A Historic Boat with a Modern Twist, Matthew Turner

Meeting US Coast Guard Requirements

When the Call of the Sea decided to construct a historic and sustainable wooden tall ship, Matthew Turner, there were some obstacles they had to overcome. Call of the Sea wanted to keep as many of the design elements that were on the original boat but also include a modern propulsion system. However, the new vessel is a passenger carrying vessel and had to comply with USCG subchapter T requirements. Palmer Johnson and Twin Disc are proud to have been selected to provide the propulsion control system to meet these requirements and to work with the customer selected BAE HybriGen Drive System.

Twin Disc EC300

In order to meet the USCG requirements with the propulsion system, there must be system redundancy for safety purposes in an event that the system fails on one side. The Twin Disc EC300 propulsion control system meets these requirements with the ability to maintain system functionality on one side if the system fails on the other side. In addition, Twin Disc also provides the required USCG testing documents and drawings as needed at no additional cost.

The EC300 system provided on the Matthew Turner will control a BAE HybriGen system that consists of (2) Cummins diesel engines, (2) BAE Traction Generators and (2) BAE Traction Motors. The EC300 propulsion control system will provide Forward and Reverse signals to the motors for electric propulsion and a display that shows the active station, fault codes, FWD/REV commands and RPM of each motor/propeller shaft.

Palmer Johnson also provided on site field service technicians or the installation review and sea trial to ensure that the Twin Disc EC300 system worked properly and to make changes with the custom settings that were required by the customer. This is a standard service that Palmer Johnson provides on every EC300 Propulsion Control System that we supply.

First of it's Kind

Matthew Turner will be the first large sailing ship able to regenerate its energy needs under sail. By combining technologies from the 19th and 21st centuries—skipping over the petroleum era—Matthew Turner will become a unique teaching tool that can inspire appreciation for past boat building designs while utilizing innovative technology solutions to construct a truly green sailing ship.

About Matthew Turner

Matthew Turner is a tall ship designed after the ship Galilee, which was built in the late 1800’s by the ship designer and builder Matthew Turner. The Galilee held the San Francisco to Tahiti passage record of 19 days for many years. The construction of the new vessel will expand the capacity of programs that are currently running onboard Seaward, which currently serves middle school aged youth and engages them in marine environmental education. Expanded programming will enable Call of the Sea to reach even more students (from 5,000 to 15,000 served annually).