Gladding-Hearn Starts Construction of Fourth NY Water Taxi

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has started construction of a fourth water taxi for New York City-based New York Water Taxi. Delivery is set for next April when the commuter ferry will begin passenger service between Yonkers, N.Y., and downtown Manhattan. Like the three sisters before her, the bright yellow, all-aluminum catamaran, designed by Incat Crowther, will measure 72 feet (22 m) long and 27.3 feet (8.3 m) abeam, and draw 5 feet (1.5 m). It will be USCG-certified to carry 149 passengers but limited to only 99 passengers when operating at New York City water taxi docks. The vessel will be powered by two Cummins QSK 19-M diesel engines, each rated at 800 Bhp at 2100 rpm. The engines will drive 5-bladed Ni-Br-Al Bruntons propellers via Twin Disc MGX 5145SC Quick Shift gearboxes and EC-300 control systems. Like her sisters, the new vessel’s top speed will be 26 knots, with a load of 11.5 tonnes. At top speed, the vessel will leave a wake of under 10 inches.

The boat’s carpeted main cabin will seat 98 passengers and be entirely accessible for passengers in wheel chairs. The exposed upper deck, behind the wheelhouse, will seat 50 passengers and have standing room for another 20. Passengers will board and disembark through the side doors and doors at the bow between the main cabin and foredeck. The foredeck will be heated so passengers won’t slip on ice and snow in the winter. The main cabin features double-glazed windows and will be outfitted with Beurteaux Ocean Tourist seats, two 42” plasma TV monitors, fed by a KVH M3 gyro-stabilized satellite dish, a head, snack bar, and HVAC. Interior sound levels will be 72 dba. Illuminated LED destination signs will be located in the main cabin above the passenger doors. Gladding-Hearn has built 33 high-speed, passenger catamarans for service in the U.S. and the Caribbean since becoming a U.S. Licensee of Incat Designs in 1984. In December, the shipyard will deliver a 38 knot, 155-foot, 350-passenger ferry for the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority.