Bermuda Orders New Boat From Gladding-Hearn

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has taken a new boat order from the Bermuda Department of Marine and Ports Services to replace the pilot/rescue boat, Saint David, built by the shipyard in 1986. Delivery is scheduled for 2011.

Designed by C. Raymond Hunt Associates and classed to Lloyds Register, the high-speed, all-aluminum pilot/rescue boat measures 61 ft over-all, with an 18-ft beam and a 6-ft draft.  Designed and built to serve as a pilot boat, the vessel will be equipped for offshore search and rescue missions as well, with a rescue well recessed into the transom, a tow bitt and 12-ft inflatable tender, and  accommodations for a stokes litter basket stretcher.

The boat’s main propulsion comes from twin 12 cylinder MTU-12V2000M70 diesel engines, each producing a conservative 1055 Bhp at 2100 rpm, giving the new boat a top speed of 30 knots. The engines connect to NiBrAl propellers through ZF2050A gear boxes. A pair of Northern Lights 20 kW gensets will provide service power.

The boat features wide side decks, inverted front windows, and large boarding areas on the main deck.  The wheelhouse, mounted aft of amidships on a flush deck, provides the pilots with additional comfort and safety at high speeds offshore and increased visibility of the boarding areas. At the shear will be a heavy-duty 10” D rubber fender, in addition to five rubber side strakes at the boarding areas.

Interior accommodations will feature HVAC, six Llebroc recliners, cushioned settee, suitable in size to accommodate an injured person, dinette, and enclosed head. Sound level in the wheelhouse is expected to be about 70 decibels at 25 knots.