It was then deposited in a hopper in the middle of the ship. Loose material on the seafloor entered the dragheads and was pulled up through the drag arms by 1,850 horsepower electric pumps. Using two winches each, these drag arms could be lowered to reach bottom as deep as 60 feet (18 m). The dragheads were connected to pipes which were 36 inches (91 cm) in diameter called "drag arms" that descended from both sides of the ship. She pulled two suctionheads, referred to as "dragheads", along the seafloor as she moved slowly through the water. She sucked sand, silt, and mud off the bottom of navigable waterways to increase their depth, creating a channel allowing larger ships to pass. Operating history Dredging operations Įssayons was designed to dredge New York Harbor. It is a French word which means "Let us try." An earlier Essayons was built in 1868 to dredge the mouth of the Mississippi. Army Corp of Engineers and the second dredge. Įssayons was at least the third vessel of that name to serve with the U.S. The ship had a machine shop, store, a crew lounge with a ping-pong table, a six-bed medical dispensary, laundry facilities, a cook staff and full galley for meal service, and separate dining rooms for officers and men. Men worked 10 days and then got four days off. Dredging continued around the clock, so the crew worked in shifts. She was crewed by 18 officers and 101 men. Her tanks held 7,000 barrels of bunker C fuel, giving her an unrefueled cruising range of approximately 7,700 statute miles. The ship's two oil-fired boilers developed high-pressure steam (575 psig) for propulsion and electrical generation. She was capable of speeds up to 17.3 knots (19.9 mph) when lightly loaded, and 16.55 knots (19.05 mph) with her hoppers full. These were driven by two turbo-electric engines which developed 4,000 horsepower each. Įssaysons was propelled by two four-bladed propellers which were 16 feet (4.9 m) in diameter. These hoppers ran for 180 feet (55 m) of the ship's length. Her hull contained twelve hoppers which could hold, in total, up to 8,000 cubic yards of dredging spoil. She displaced 9,968 long tons when light, and 21,808 long tons with a full load of dredging spoil. Her maximum draft was 28 feet (8.5 m) when her hoppers were loaded with dredging spoil. Her hull was constructed of welded steel plates. She was transferred to the Philadelphia District on June 24, 1961. The ship was assigned to the New York District of the Army Corps of Engineers upon commissioning. Her original cost was reported as $10 million. After her sea trials, she was commissioned on January 16, 1950. His wife, Alice Pick, christened the vessel. Army, was the keynote speaker at the ceremony. Her keel was laid on June 19, 1947, and she was launched on August 25, 1949. She was built by Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Chester, Pennsylvania. She was launched in 1949 and retired in 1980.Ĭonstruction and characteristics Įssayons was designed by the Army Corps of Engineers Marine Division staff in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her primary mission was to maintain the entrance to New York Harbor and other East Coast ports, but she was employed all around the United States and at several international locations. She was the flagship of the Army Corps of Engineers dredge fleet. At the time of her construction, she was the largest hopper dredge ever built. USAV Essayons was a hopper dredge of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
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