Gladding Hearn books another pilot boat order

Written by Nick Blenkey
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JUNE 24, 2016 — Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, Somerset, MA, reports that it has won an order from the Alabama Pilot, Inc., in Mobile, AL, for a Chesapeake Class pilot boat.

Delivery is scheduled for mid-2017.With a length overall of 53.6′, a beam of 17.8′, and a draft of 4.8′, the all-aluminum pilot boat features the C. Raymond Hunt-designed Deep V hull. It will be powered by twin Caterpillar C-18 diesel engines, each delivering 671 bhp at 2100 rpm, and turning five-bladed NiBrAl propellers via Twin Disc MGX-5135A Quickshift gears to give the vessel a top speed of 25 knots.

A Humphree interceptor trim-tab control system will be installed at the transom. Diesel fuel capacity is 800 gallons, which shipyard officials say, will provide a range of at least 380 miles at an economical speed of about 20 knots.The launch will be equipped with a  9kW 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 seats and a L-shaped settee and cooled by two 16,000 Btu air-conditioning units.

The forecastle includes an enclosed head and built-in cabinetry.Outside of the wheelhouse are wide side decks, side and rear doors, and boarding platforms on the roof and port and starboard on the foredeck.

At the transom are throttle and steering controls, and a winch-operated, rotating davit over a recessed platform for rescue operations.

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