Oregon fisherman Mike Pettis will be adding another boat to his fishing fleet when it is delivered in the early spring of 2013.
Mr Pettis has an extensive history as a longliner (halibut and black cod) as well as a crab fisherman, and the new vessel ‘Patriot’ will fish crab and shrimp.
The new 67x25ft boat will provide a good platform for both the pot fishery and the twin-rigged trawl fishery. The bulbous bow will give a little advantage on fuel consumption but will also help reduce pitching when working up wind to recover crab pots. The boat will tow a 90ft shrimp trawl from each out-rigger.
A Tier 2 compliant a 600hp Cummins QSK19-M main engine at 1800RPM will provide the towing power for the twin trawls. This is a completely revamped version of the ever-popular KTA19-liter engine that has powered the West Coast fishing fleet for decades. All of the boats in Mr Pettis’ fleet are Cummins powered. The main engine turns an open 70x56-inch four-blade propeller on a five-inch shaft through a TwinDisc MG5170 gear with 6:1 reduction.
A pair of auxiliaries will each power hydraulic pumps and 65kW generators. In addition there will be a single 20kW hotel set.
Catches will be stowed in two holds with a total of 2,951 cubic feet capacity. The front hold will have capacity for 65-70,000lbs of live crab with circulating seawater fed by an 8x6 Berkeley pump. The rear hold will take 20-25,000lbs of live crab in rear hold with circulating seawater fed by a 5x4 Berkley pump. Mr Pettis expects that the boat will carry about 50 tons of shrimp. The versatile vessel is also to be fitted with a 30 ton RSW system for tendering or to freeze albacore.
For maximum days at sea, tankage will be provided for 10,436 US gallons of fuel and 1,204 gallons of water.
The vessel was designed by Tullio Celano of Crescere Marine Engineering, Inc, of Columbia City, Oregon, and is being built at Giddings Boat Works, in Charleston, Oregon.
