b'MEMBER NEWSGladding-Hearn Delivers Fourth Pilot Boat G ladding-Hearn Shipbuilding has deliv- The wheelhouse, mounted to the flush deck aft80,000 Btu. Interior sound levels at full power ered a fourth pilot boat to the pilotageof amidships of the launch, features a center-lineare under 75 dBA. Outside the wheelhouse are associationTheGalveston-TexasCityhelm station, with a twin-lever control head andwide side-decks and a flush main deck. On the Pilots.Gladding-HearnShipbuilding,Duclosa three-axis maneuvering joy stick. The wheel- foredeck, aft of the wave break, are port and Corporation, Somerset, Mass., is a PVA member. house has heated forward and side windows, sixstarboard boarding platforms. A search light, 1500-shock-mitigating seats and a settee withwith integrated thermal camera, is located at The new launch, the Texas City, is equippedtable. Two 21 kW generators produce electricity. the forward end of the wheelhouse roof.with a Seakeeper 30HD stabilizing gyro, which, according to shipyard officials, will reduce theThe forecastle includes a stateroom with twoA control station, with a 3-axis maneuvering vessels roll by up to 80 percent. According toberths,head,hanginglocker,smallgalleyjoy stick, is at the transom of the pilot boat, the pilotage association, this is the first pilotanddinette.HVACinthewheelhouseandalong with a winch-operated J-Basket rescue boat equipped with a Seakeeper in the U.S. forecastleissuppliedbysixself-contained,systemandrecessedstairsandplatformfor reverse-cycleair-conditioningunits,totalingpilot rescue operations.With a length overall of 73.2 feet, beam of 23.3 feet and draft of 5.9 foot, the all-alumi-num, high-speed pilot boat features a deep-V hull. The vessel is powered by a triple 800 hp Volvo Penta IPS-Pod 1050 system, featuring Volvo Penta D13, EPA Tier 3 marine diesel engines,eachdelivering800bhpat2,300 rpm. Top speed is over 33 knots and the vessel runs at 30 knots at 80 percent power. The vessel will burn 30 percent less fuel than the pilots existing 70-foot pilot boats at the same speed, noted Gladding-Hearn Co-President, PHOTO COURTESY OF GLADDING-HEARN SHIPBUILDINGPeter Duclos.Humphreeinterceptors,withactiveride control and coordinated turn and automatic trim optimization, are installed at the transom to automatically optimize the vessels running trim, and actively reduce pitch and roll at speed above 15 knots.The additional Seakeeper stabilizing gyro re-duces roll at all speeds and will improve safety and reduce fatigue, especially while standing by for ships offshore and boarding pilots in a sloppy anchorage, says Duclos.35 DECEMBER 2022'