SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA — January 31, 2013 — The late W.C. “Bill” Markey, President of Markey Machinery for over 40 years (1948 to 1988) coined a simple phrase for the company’s design philosophy, “Built Hell For Stout”. As a result, an extraordinary number of Markey deck machines manufactured during that era (and after) are still in service today.

As a result, customers often contact Markey for service parts and/or complete overhaul of a winch that is over 50 years old. Much of the company’s older equipment is “cross-decked” (moved to a new vessel) after the vessel it was originally installed on is retired. Sometimes the original vessels find new life in a new role.

In 2012, Markey created an “Alumni” web page, featuring pictures, video, and short stories about “senior systems” that are still in service, or have returned to the factory for refurbishment. Since the company has maintained extensive records and all of the manufacturing drawings for this equipment, new owners are sometimes surprised at just how much history the company can provide on an old piece of deck gear.

One such situation recently occurred when Nancy Everds and partner Peter Mann reached out to Markey regarding an anchor windlass on a wooden boat they are rebuilding as a future ocean-based home and yacht:

“We think that our winches on our boat were constructed/installed by Markey (see attached photo). We own a 1941 wooden boat that was an Alaska Survey Vessel built at Sagstad in Ballard. She was named Patton originally (sister ship to the Lester Jones, now named Summer Wind), and was decommissioned in the 1960s and then named Challenger, St. Croix, and Triton. We renamed her Gyrfalcon. At some point, we’ll probably want to have you guys take a look at our winches, assuming that you did the original work. In the meantime, I just wanted to get in touch and see if you knew anything about our boat winches (www.gyrfalcon88.wordpress.com).”

The couple was amazed when Markey V.P. Robert “Bobby” LeCoque promptly replied, “The attached scan includes the original outline drawing (AW-525) and the original proposal from Markey to S.E. Sagstad dated Oct. 1940 for the anchor windlass aboard the Patton. No problem taking a look at the winch and we can supply new components too, as we still have all of the original drawings.” They have indicated that as refurbishment work proceeds, their particular piece of 73-year-old Markey equipment will “come home” to receive some “TLC”; and be returned to “factory-new” condition.

W.C. Markey would be proud. The tradition of “Built Hell for Stout” is alive and well, and continues to be supported by the company that he devoted his lifetime to.

The first item of two suites of deck machinery specified by Harley for both the “M/V ROBERT FRANCO” and its’ sister, the “M/V AHBRA FRANCO”, the TES-40-75HP towing winch also fills out Markey’s electric towing winch line which now covers wire sizes between 1-1/4” through 2-1/2”. The TES-40-75HP is a rugged single-drum electric towing winch with fairlead and warping head, designed specifically for use on ASD-tugs where aft deck space is at a premium. Its AC Variable Frequency electric drive satisfies a wide range of performance requirements. All electrical components comply with ABS, USCG, and IEEE-45 standards.

The tow winch is part of a two-winch suite of equipment that also includes a Markey Model DEPCF-52-75HP Class II Hawser Winch.  Together, the two winches will share a single VFD drive panel and dynamic braking resistors, while having discrete wheelhouse controls for each winch. This reduces the impact of “below-deck” equipment on available space, as well as system cost while supporting full functionality of either winch.

The balance of the two shipsets is scheduled to ship in the near future. Both tugs are being built by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Freeland, Washington, with expected launch dates in the spring and summer of 2013. The tugs will enter service on the U.S. West Coast and will enhance Harley Marine’s current fleet of tractor tugs operating in the Tanker Escort and Ship Assist markets.

For more information on the TES-40-75HP towing winch, click here. http://www.markeymachinery.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/TES-40-75HP-rev1.pdf

Founded in 1907, Markey Machinery is the leader in the design and manufacturing of high quality custom deck machinery for workboat, scientific, and dockside applications. Markey products include towing, ship‐assist, and escort winches; single or multi‐drum and traction‐style deep sea research winches; capstans, windlasses and other high performance machines.

