While they can’t guarantee sightings of its most famous inhabitant, Jacobite Cruises Limited has been delivering on its promise to provide visitors to Scotland’s largest loch (by water volume) with memorable water-borne experiences for more than 40 years. Today, with almost 300,000 people a year opting to explore ‘Loch Ness by Jacobite’, (as the company brands its tours), Jacobite Cruises is one of the Highlands great success stories.
The firm operates an impressive five-strong fleet, the latest addition to which is Jacobite Maverick, a 21-metre, 200-seat catamaran custom-built for the company by Wight Shipyard Company. Ensuring Nessie’s peace will not be unduly disturbed, the vessel is Scania powered, with twin 257kW DI9 engines driving through Twin Disc gearboxes to give a quiet and comfortable ride at a cruising speed of 12 knots, with a top speed of 17 knots.
Impressed by the performance of Maverick, Jacobite Cruises selected Scania engines again for another project, as Engineering Manager Rob Prentice explains: "Following the successful introduction of Scania engines into our fleet, we have now used them to re-power a second vessel, Jacobite Rebel. From our very first enquiries to the point of commissioning the engines into service, Scania have always been pro-active in dealing with us; nothing is too much trouble, they have exceeded all expectations."
Aftersales service for both of Jacobite Cruises’ Scania-powered vessels is provided locally by Scania Inverness, a member of Scania’s international dealer network which has approximately 1,000 service points worldwide.
“In terms of aftersales care, you can always reach a member of the Scania Engines team,” continues Rob Prentice. “That’s exactly the kind of service we look for as we need any issues arising to be resolved immediately. We’re really impressed with the service we receive from Scania – it gives us great confidence going forward.”
