Gladding-Hearn delivers pilot boat for Virginia

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, Somerset, MA, recently delivered a second Chesapeake Class launch to the Virginia Pilot Boat Corporation, the shipyard’s seventh pilot boat for this group.

With a deep-V hull designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates, the all-aluminum pilot boat measures 53.6 feet overall, with a 17.8-foot beam and a 4.8-foot draft. The new launch has two Caterpillar C-18 diesel engines, each rated at 715 bhp at 2,100 rev/min.  The engines turn five-blade NiBrAl propellers via Twin Disc MGX-5135A marine gears with 2:1 reverse/reduction ratios. The vessel is equipped with a 12kW Alaska Diesel genset.

The launch is outfitted with an adjustable interceptor type “trim tab” system to optimize performance, comfort and economy across a greater variety of speeds and sea conditions. The vessel’s loaded top speed is 29 knots.

February 22, 2012