Harley Marine Services is a leading provider of marine transportation services in the United States. Harley Marine operates on the United States West Coast (including Alaska), New York Harbor and the US Gulf Coast. Services provided include the transportation and storage of petroleum products, ship assist and escort, the transportation of general cargo and rescue towing. Harley Marine is dedicated to providing excellent customer service and maintaining our obligations to employees, shareholders, our community and the nvironment.

To see it, please click here: CAST-6 Video Data Page

Jacques Tanguay, Group Ocean First Vice President and General Manager stated in a Group Ocean press release earlier this year that “Ships are constantly increasing in size, chinamax vessels are almost here and the shipping market of Northern Quebec and Canada offers a horizon of sustainable development. We needed to equip ourselves with tugs able to meet the increased demand in power and capacity in the ice. This new project is the result of several technical studies and a logical expansion of our fleet. We are already considering the production of a series of these ultra-powerful tugs”.

The Markey suites of deck machinery will include:
• Markey Model DESDF-48-200HP Electric Class III Hawser Winch
◦ A Split-Drum sized to store up to 300 meters of 10” circ. (80mm dia.) soft-line on each side
◦ An extra-heavy duty levelwind featuring two rope guides to service each side of mid-flange
◦ Render/Recover® capable of operation up to full rated line-speeds and line-tension
◦ Instrumentation to allow for the display of line-tension, scope, and line speed during ALL modes of operation
◦ Controls including a handheld wireless remote unit, as well as wheelhouse and on-deck stationary control stations
◦ A load shedding feature enabling the winch to automatically reduce power to a predefined limit if the generator becomes too loaded.

• Markey Model TES-40UL-125HP Electric Single-Drum Towing Winch.
◦ Drum sized for up to 800 meters of 64 mm (2-1/2”) wire rope
◦ Enclosed chain-and-diamond-screw automatic level-wind, in oil-bath (spooling gear)
◦ Instrumentation to allow for the display of line-tension, scope, and line speed
◦ Handheld wireless remote operation using the same control used for Hawser Winch operation, plus dedicated wheelhouse and on-deck stationary control stations

• Two (2) Markey Model VEP-16-40 Electric Vertical Capstan / Windlasses.

◦ Sized for 26 mm stud link chain
◦ On-deck stationary control station

Scott Kreis, Markey’s Vice President of Sales and project leader for this opportunity, makes special note of the extensive collaborative effort between Group Ocean, Markey, Robert Allan Ltd and Lloyd’s Register.

“When we were first approached by Group Ocean over two years ago, the development and coordination of “Ice Class” standards by the world’s marine rating agencies were in their earliest stages. Group Ocean had never used Markey equipment, but was well aware of our reputation as a manufacturer of rugged, reliable, and technologically superior equipment.”

“Following our standard sales and engineering methodology, we visited Group Ocean’s headquarters, met with their senior management and rode their tugs to gain a better feel for their particular operational challenges.”

“We then applied our decades of experience in supplying deck equipment for service in Alaska and oceanographic winches for use in Antarctica to satisfy the requirements of both Group Ocean and Lloyd’s Register.”

“Finally, we worked closely with the naval architects and marine engineers at Robert Allan Ltd to integrate the winch systems into the TunDRA 100 tug design.”

Markey Machinery is pleased to announce that it has been awarded an order for a complete suite of winch systems onboard AGOR-27, a new academic research vessel under construction at Dakota Creek Industries, (Anacortes, Washington).

Sponsored by the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research, this award continues a plan to renew America’s aging fleet of academic research vessels, including ocean ranging vessels like the US Navy’s Knorr (AGOR-15).

Markey’s participation continues the company’s strong tradition as a supplier of deck machinery for these vessels, having previously supplied equipment to the AGOR-14 “Melville” (SIO), AGOR-15 “Knorr” (WHOI), AGOR-22 “Moana Wave” (retired), AGOR-23 “Thomas G. Thompson” (UW), AGOR-24 “Roger Revelle” (SIO), AGOR-25 “Atlantis” (WHOI), and the AGOR-NOAA vessel “Ron Brown.”

Markey Machinery was invited to join the team of Dakota Creek Industries and Guido Perla Associates, (Seattle, Washington) as ship board handling systems integrator during the competitive design phase for the vessel in 2010. In fact the Markey offering was one of the reasons cited for awarding the vessel to the team.

