Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has delivered a new pilot boat that is the third to be built for the Maryland pilots by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard. 

Designed by C. Raymond Hunt & Associates, the new Chesapeake Class, all-aluminum pilot boat measures 52.5 feet overall, with a 16.6-foot beam and 4.7-foot draft, and has a top speed of 25 knots. 

The deep-V hull is powered by twin Detroit Diesel Series 60 engines, each delivering 600 bhp at 2100 rpm, with Twin Disc MG5114A gear boxes.  The engines turn 5-bladed Brutons, NiBrAl propellers through three-inch shafts.  The launch is equipped with a 9 kW generator. 

With forward-leaning front windows, the pilothouse is located amidships on a flush deck and equipped with a boarding platform on the roof.  At the transom are throttle and steering controls, and a winch-operated, rotating davit over a recessed platform for pilot rescue operations.  The handrails and deck are heated from the engines.

Air conditioning and heating are supplied by two 16,000 Btu Marine-Air units and a  2000-watt 240 VAC heater in the pilothouse and forecastle.  The pilothouse is outfitted with four Stidd reclining seats, in addition to the helmsman’s seat.  The forecastle includes a settee/berth and porta-potty.  Interior sound levels are 78 dba.

April 25, 2011