Island Boats to Build 65-ft. Catamarans

Island Boats, Inc. of New Iberia, La., has been contracted to build two 65 ft. aluminum catamarans for delivery to a Boston customer. The vessels will be delivered with a USCG SubChapter K Certificate of Inspection for 200 passengers and are being designed by Pete Melvin of Morrelli and Melvin Design, Long Beach, Calif. The vessels will be powered by twin MTU Series 60 main diesels developing 600 hp each and should drive the vessel to a cruising speed of 21 knots fully laden. The vessels will have an enclosed air-conditioned main cabin and open air seating on the upper deck. The vessels will provide daily passenger service to the Boston Harbor Islands and will be available for winter charter at the end of the summer season. Bill Walker of Boston Boats, LLC said, "We are excited to be working with Island Boats, Inc., we are impressed with their DNV-ISO 9001:2000 quality certification and they offered a very competitive product with a high quality, rugged fitout."