Gladding-Hearn Building Another High-Speed INCAT Ferry

Sixth Vessel Of Popular Design Sold By Yard Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, The Duclos Corporation, Somerset, Mass., recently signed a contract with Put-In-Bay Transportation Co. of Ohio, for the construction of a high-speed passenger ferry based on Australian designer Philip Her- cus's International Catamarans (INCAT) design. It is the sixth IN- CAT vessel sold by the yard.

For service on the Great Lakes, the catamaran M/V Jet Express, which is under construction at Gladding-Hearn, will be 95 feet long, have a molded beam of 28-1/2 l feet and draft of 3-1/2 feet. She will be powered by twin Deutz MWM 12V 604B diesel engines, rated at 1,730 bhp each, with ZF reduction gears and KaMeWa waterjets. With a design speed of 33 knots, the twin- hulled, welded-aluminum Jet Ex- press will be one of the fastest com- mercial ferries operating in North America.

According to George Duclos, president of Gladding-Hearn, the ferry should be completed shortly.

Put-In-Bay expects to begin operating the Jet Express in June. The 380-passenger catamaran will run seasonal ferry service daily from Port Clinton, Ohio to Lake Erie's Put-In-Bay Island. Mr. Duclos expects the M/V Jet Express to be able to make the 12-mile trip in about 20 minutes.

For the comfort of the passengers, 80 rubber shock absorbers will be mounted between the hulls and the two passenger cabins to dampen engine noise and vibration. On-board accommodations will include upholstered seats, heating and bike racks.

At present, one Gladding-Hearnbuilt INCAT vessel is in operation on the Great Lakes. The 82-foot, 365-passenger Mackinac Express was delivered by the Massachusetts yard to Arnold Transit Company in 1987.

One hundred and ten International Catamarans are operating in 15 countries and on San Francisco Bay, Alaska's Yukon River and Boston Harbor. One of Gladding- Hearn's newest INCATs began ferry service last summer between Boston and the island community of Martha's Vineyard.

For free literature detailing the shipbuilding services of Gladding- Hearn, Circle 78 on Reader Service Card

Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 20, May 1989

Read Gladding-Hearn Building Another High-Speed INCAT Ferry in Pdf, Flash or Html5 edition of May 1989 Maritime Reporter

Other stories from May 1989 issue

Content

Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.