The Virginia Pilot Association has ordered a high-speed, harbor pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation.
It will be the pilots’ tenth launch built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard. Delivery is scheduled for mid-2023.
“The all-aluminum launch is entirely designed and outfitted to optimize harbor service. It displaces about 2,000 pounds less than a similar sized offshore pilot boat. As a result, the boat accelerates faster and reaches a higher top speed,” explained Peter Duclos, the shipyard’s co-president and director of sales.
The harbor pilot boat measures 56 feet overall, with a 17.2-foot beam and a shoal 3.10-foot draft. Powered by twin Volvo Penta D13-800, EPA Tier 3-certified diesel engines, each producing 800 Bhp at 2300 rpm, the vessel’s top speed is to reach 35 knots.
Each engine will be connected to an IPS 3 propulsion pod, fitted with dual forward-facing, counter-rotating propellers and integrated exhaust system, and Volvo Penta’s integrated EPS electronic steering and control system at the helm station and control station at the transom.
A Humphree interceptor control system, with its automatic trim optimization, automatic list control, and coordinated turn control functions will be installed at the transom.
