UPDATE
MBARI Orders New Research Ship
With a deep-V hull designed by Ray Hunt Design, the new allaluminum launch measures 52.6 feet overall.
Gladding-Hearn Delivers New Maryland Pilots Launch THE ASSOCIATION OF MARYL AND PILOTS has taken delivery of its fourth
Chesapeake class launch from GladdingHearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, Somerset, Mass. Since the Chesapeake class pilot boat was introduced by Gladding-Hearn in 2003, 22 have been delivered to 12 pilot associations throughout the United States. With a deep-V hull designed by Ray Hunt Desig n, the new al l-aluminum launch measures 52.6 feet overall, with a 16.8 feet beam and a 4.8 feet draft. Powered by twin Volvo Penta D16, EPA Tier 3-certified diesel engines, each producing 641 bhp at 1800 rpm, the vessel’s top speed is over 26 knots. The engines turn 5-blade Bruntons NiBrAl propellers via ZF500-1-A gearboxes. A Humphree interceptor trim control system, with its Automatic Trim Optimization, is installed at the transom. The launch is equipped with a 12kW Northern 12 Marine Log // May 2021
Lights genset and 100% LED lighting. T h e v e s s e l ’s w h e e l h o u s e , w i t h a small trunk, is installed amidships on a flush deck. With electrically heated forward-leaning front windows, the wheelhouse is equipped with five NorSap shock-mitigating reclining seats, a baggage rack and control console. The forecastle includes a Porta-Potty, split upholstered settee/bunk, lockers for tools and safety gear and a custom immersion suit rack. The vessel’s inter ior is heated and cooled by two 16,000 btu reverse-cycle HVAC units, in addition to a 2,000 Watt 240 V AC heater in the wheelhouse and in the forecastle. An aft ladder leads to hinged boarding platforms on the roof. A control station is at the transom, along with a hydraulically powered J-Basket rescue system for pilot rescue operations.
selected Freire Shipyard in Vigo, Spain, to build a new state-of-the-art research vessel. It is to be named R/V David Packard, in honor of MBARI’s founder, Silicon Valley pioneer David Packard, who founded Hewlett-Packard (HP) in a Palo Alto, Calif., garage with Bill Hewlett, and whose philanthropic endeavors included funding the creation of the Monterey Bay Aquarium in 1984. Three years later, he founded MBARI as an independent institution committed to pursuing cutting-edge ocean science and engineering programs. Funding for the new vessel comes from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The R/V David Packard will be 50 meters (164 feet) long and 12.8 meters (42 feet) wide with a draft of 3.7 meters (12 feet). It will support a crew of 12, plus a science crew of 18. It will replace the R/V Western Flyer, MBARI’s flagship research vessel, which will be retired in fall 2022 with the arrival of the new vessel. Planning for the vessel began in 2009, when MBARI’s marine operations team engaged Seattle headquartered Glosten to design it. For the past three years, MBARI’s marine operations team has worked closely with Glosten’s team of engineers to refine the design specifications. Glosten provided the design and specification services for the shipyard bid package and assisted in the bid review process. As construction gets underway, Glosten will provide the on-site construction team for MBARI, providing MBARI continuity through the life of the ship. The final design work will get underway this spring, with keel laying at Freire expected by November 2021 and the vessel’s launch in September 2022. Construction should be complete in May 2023, when the vessel will depart Spain for its journey to its homeport of Moss Landing, Calif.
The R/V David Packard will be 50 meters long and will support a crew of 12.
Photo Credits: (Top) Gladding-Hearn; (Bottom) GLOSTEN
T H E M O N T E R E Y B AY AQ UA R I U M RESE ARCH INSTITUTE ( MBARI ) has
