BtB Marine Builds Twin Jet Boats for West Australian Ports

Hervey Bay boat builder BtB Marine has recently delivered a pair of 8-meter jet boats destined for workboat duties in the Western Australia ports.

Designed by Naval Architects Australia, the 800LBs are powered by turbo charged Yanmar diesel engines coupled to Hamilton jet propulsion units, BtB Marine General Manager Chris Hough said. “The Yanmar and jet combination has delivered a 30 knot top speed fully loaded, (33knots lightship), and they easily do a cruising speed of 21knots at around 2,500rpm.”

“With a three-stick manual control system, (throttle, gear and bucket controls), maneuverability of these is about the best of any I’ve built,” Hough said. “Once you get used to it, they are super-responsive – they are as good, if not better, than any other setup you can power this kind of boat with, in my opinion.”

“BtB Marine has always come from a philosophy of looking at innovative ways to build and operate ecologically sustainable vessels,” Hough said. “Safety, reliability and practicality are paramount issues for vessels in remote locations. Our vessels have been performing remarkably for many years in many locations around Australia and right throughout the Pacific Island Nations”.

BtB Marine built the twin line handling boats in Hervey Bay for Jetwave Marine in Western Australia, where their port support duties will include line handling and dive operations in Fremantle & Port Headland.