Mascoat helps keep the American Countess quiet, cool, and comfortable for discerning river cruise passengers

As the newest gem in The American Queen Steamboat Company's riverboat fleet, the American Countess can accommodate 245 guests along the Tennessee, Ohio, Cumberland, and Mississippi rivers. The 97' paddle wheel steamship was recently reconstructed from the hull of the MS Kanesville Queen by Gulf Island Shipyards. The casino boat, bought in 2016, was "a nice platform to start from", according to company president Ted Sykes. The old hull was cut it in half and GIS added 60' to the length, as vessel extensions enable operators to save money versus building a brand new boat. Because passenger comfort was of the utmost concern, designers from Lay Pitman and Associates in Florida were meticulous with their material selection for the vessel, especially when it came to noise, heat, and condensation.

With comfort in mind, the designers looked to Mascoat's line of spray-applied coatings for the marine environment. Mascoat Marine-DTM (MM-DTM) is a thermal barrier, helping to reduce radiant heat gain and condensation issues throughout a vessel. Frequently used alongside MM-DTM, Mascoat Sound Control-dB (MSC-dB) helps to reduce structural vibration and noise that can reverberate all over a ship, from the pilothouse to the engine room. The application of Mascoat's coatings began in June of 2019 and finished up in October.

For this build, MM-DTM was specified on the overhead of the top deck and the overheads of the voids under the first deck. On the top deck, the coating is the first line of defense to drastically reduce the effect of solar loading on the roof, decreasing the amount of heat transfer into the interior during the hot summer months. Employing the coating also has the added benefit of reducing or completely eliminating the amount of condensation that can form on the interior during the colder winter months. On the first deck, the coating was instrumental in controlling heat transfer and condensation in areas susceptible to variable water temperatures where conventional insulation just wasn't able to be applied.

When passengers on board are ready to enjoy a show, they can catch world-class entertainment, relive a historical moment, or hear a famous river tale originally told by Mark Twain in The Theater. Designers realized that the good times would be heard on the deck above and needed a solution to keep the fun within The Theater. They found that in the MSC-dB. By specifying 160 mils of the coating on the ceiling, the sound was successfully contained and passengers not at the performance would have to wait their turn to enjoy the show

Sea trials were completed in February 2020 and the vessel was christened on April 4, but the ongoing Coronavirus situation has delayed the vessel's commercial use. Initial feedback of Mascoat's abilities to perform as intended from the designers, builders, and owners have all been positive. Passengers will hopefully soon be on board, made more comfortable partially by Mascoat's unique and effective coatings.