Delta Launch Services, the operating company for the Associated Branch pilots on the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi, has taken delivery of a new pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. It
The Association of Maryland Pilots has ordered a new class of pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, Somerset, Mass. Called the “Baltimore Class” after the pilots’ base of operations at the
SEPTEMBER 4, 2018 — The newest addition to the Virginia Pilots Association boat fleet is powered by a propulsion system from Volvo Penta of the Americas that features twin 13-liter 900 hp
Designed by C. Raymond Hunt & Associates, the all-aluminum pilot boat is 52.6 ft long overall and has a 17-ft beam and 4.8-ft draft.
With a top speed of 25 knots, it is powered by twin Volvo Penta D16 diesel engines, each delivering 651 bhp at 1,800 rpm, turning five-bladed NiBrAl propellers via ZF 500-1-A gearboxes.
Each engine has a two-circuit Fernstrum keel-cooling system recessed into extra heavy bottom plating for operation in ice.Volvo Penta’s EVC system is mounted at the control stations in the wheelhouse and at the transom.The vessel is fitted with a Humphree Interceptor automatic trim optimization system.
The wheelhouse is outfitted with five Stidd seats and a three-zone, diesel-fired Espar Hydronic 35 heater for the cabin, main deck, and handrails. The forward wheelhouse windows feature ¾-inch electrically-heated laminated glass for de-icing. Interior sound levels are approximately 78 dba.
At the transom is a winch-operated rotating davit over a recessed platform for pilot rescue operation.
