Gladding-Hearn books pilot boat order

Gladding Hearn Chesapeake class pilot boat

NOVEMBER 14, 2014 — Somerset, MA, based Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, reports it has received an order for a pilot boat from Sabine Pilots, Port Arthur, TX.

Scheduled for delivery from the shipyard in late 2015, the all aluminum Chesapeake class pilot boat will have a deep-V hull designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates, and will measure 53.6 ft overall, with a 17.8-ft beam and a 4.8-ft draft.

Twin Caterpillar C-18 diesels, each rated at 715 bhp at 2,100 rpm, will give the vessel a loaded top speed of 28 knots. The engines will turn 5-bladed NiBrAl propellers via Twin Disc MGX-5135A Quick Shift gear boxes. A Humphree Interceptor trim tab system, with automatic trim control, will be installed at the transom.

The vessel will be equipped with a 12 kW Alaska Diesel genset.

The boat will include wide side decks, side and rear doors, and boarding platforms on the roof and bow. At the transom are throttle and steering controls and a winch-operated, hinged rescue basket, level with the rescue access.

The wheelhouse will be cooled by two 16,000 Btu air conditioners. A third, 12,000 Btu, unit will be installed in the forecastle. Interior accommodations include eight Llebroc seats, head, small galley, and two settee berths forward.