(SEABROOK, Texas) — Inland towboats have traditionally been built using main engines connected to reduction gearboxes connected to long drive shafts, passing through the hull to a propeller held in place by a large support strut and large rudders. A new paper by The Shearer Group explores the possibility and recent applications of azimuthing stern drives, or z-drives, on towboats for increased efficiency and decreased maintenance downtime. To view the paper, click here.
New paper focuses on z-drives for next generation of inland towboats
