The "PAUL GILES"
SHALLOW DRAFT JET-BOAT
The SDV after Sea Trial about
to be loaded back on to the trailer for the journey to Comox Valley.
John (The Titan Boss) is holding
the line.
The new
Unit 60 rescue vessel, has just been delivered by Titan
Boats of Sidney, B.C., and is designed for use in the many shallow
water areas around the Comox/Courtenay area. The present rescue boat,
the Bruce Brown II, will remain our primary fast response vessel however
it's approximately three foot draft, with vulnerable propellers, make
it unable to get into the Courtenay River estuary during low tides
or to operate safely in the rock strewn shallow waters off Willemar
Bluffs and Cape Lazo . The new vessel, a Titan 200 Deltajet, with
a draft of approximately 15 inches and no protrusions below the hull
due to its jet drive, can operate more effectively in these areas.
The new vessel is an aluminum hulled inflatable boat with 22 inch
diameter tubes. Although referred to as a 20 ft. boat, it is in fact
slightly over 22 ft. in overall length with an overall width of 9
ft. 6 inches. The jet drive is a self contained package which is bolted
to the transom of the hull and contains a 200 HP turbo charged diesel
engine located above a large jet pump. The drive unit was produced
by Sword Marine Technologies of Florida and we believe it to be the
first one on the Canadian west coast. The vessel has three crew stations
arranged in a delta configuration, with the helm in the front and
the navigator and the radio operator side by side behind the helm.
The vessel has GPS/chartplotter and radar, with two display screens
which can display either or both radar and chartplotter information,
one at the helm and one at the nav station. The vessl is also equipped
with self righting gear which consists of an inflatable bag mounted
on top of the rear cage. In the unlikey event that the vessel is rolled
over in heavy seas, the crew are able to activate the gear to re-right
the vessel. We believe that this vessel will be a worthy addition
to the rescue capabilities of Unit 60 and well worth its $161,000
cost.