The scope of the order is for one ship set, including two type CAST6-125 Deep Sea Research Winches with active motion compensation, a type DETW-9-11 All-Electric Traction Winch System with two storage drums, one instrumented flagging block, one ship board wire monitoring system and a type WES-23 Electric Anchor Windlass with two wild cats and two warping heads. All equipment furnished will be built by Markey at its Seattle, Washington, USA location utilizing its own skilled and experienced American workforce.

The type CAST6-125 is a third generation winch that can support research and explore depths with its drum capacity rated at 10,000 meters of 0.393 inch diameter electro-optical-mechanical cable. The winch features a close tolerance low mass moment of inertia drum for precise motion control of CTD/Rosette sampling instruments in sea state 5 environments.  The feature eliminates unwanted ship motion, thus extending the life of cables for improved safety.

The winches use direct coupled vector-duty 125HP non-proprietary, readily available electric motors. These vector-duty motors are sourced in America and possess a substantial history of reliability in marine applications. The winches exceed new fleet design standards and wire rope factors of safety promulgated by United States academic institutions.

Features of the CAST6-125 include:

A  motor-driven precision level wind system. A pushbutton operator interface enables the level wind to electronically adjust to any diameter wire, cable or softline.

A  two sheave instrumented fairlead head that eliminates reverse bends. The
elimination of one sheave in the cable path and all reverse bends will  effectively extend the service life of expensive, fragile cables.

The output sheave of the fairlead is mounted in a flagging block which sweeps 360 degrees.  This unique design  eliminates the need for deck hands to carry and rig intermediate blocks or  fairleads, resulting in less time spent rigging, more time for sampling,  which reduces overall operational time and expense.

A modern single speed transmission coupled with AC variable-frequency speed
controllers improves reliability and are more efficient, while requiring less maintenance than hydraulic powered machines.  Independent studies confirm that the payback of investing in all electric machines occurs as soon as the shipyard delivers the vessel.

The DETW-9-11 is a second generation all-electric version of Markey’s proven traction winch system. As such it also features a number of enhancements and new innovations:

Unique cantilevered heads with removable, overhung bolt-on traction wheels enable
easy line-reeving without threading.

An enhanced control system which eliminates the need for an auxiliary tensioner between the traction head, and the storage reels. Eliminating the sheaves associated with tensioners will extend the service life of the cables.

Markey’s proven AC Variable Frequency Drive System and electric motors giving
precise control.

A gear train utilizing planetary reducers with all elements enclosed in oil bath lubrication.

Storage reels featuring a right-angle level-wind, which can be disengaged under full tension.

Lebus-grooved  drum shells.

Rounding out the suite is Markey’s WES-23 Electric Anchor Windlass with two wild cats and two warping heads.

A video data sheet about the CAST-6 is available here.

“The court decision recognized our origination of the term in 1994,” said Markey President Blaine Dempke. “It’s unfortunate that we had to defend something that was so clearly identified with our company, but defend it we did. We really had no other choice.”

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA — August 23, 2011— Markey Machinery
Company announced that it is under contract to supply Scripps Institution of
Oceanography (La Jolla, California, USA) with advanced deck equipment used to
conduct scientific investigations using Conductivity, Temperature, & Depth (CTD) Rosette samplers.  This new CTD handling system includes a third generation Markey CAST6-125 Deep Sea Research Winch with active motion compensation controls, integrated with an Allied Systems Company  (Sherwood, Oregon, USA) specialty CTD handling system with anti-pendulation CTD docking head.  The system fully conforms to 46CFR-Subpart 189.35—Weight Handling Gear (for Oceanographic Vessels), as well as Research Vessel Safety Standards Appendix A – “UNOLS Rope and Cable Safe Working Load,” and Appendix B – “UNOLS Load Handling System Design Standards.”  Following factory testing the system will be retrofit aboard the general purpose research vessel Roger Revelle (US Navy AGOR-23 class) to overboard their CTD/ Rosette sampler without the use of tag lines.  The automated control feature and active motion compensation functions improve shipboard safety during overboarding operations, improve data by decoupling ship and sampler motion, and extend the life of electro-mechanical cables.