‘DAYDAWN’
WHEN SOUTHERLY GETS XTREME
Daydawn Fisheries, which is run by the Bailey family of Geraldton, Western Australia, is the proud owner of ‘Daydawn’. Both Peter and Darren Bailey, who run and manage Daydawn Fisheries are third generation fishermen with a fleet of two lobster boats including the new delivery.This is the third vessel named ‘Daydawn’ for the Baileys, and follows close on the heels of the last ‘Daydawn’ delivered in 2013.
After just one full season of fishing it was deemed that even the very large live tank capacity of 102 baskets in this vessel was insufficient and an even larger capacity vessel was required. With the main motivation behind the new vessel being large live tank capacity, it was immediately clear that this was going to be a vessel of unprecedented size. An overall length of 25.2 metres and a beam of 6.8 metres make her the largest cray boat in the WA fleet and probably the largest high-speed lobster boat anywhere in the world.
Powered by a pair of MTU 8V 2000 engines each producing 720kW she is capable of a top speed more than 24 knots, although typical operations see her cruising between 15 and 17 knots at which speed she achieves the impressively low fuel consumption of 200 litres per hour.
In line with the large dimensions comes the required massive live tank capacity. There is capacity for 180 baskets in below deck tanks and two in the deck tank immediately adjacent to the catch sorting area – at 30kg per basket this totals almost 5.5 tonnes of premium live lobster and approximately 22.5 tonnes of seawater. Also included below decks is a bait freezer with a one-tonne capacity.
Of course with such a large volume of valuable catch on board great attention was required to maintaining the lobsters in top condition for live export. The live tanks are therefore split into two separate sections with each section being fed by its own independent 240V seawater pump and a separate low voltage aeration pump. The pump banks are also connected by a manifold system that allows seawater feed to be maintained to all tanks in the event of the failure in any of these pumps.
An additional level of backup and redundancy is provided in the form of pair of Kohler 41kVA generators that provide power to the significant array of on board electronics , lighting, and accommodation service. The aft working deck measures 11 by six metres and can comfortably load in excess of 200 slat lobster pots along with the associated ropes and floats, while still allowing the four man crew to work in comfort and safety.
Accommodation consists of nine berths, seven singles and two double, arranged in four cabins, providing more than adequate living space for the regular four man crew with the extra capacity available for other activities outside of the cray season.
Planning for the new vessel began in February 2015, with a delivery requirement of January 2016, an extremely tight delivery schedule for an all new custom designed craft. The owners assembled a design and build team consisting of Southerly Designs, Xtreme Marine and Dongara Marine, which built the wheelhouse. Launched on schedule earlier this year ‘Daydawn’ now takes pride of place in the West Coast lobster fleet.
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