Woody launches 17M Riverside Pilot Vessel

by Bob Carter on 14 Jul 2011 'Awesome!'

That’s the single word judgement that client Riverside Pilotage P/L delivered to Stephen Plummer of Woody Marine Fabrications (WMF), after initial sea trials were concluded on the new 17m pilot boat.

The biggest Pilot boat yet to be built by Brisbane based Woody Marine Fabrication (WMF) took to the waters on the Brisbane River and headed out to Moreton Bay where she went through a comprehensive period of testing and evaluation. This impressive vessel was a joint effort by the designers from Camarc design office in England and the manufacturing expertise of Woody’s. The company is recognised as one of the leading small boat design offices in Europe, specialising in multi chine, fast mono hulls from 5m to over 23m.

Destined to operate in the Port of Dampier in Western Australia, the vessel completed its maiden voyage from Brisbane up the east coast to the Port of Mackey where she was lifted out of the water in preparation for her road delivery across Australia, some 4800 km. The comments from the head engineer on board for the voyage were very complimentary: 'The boat handled extremely well in rough weather, we arrived ahead of time and with a better fuel burn than expected'.

The trip averaged 20.5-22.5knots up the coast at between 1750-1850 rpm and was a great shake-down for the vessel.
'Our client has followed the construction of this boat closely and when the vessel finally hit the water, they were outwardly glowing,' said Stephen Plummer, CEO of Woody Marine Fabrication.

'In particular they said that the performance and finish was well beyond their expectations.'

'And they also commented at how quiet the boat was when underway. We are finding that OH & S issues rate very highly with just about every boat that we build at WMF. In this it is gratifying to know that the effort to silence the engine room has been so effective.'

By any measure this is a serious vessel, built to stringent commercial standards. The Riverside Pilot boat has an overall length of 16.8m, a beam of 5.8m and a design displacement of 27 tonnes loaded. The Pilot boat is designed to operate with a crew of three with the capability of carrying up to five pilots.

During the build process, the team at Woody’s were very mindful of weight and its location in the vessel. With the luxury of Stephen Plummer as a Naval Architect, various modifications to the design occurred. For example, the galley was relocated from the main wheelhouse to below in the accommodation area, providing more space and openness in the wheelhouse while still focusing on weight balance. When the vessel came to be launched it weighed in 2 ½ tonnes lighter than designed. This was achieved by the modifications implemented during construction and the revised specification of some equipment.

At sea, the performance was better than design predictions. The dual Caterpillar C18 V8 diesel engines, producing 715hp per engine, delivered a top speed of 26 knots at 2100 rpm. With a conventional shaft drive the designers predicting a maximum speed of 25 knots and cruise speed of 18 knots.

Due to the remoteness of Dampier, the vessel’s main systems were built with simplicity, durability and serviceability paramount. The importance of being able to operate 24/7 was regularly emphasised by the client. Any down time was an expensive situation as an alternate vessel would need to be hired. To avoid this, twin 16kVA Zenith gensets were installed providing 100% redundancy if one unit fails.

Dampier’s climate can be quite harsh with temperatures reaching up to 45 degrees C, so the vessel’s wheelhouse is fully insulated from cabin sides and roof. The lower accommodation has hull insulation spanning from below the waterline, hull side, under the side decks and in the cabin roof. All other crew service areas were insulated under the main deck and combined with three 16,000 BTU self-contained Cruisair air conditioning units. This will provide the crew and pilots with very comfortable working conditions onboard.

The Pilot boat was commissioned by a Riverside Pilotage in Brisbane and will operate in the Port of Dampier. This is an exceptionally busy commercial port where pilotage is compulsory, except for vessels of 150 tonnes or less and those Masters who hold a valid Pilotage Exemption.

The wrap-around dash console features 2 x 15' Furuno Navnet screens, networked with Furuno 4kW Radar and GPS, class B AIS, and chart overlay. Vessel trim is controlled by an impressive Humphree trim tab system providing up to 11% fuel savings and remarkable trim range through the speed range of the vessel.

With a fuel capacity of 3000 litres, the vessel has a range of 400 NM at 20.5 knots with 10% reserve.

Woody Marine Fabrications (WMF) is a Brisbane based aluminium boat manufacturer with special emphasis in the design and manufacture of Rigid Hull Inflatable boats (RIBs). The company has a number of firsts, notable being the first manufacturer in the world to build a RIB with four Yamaha F350 outboards on the transom.

For more information contact:
Stephen Plummer
Woody Marine Fabrication
24 Millennium Place
Tingalpa QLD 4173
Ph: (07) 3348 7682