Lake Charles pilots take delivery of new Gladding-Hearn pilot boat

New pilot boat Calcasieu Pilot . [Photo: Gladding-Hearn]

With three Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding pilot boats already in their fleet, the Lake Charles pilots have taken delivery of the Calcasieu Pilot from the Somerset, Mass., shipyard. The pilots, who took delivery of their first Gladding-Hearn pilot boat, a 63-footer, in 1995, support crew transfers from the Cameron, La., jetties to the sea buoy, approximately 30 miles offshore.

Based on the Cameron Pilot II delivered in 2019, the new all-aluminum pilot boat features the Deep-V hull by Ray Hunt Design and has an overall length of 73 feet, beam of 23 feet, and draft of 5.3 feet. It is powered by twin Cummins QSK38-M1, EPA Tier 4-certified diesel engines, each delivering 1,300 bhp at 1,800 rpm and a top speed of over 27 knots. Each engine is equipped with a Cummins EPA Tier 4-compliant SCR exhaust after-treatment system that reduces NOx and particulate emissions by more than 80%. The engines drive a pair of Bruntons 5-blade nibral propellers, connected to Twin Disc gearboxes.

Like the Cameron Pilot II, the new pilot boat has shallow shaft tunnels fabricated by the shipyard into the hull to improve water flow into the propellers.

“Reducing the shaft angles and vessel draft and limiting cavitation damage can extend the life of propellers and improve efficiency,” explains Winn Willard of Ray Hunt Design.

To optimize fuel economy, vessel handling, and comfort, twin Humphree interceptors, with automatic trim optimization and active ride control, were installed at the transom. Two Kohler 32kW generators produce electricity.

The vessel’s wheelhouse is aft of amidships on a flush deck, with forward-leaning front windows, each fitted with retractable solar blinds. With a centerline helm station, the wheelhouse is outfitted with eight Norsap shock-mitigating pilot and crew seats, a sofa, and two baggage racks. The forecastle includes a stateroom with upper and lower berths, an enclosed head, a small galley, and hanging lockers and storage. Six reverse-cycle air-conditioning units, totaling 80,000 BTU, cool the wheelhouse and forecastle. Interior sound levels are below 80 decibels at full power, said shipyard officials.

Outside the wheelhouse are wide side-decks and handrails, and on the foredeck aft of the wave break are port and starboard boarding platforms. A control station is at the transom. A rescue recess, with stairs leading to a platform, is built into the transom. A winch-operated J-Basket rescue system at the transom retrieves pilots in the water.