SACRIFICIAL PILOT BOAT SHOULDER FENDER
Safehaven Marine have developed a new pilot boat 'Shoulder
protection fender' The design features a special, Safehaven developed fender
that fits over the standard 150x150mm D section fender fitted to Safehaven's
pilot boats. The fender fits like a glove over the existing fender. It is held
in place by several stainless steel fixings in the hulls deck and sides which
are attached by 6mm shackles to webbing
loops. A 50mm webbing strap runs through voids in the fender, both top and
bottom. Shackles are designed to act as a 'weak link' and fail before any damage
occurs to the vessels structure. A tensioning system utilizing a tensioning
ratchet strap at both ends of the fender pulls the 50m strap and loops tight,
thereby pulling the fender tight to the hull.
The fender 'significantly' reduces boarding impacts making
the impact much softer and adds greater protection at the vulnerable shoulders,
thus reducing the likelihood of damage occurring to the pilots fixed fenders, and
reduces stress and possible damage on the vessels hull and structure. The system
has proved to work very well and has been retrofitted to all Interceptor 42
vessels after it proved very successful during development trials on the
In operation the fender will prove durable, but by its
nature there will occur circumstances when the system will fail, and this has
been designed into the system, so that failure of the sacrificial fender will occur before there is
damage to the hull or main fender.
Generally getting the fender caught below or above a ships
belting, or extreme vertical movement when alongside up and down the side of a
ship in very heavy weather, may cause one, or more of the shackles to break or
stretch the central webbing, the
latter will mean the ratchets will require tightening when returning to port,
the former will require replacement of the broken shackles but this is easily
and quickly replaced after returning to port, but this is much preferable to
having to replace a length of fixed fender. A quantity of spare shackles,
webbing straps and tensioning ratchets are supplied with the system.
It is very unlikely that all shackles and or both central
webbing straps would break, causing loss of the fender. Replacement cost of the
Rubber sacrificial fender is cheap at €500 for a 3m length, this can be
purchased direct from
See a video demonstrating the system here- SEE THE VIDEO
Below, the hull fixing, webbing loop and shackle
PILOT BOARDING LADDER
Below. The new pilots boarding ladder we are developing, the first of which will be fitted to Izurdia. The system has minimal restriction of f/wd visibility from the helm has a safe and secure platform giving the pilot an escape route in extreme rolls with a strong GRP grating non slip platform.
Below are some photos showing her in operation and her 'pilot boarding ladder' in good use.
JASON CRADLE MOB RECOVERY SYSTEM.
Below, the Jason cradle system for MOB recovery
BOW PUSHER FOR PILOT BOATS
Below, the specially developed 'BOW PUSHER' to allow a pilot boat to engage in light tug duties in assisting maneuvering smaller ships within the harbor during docking.
NEW, SAFEHAVEN DEVELOPED PILOT BOAT TRIM ADJUSTERS (INTERCEPTORS) PLATES.
Safehaven marine have developed their own design of adjustable Interceptor's that allow the running trim of the vessel to be adjusted from 5 degrees to 2 degrees. They allow trim to be optimized for the prevailing sea state. (Bow down in head seas and bow up in following seas downwind) They offer a smother ride when punching into steep head seas, and can adjust for transverse trim when beam on or quartering seas. They are well protected and not vulnerable to damage as conventional trim tabs are. Two systems are available- Electric operation and hydraulic operation, the latter being the more expensive and heavy duty system. Both have indicator gauges fitted at the helm position.
