Northwind Marine Inc News

Bruce V. Reagan, president of Northwind Marine, Inc., Seattle, Washington, passed away October 16th. Northwind Marine, Inc. will continue to build aluminum boats to Reagan’s standards at the company's Seattle plant. Mr. Reagan, for 30 years an award winning builder of various aluminum boats and yachts, was 63. He co-owned and operated Workboats Northwest from 1976 to 1995; founded Northwest Plasma Cutting and Sovereign Yacht in 1990, and Northwind Marine, Inc. in 1995. He is survived by his wife, Allison, and two daughters. (Source: Northwind Marine)

The first ever unassisted crossing of the North Atlantic just south of the arctic circle in a small, open, Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) has been completed by a team of dedicated adventurers led by Bear Grylls. Traveling from Nova Scotia to John O'Groats via a route which passed just south of the Arctic Circle, the expedition, which has raised around $80,000 for the UK young persons' charity, The Prince's Trust, has been completed a week ahead of schedule despite encountering icebergs and horrendous weather conditions. The expedition, which involved a five-man team sailing the open boat across 3,000 miles of the North Atlantic on a route that saw landfall in Halifax…

Air dropable, ship deployable and multi-mission configurable, big things do come in little packages. Northwind Marine’s unmanned surface vehicle (USV); the “SeaFox” is a little package delivering multiple capabilities for the expanding requirements of fleet and port security. Originally commissioned through the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Tech Solutions Program for towing air gunnery training targets at 40 knots, the 16-ft x 5-ft Northwind Marine Inc. engineered, alternative fuels USV, is compact and capable of carrying relatively large payloads.

Air dropable, ship deployable and multi-mission configurable, Northwind Marine's unmanned surface vehicle (USV); the SeaFox is a little package designed to deliver multiple capabilities for the expanding requirements of fleet and port security. Originally commissioned through the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Tech Solutions Program for towing air gunnery training targets at 40 knots, the 16 x 5-ft. Northwind Marine Inc. engineered, alternative fuels USV, is compact and capable of carrying relatively large payloads. "The SeaFox can easily handle 600 pounds of additional gear," said Bruce Reagan President of Northwind Marine Inc. "The surveillance and intelligence applications are endless," he added. The first SeaFox was introduced at the 2003 MACC.

Moose Boats won two contracts from the U.S. Navy to build six more Moose 340C Catamaran Patrol Boats. The contract totals approximately $2.9 million, and the first boat is scheduled to be delivered in January 2005. The Moose 340C is a 36.5-ft. 380 hp turbo diesels and is propelled by Hamilton 292 water jets. These vessels will be assigned to stations in San Diego, Calif. If required, the boat can be deployed at speeds over 34 knots with armament including 50 caliber and M60 machine guns. Moose Boats will demonstrate the 340C Patrol Boat in the water at MACC 2004. Willard Marine's 36 ft. Enforcer RIB features a removable cabin. These all-weather craft, complete with heating and air-conditioning, can be used for ship's boats and for 24-hour patrol.

Northwind Marine Inc., of Seattle, recently delivered an "Extreme" model rigid-hull inflatable (RIB) to the El Dorado County Sheriff's department. The 19 ft. waterjet-driven craft will be deployed on the California county's Echo Lake, to serve the Sheriff's Department and the Lake Valey Fire District as a police patrol and fire boat. Equipped with a fire system that will deliver water at 1,000 gpm, the RIB will be used to patrol the lake. In addition, it can be used to fight fires either on the lake, or ashore, and, when needed, will serve as a white water rescue boat on the rivers in the area. The vessel measures 19 x 8.5 ft., with a 15-in. draft, and is built with tough .187-in. 5086 marine alloy aluminum welded to ABS crewboat standards.

Having built over 200 aluminum RHIB's, Silver Ships, Inc. / AMBAR Marine, has grabbed a foothold in the design and construction of aluminum RHIB's - all of which are constructed in accordance with SOLAS regulations. The U.S. Coast Guard operates 90 AMBAR Marine Non-Standard RHIB's and the U.S. Navy Sea Systems Command operates 40 AMBAR Marine Special Service RHIB's. Silver Ships, Inc./AMBAR Marine constructs approximately 43 vessels per year, 80 percent of which are RHIB's while the remaining 20% have been Patrol/Security boats, and various work boats ranging from 23-48 ft. (7-14.6 m). Upon discovery, in 1966 following extensive R&D, Lanness McKee, Sr. uncovered the secret to the most rugged, unsinkable marine construction in the market.