Great Laker's Engine Room

Oh yes, the engine room! The debate over one engine vs two will go on forever, however, the American Tugs all come with a single engine which was my preference. Both sides of the engine are very accessible via hatches, one on each side of the pilot house, using a ladder that can be attached on either side. Being able to easily get to all sides of the engine and related components makes maintenance much simpler.

Hatches to engine room

Starboard side of engine

Port side of engine

The engine is a Cummins 5.9 L diesel with a turbo charger making 380 HP at 3000 RPM. With the hatches in place the engine is very quiet and you can converse comfortably in a normal voice. Actually, you only need about 40 HP to move very economically at a hull speed of about 7 knots, but if necessary the boat will plane at about 18 knots. 

Here are views from down below showing some of the other equipment. The port side includes Racor fuel filters on the left, Northern Lights 6KW diesel generator in the center and an oil changing system on the right. The starboard side includes the water heater on the left and the engine water cooled and underwater exhaust on the right. All of this equipment is built and installed to marine commercial standards, which is rare in private boats of this size and speaks to the high standards used by TOMCO in it's construction.

View towards starboard

View towards port

Great Laker's Interior

Some of you are asking, "What does Great Laker look like inside"? Here are some pictures I took late last year while she was at the dock. There have been a number of interior improvements over the winter which I will cover in a later entry.  

Great Laker is a couples cruiser. She has a raised pilot house, a stateroom and head, and a salon. There is a generous 6 1/2 ft headroom throughout. Since the boat is heated and air conditioned and has screened windows, it is always comfortable, dry and insect free in any weather.

The pilot house has all around windows for 360 degree visibility, and both port and starboard doors for quick access to the exterior for docking and anchoring. This is where we spend time operating the boat and enjoying the vistas. There are seats for two people on both sides, an operations console, and a chart table.

Starboard side

Port side

View towards bow

The stateroom and head are down the stairway to the left of the chart table above.  There is a walk around queen bed, with plenty of storage in lockers, side pockets and drawers.  The head has access from both the stateroom and stairs (for guests) and has a large enclosed shower.

The salon is down a stairway behind the pilot house and has large open windows on three sides and a door to the cockpit in the rear. The galley is on one side with the refrigerator, microwave and stove, and the spacious counter has dual sinks. The settee is on the other side with the table, seating and storage. This area makes into a full size bed as well. Of course there is an entertainment system with CD changer, CD/DVD player, Sirius/AM/FM radio and speakers in the salon and pilot house. It's far from audiophile quality, but quite acceptable.  

Galley on starboard

Settee on port