New Gladding Hearn all aluminium Pilot for Maryland Pilot association

Humphree Interceptors installed for superior performance

 

The Association of Maryland Pilots (AMP) recently took delivery of a new pilot launch from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding of Massachusetts. Named Fells Point after a neighbourhood in Baltimore, the boat is the first in a new class of pilot launches that are slated to replace the association’s older and larger FRP-hulled, 45-foot (13.7-metre) craft that are nearing retirement.

Boasting an LOA of 48.5 feet (14.7 metres), a beam of 15.6 feet (4.75 metres), and a draught of four feet (1.2 metres), the Ray Hunt-designed, all-aluminium Fells Point features a 20-degree, deep V hull for improved seakeeping ability. The bow has been chopped back above the chine and given heavy rubber protection for bow-on dock landings. The chine itself is designed to reduce spray.

A Humphree interceptor trim-tab control system with automatic trim optimisation is installed at the transom. The interceptors hold running trim at low angles at lower planing speeds while allowing plenty of bow-up trim in following seas.

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