Delaware pilots take delivery of new Gladding-Hearn launch Pennsylvania

Written by Nick Blenkey
Pennsylvania

Photo: Gladding-Hearn

The Pilots’ Association for the Bay and River Delaware has taken delivery of another pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation.  The vessel, the Pennsylvania, is the pilot association’s fourth Chesapeake Class launch and eleventh pilot boat built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard since 1957.  

With a deep-V hull designed by Ray Hunt Design, the all-aluminum Pennsylvania measures 53.6 feet overall, with a 17.8 feet beam and a 4.9 feet draft. The boat is powered by twin Volvo Penta D16 diesel engines, each rated for 651 bhp at 1,800 rpm. Top speed is over 25 knots. The engines turn 5-blade Brunton’s propellers via ZF 500-1-A gear boxes. A Humphree interceptor trim control system, with its Automatic Trim Optimization, is installed at the transom.

The vessel’s wheelhouse, with a small trunk, is amidships on a flush deck. It has electrically-heated forward-leaning front and side windows for deicing and four tinted windows on the roof. The wheelhouse has the helm station on center with the Volvo Penta EVC electronic control system and Furuno Nav/Comm. Aft of the helm station are four Stidd reclining seats and a luggage rack. The forecastle includes an upholstered settee and a hanging locker for exposure suits.

The decks and exterior handrails are heated to minimize ice formation from flying spray. A three-zone hydronic cabin, deck, and handrail heating system   circulates heated water through tubes fastened below the main deck, handrails and through three fan-coil units, two in the wheelhouse and one in the forecastle. Treated water is heated by a 120,000 Btu Espar Hydronic 35 diesel-fired “boiler” and main engine waste heat. An auxiliary A.C. heater in the wheelhouse heats the vessel while on shore power.

A control station is located at the transom of the Pennsylvania. A rotating pipe davit is welded to the deck at the forward end of the rescue stairs recessed in the boat’s transom. A self-tailing, two-speed manual winch mounted on the davit, along with a Naiad-Dynamics Mate-Saver rescue noose, aids in retrieving a pilot.     

Vessel Data and Specifications
Vessel NamePennsylvania
Hull TypeChesapeake class, deep-V monohull
OwnerThe Pilots for the Bay and River Delaware
BuilderGladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation
ArchitectRay Hunt Design
Length Overall53.6 feet
Beam17.8 feet
Draft4.9 feet
Date Keel Laid10-Sep-23
Date Launched16-Dec-24
Date Delivered10-Jan-25
Coast Guard CertificationNone
Propulsion Equipment
Main Engines(2) Volvo Penta D16 diesel engines, 651 mhp at 1800 rpm
Engine SupplierPower Products Inc
Gears(2) ZF 500-1-A reverse/reduction gear, 1.767:1 ratio
Propellers(2) Bruntons 5-blade NiBrAl
Bow ThrusterN/A
Keel CoolersFernstrum grid coolers
Electronics
SupplierMartek of MD Inc.
InstallerGladding-Hearn Shipbuilding/Cayy Electronics
Radar(1) Furuno 8065 with XN12/4 49 scanner
VHF(2) Standard GX5500S
GPS(2) Furuno TXT9F MFD SCX20
Depth SounderTransducer
AISFuruno FA170
Loud Hailer/SirenFuruno LH 5000
Video SystemFLIR M364 thermal camera
Capacities
Fuel690 U.S. gal
Potable WaterNone
Sewage Holding TankNone
Crew Size2 (Captain & deckhand)
Speed (Loaded)25+ knots

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