Growing up among the boats being built at his father’s yard and with several years crewing a Bristol Bay gillnetter, Rory Pitsch is able to call on a depth of experience when it came to building the latest gillnetter delivered by their yard at Sedro Woolley, Washington.
The 32’ by 15’ 10” Strongback delivery has a wide beam, following the trend for boats to become broader to make more space available as they face the 32’ length limitation.
The careful layout and arrangement of the fishing and living spaces together with the propulsion that really set this boat amongst the top tier in the fleet. The Bristol Bay fishery is a short intense period of five to seven weeks with a few closures for salmon to escape up river, during which the town of Naknek grows from a population of about 500 people to a seasonal population of around 30,000. This makes onboard accommodation an important consideration.
This new Strongback boat is designed to fit four bunks in the hull and one in the wheelhouse. The forecastle also features a galley with refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, and sink. It is a bit of a design miracle but attractive and, for exhausted fishermen, comfortable.
There is an RSW system for the three fish holds that have a combined capacity for around 16,500 pounds (approx 7500kg) of salmon.
The aft engine room contains the refrigeration system and other auxiliary services as well as the twin Cummins QSC 8.3 litre engines each generating 493hp to turn ZF gears. The gears transfer that massive power to a pair of Ultrajet 340 HT drives to guarantee an impressive turn of speed.
To maintain volume inside the nearly 16’ beam, the beam at the chine is kept to 14’6”with only a small 12° dead rise at the stern. At the same time the bow is given enough shape to handle the often-choppy waters of Bristol Bay. Light boat speeds on sea trials were 30 knots.
