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By Larry Pearson Master Marine, Inc., Bayou La Batre, Ala. is an innovative shipyard that has kept ahead of the shifting tides of ship- building in this town that once built shrimp trawlers almost exclusively. Today that business has all but disap- peared, but Master Marine has prospered by building both new vessels and has a contract with the Coast Guard for Post Dry Dock Maintenance Availability work. In the area of new construction, the yard has just delivered the first of a new series of 40-ft. vessels called the PCLT or Pilot- CrewLineTug. The boat has a 16-ft. beam, 4.2-ft. draft and a hull depth of 7.2 ft. It is designed to be a versatile vessel, able to transport pilots or crew to larger ships as well as hauling lines from these vessels or handing them off to mooring dolphins. The PCLT can also handle ship movement duties as a tug. "We have delivered the first of these vessels to a company in St. Eustatius, Netherland Antilles," said Steve Roppoli, vice president of sales for Master Marine. Called the Aloi, the first boat was equipped with a pair of 271-hp Detroit Diesel 6-71 engines with an Isuzu 16 kW genset. Steering is electro-hydraulic and a metal rope guard to keep lines from being entangled in the running gear surrounds the rudders and prop. Fuel capacity is 1,200 gallons. "What we plan to do is to build a rather standardized hull with a choice of propul- sion power and three different main deck houses," Roppoli said. The vessel delivered had a house that featured seating for 10 with a head and a table separating four of the seats. "We also can configure it with a small- er house that has enclosed room for the pilot and the rest of the main deck open and clear. That would be ideal for carrying cargo. Another option is a houseboat type enclosed deck that uses most all of the main deck space," Roppoli said. Master Marine is ready to start another June, 2005 • MarineNews 49 Circle 259 on Reader Service Card Master of New Construction and Repair The 123-foot lengthened and modernized Vashon at Master Marine. The deep V notch in the stern of the Vashon is an obvious sign it is one of the renovated vessels. The V notch lifts up so a RIB can be self-deployed and recovered. A small Coast Guard 41-foot search and rescue vessel is at Master Marine for repair. JUNEMN2005 7(49-56).qxd 6/1/2005 1:59 PM Page 49
