Carlisle Finch News

The Galveston-Texas City Pilots has taken delivery of its fourth pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. The new launch is equipped with a Seakeeper 30HD stabilizing gyro, which, according to shipyard officials, will reduce up to 80% the vessel’s roll.With a length overall of 73.2’, beam of 23.3’ and draft of 5.9’, the all-aluminum, high-speed pilot boat features the Ray Hunt Design deep-V hull. It is powered by three Volvo Penta D13, EPA Tier 3 marine diesel engines, each delivering 800 Bhp at 2,300 rpm, and integral to the engines’ triple IPS-Pod 1050 system.

A new icebreaking tugboat built by Blount Boats in Rhode Island has been delivered to the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to work in the Niagara River to help alleviate shoreline flooding and reduce the likelihood of ice limiting the power production at large hydro plants along the Niagara River. The Breaker II joins a fleet of three boats that work every winter to install the Lake Erie—Niagara River Ice Boom—a series of 22 spans of steel pontoons that straddle the mouth of the…

Construction of FDNY’s newest fireboat, William M. Feehan, has been completed by shipbuilder MetalCraft Marine Incorporated, and is slated for delivery and christening in the coming weeks. The name of the new boat honors veteran firefighter William Feehan, who at 71 was the oldest of 343 firefighters to pass away in the line of duty on September 11, 2001. The vessel’s nameplate, displayed prominently alongside the cabin, is milled from an I-beam lifted from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

Silver Ships delivered a 48-ft. Endeavor Survey boat to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District. The vessel will be tasked with surveying the waters in both the Gulf of Mexico and rivers of the New Orleans District. The all-welded aluminum vessel is designed and engineered by Naval Architect Lou Codega, PE of Smithfield, VA and features a hull form designed to handle the short choppy seas of the Gulf Coast regions. The vessel is powered by twin Caterpillar C18 diesel engines at 803 hp each coupled to Twin Disc v-drive gears.

New from Carlisle & Finch, SmartVIEW is a Microprocessor-based Control System which allows Carlisle & Finch Products to be controlled from any screen on board the ship or from a remote PC in another location. The NightFINDER is the combination of a high Intensity Searchlight and Night Vision Camera integrated onto the same Pan/Tilt Base. SmartVIEW enables NightFINDER, as well as any of their standard searchlight products, to be controlled through the Ship’s Integrated Glass Bridge.

New from Carlisle & Finch Co., SmartVIEW is a Microprocessor-based Control System, which allows Carlisle & Finch Products (NightFINDER Systems and Standard Searchlight Products), to be controlled from any screen on board the ship or from a remote PC in another location. The NightFINDER is the combination of a high Intensity Searchlight and Night Vision Camera integrated onto the same Pan/Tilt Base. SmartVIEW enables NightFINDER, as well as any of their standard searchlight products, to be controlled through the Ship’s Integrated Glass Bridge.

The Redlinger and the Elton, both 60-ft Hysucraft (hydrofoil supported catamarans), are survey vessel sister ships designed and built for the United States Army Corps of Engineers. They are serving the Portland Oregon district. Redlingers mission is in Portland along the Columbia River. Eltons mission is in Astoria and out to the Columbia Bar. The vessels have a top speed of 35knots with a cruising speed of 30 knots at 80% power. They can survey at up to 15 knots but typically their work is done at 10 knots. The vessels are designed by Viking Fast Craft Solutions, LLC., Staunton Ill.

SeaArk Marine, Inc. delivered a 35-ft. Enforcer Class multi-purpose crew/utility boat to the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in St. Paul, Minn. Named David R. Peck, the boat will become a part of a new dredging fleet scheduled to be put in to service by the year 2005. The boat will be used to transport dredge crewmembers, and will be used to improve emergency response needs in case of life threatening injuries. The SeaArk 35-ft. Enforcer is built of all-welded marine grade aluminum, and features a 16-degree deadrise at the transom. Seating is arranged to accommodate the helmsman, navigator and a crew of 10 to 12 people. The cabin has a forward door for easy access to the forward deck space which includes a bow storage compartment for stowage of equipment.

In late May Gulf Craft Inc. delivered what is touted as the world's largest Crew/Supply Vessel, M/V Granville C. McCall, to Seacor Marine, Inc. of Houston. The vessel is powered by five Cummins KTA-50-M2 diesel engines rated at 1,800 bhp @ 1,900 rpm, each coupled with a Twin Disc, model MG-6848, 2.93:1 reduction ratio gear. Each engine turns a four blade Teinbridge 54 x 54-in. Nibral propeller providing a light ship speed of 25 knots and fully loaded speed of 20 knots. The vessel, to enhance manueverability, features a Thrustmaster 400 hp azimuthing thruster, powered by a Cummins N-14-M diesel engine. Twin 99KW Cummins 6BT5.9-G2 generators supply electrical power for the vessel's services and a Cummins 6CT8.3 diesel engine powers the Leroi WE 150 IIM - 80 PSI bulk compressor.

Pluckebaum Custom Boats recently launched a custom 80 ft. corporate coastal yacht, designed for dining and entertaining large groups of corporate customers. The vessel is designed to take customers on a three or four hour afternoon or evening cruise, and serve them a complete, sit-down gourmet meal. The yacht was built to replace an older 65 ft. vessel. The interior joiner work features custom milled tongue-and-groove African mahogany walls, ceilings and cabinetry. Outside the vessel is a unique double rail and stanchion liferail system made from solid brass to the owner's specification. The bridge includes a complete hard enclosure with remote wing controls in a fully air conditioned and heated environment.

Measuring 175 ft. in length, dinner cruise vessel Starship was recently delivered to Starship Cruise Lines of Biloxi, Miss. Boasting a mega-yacht style, the vessel was designed by Naval Architects Dejong & Lebet of Jacksonville, Fla., and constructed by Freeport, Fla.-based Freeport Shipbuilding. Plachter-Vogel Design provided interior architecture. USCG-Certified under Subchapter K for 600 passengers, plus 30 crew, Starship carries a Stability Letter for Partially Protected waters. The vessel is designed to have a 5-5.6 ft. full load draft enabling it to access some of the Biloxi area's more shallow waterways. The hull features tunnels to allow large enough propellers while minimizing the draft.