Gladding-Hearn New Launch for the Bahamas

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has delivered a new “St. Johns” Class pilot boat for Freeport Harbour Company on  Grand Bahamas.  Freeport Harbour Company is a member of the Hutchison Port Holdings Group, which operates the Freeport Container Port, Grand Bahamas Airport and provides pilot services. 

The all-aluminum high-speed launch, designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates, measures 52.6 ft overall, with an 17-ft beam and 4.8-ft draft, and has a top speed of 27 knots.  The deep-V hull is powered by twin Caterpillar C-18 diesel engines, each producing 671 Bhp at 2100 rpm and turning a ZF 5-blade propeller.  The gear boxes are Twin Disc model MGX5135A Quick Shift.  The launch is equipped with a 12kW Northern Lights generator.

Interior accommodations include 38,000 Btu HVAC units, Stidd reclining seats, a settee, two bunks, a small galley, and a head.  At the transom are a throttle and steering controls and a winch-operated, rotating davit over a recessed platform at water level for pilot rescue operations.