Manatee, fast and sleek and seeming to come out of nowhere, snugged up abreast of the pilot’s ladder on the hull of the 611-foot break-bulk ship Texas Enterprise. Capt. John Timmel, a 29-year veteran and senior pilot with the Tampa Bay Pilots Association, descended the ladder and stepped aboard the new pilot boat.
Built at Gladding-Hearn in Somerset, Mass., the 53-foot Manatee is the latest evolution of the C. Raymond Hunt Chesapeake-class, high-speed, deep-V hull design. Gladding-Hearn and Hunt have a design/build venture that dates back to the 1970's. The aluminum craft addresses three attributes sought in pilot boats the world over: speed, fuel efficiency and comfort.
Manatee is powered by dual Volvo Penta IPS 650MC propulsion pods driven by a pair of 503- hp Volvo Penta D11 diesels. “In a loaded condition, the power package gives the Manatee a 27-knot top speed,” said Peter Duclos, president of Gladding-Hearn.
Forward-facing twin counter rotating propellers, located ahead of the stem, allow the IPS pod system to pull the boat through undisturbed water. “It burns about 25 to 28 percent less fuel than conventional propeller drives,” Duclos said.
This story is from the March 2017 edition of Professional Mariner.
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This story is from the March 2017 edition of Professional Mariner.
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