie is powered by a dedicated Caterpillar 3304 DIT turbodiesel running between 575rpm and 1,800rpm.

The winch has a capacity of 2,850ft of 2 1/4in wire rope on the starboard towing drum and an additional 1,840ft on the port auxiliary drum. At the barrel layer, rated line pull in first gear is over 200,000 pounds (stall) and 84,300 pounds at 31ft per minute (light line).

Tony Cheramie added, 'The Ann T Cheramie was built to tow general cargo barges from US ports to destinations throughout the Caribbean as well as ports in Central and South America. Wherever we might be, the TDSD-34 gives us positive control at any speed and in any conditions.

Line pull exceeds our requirements and the winch response is quiet, smooth and precise.'

Built by Main Iron Works of Houma, Louisiana, Ann T Cheramie is powered by twin Caterpillar 3516B DITA diesels driving Rolls-Royce nozzled propellers through Reintjes type WAF1172 gearboxes. Two Caterpillar 3306B gensets rated at 75kW provide auxiliary power.

The upper deck is designed on two levels, with a half-height wheelhouse advantageous regarding air draft for river operations but giving no view whatsoever of aft deck activities. For that reason a small, one man weatherproof control station enclosure is provided at the aft end of the deckhouse roof directly above the Markey winch.

MJInformation No: 22023