Alabama Pilots take delivery of new Gladding-Hearn launch
Written by Nick Blenkey
New launch has a top speed of 27 knots
The Alabama Pilot, Inc. in Mobile, Ala., has taken delivery of its second Chesapeake Class high-speed pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. Delivery of its first Chesapeake launch, Dixey, was in 2017.
With a length overall of 53.6 feet, a beam of 17.8 feer and a draft of 4.6 feet, the new all-aluminum pilot boat, features the Ray Hunt Design deep-V hull. It is powered by twin Caterpillar C-18 diesel engines, each delivering 671 bhp at 2,100 rpm and turning 5-bladed NiBrAl propellers via Twin Disc MGX-5136A “Quickshift” gears to give the launch a top speed of 27 knots.
A Humphree interceptor, with automatic trim optimization, is installed at the transom.
The launch is equipped with a 9 kW Northern Lights EPA Tier 3-compliant genset.
The wheelhouse, flush-mounted to the deck amidships and with forward-leaning front windows, is outfitted with six Llebroc pilot seats, one at the centerline helm station and the observer’s seat to port and four single pilot seats, aft of the helm station. The forecastle includes a reclining seat and upholstered settee, with storage below. The wheelhouse and forecastle are cooled by two 16,000 Btu air-conditioning units.
Outside the wheelhouse are wide side-decks, side and rear doors, and boarding platforms on the roof. At the transom of the new Alabama pilot launch is a winch-operated, rotating davit over a recessed stairs for rescue operations.
Categories: Coastal, Inland and Coastal, News
