All American Marine Inc. (AAM) launched the first of two 80'x 27' aluminum catamarans for Great Western Attractions (GWA). The passenger excursion vessels will operate in Puget Sound.
Designed by Teknicraft in Auckland, New Zealand, these identical Subchapter T-certified vessels were constructed at All American's 57,000-sq.-ft. facility on Bellingham Bay. These vessels will be a part of GWA’s multifaceted tourism experience based in downtown Seattle. The sistership will be launched in June.
The new vessels will combine innovative design features to enhance the passenger experience during excursions. One specific feature is the unique design of an extended hull section on the bow and stern, creating a canoe-like appearance. The 149-passenger catamarans will be powered by twin Caterpillar C18 engines producing 803 hp at 2,100 rpm each. The mains will be connected to Veem nibral propellers.
“All American Marine is proud to build such unique vessels for an iconic Seattle company and to support expansion of GWA’s tourism operations,” All American Marine’s business development manager Ron Wille said in a statement announcing the launch. “Our mission is to provide our operators with the best custom vessel for their application, and we are excited to help design and build GWA’s first two vessels.”
The new boats will be constructed to Subchapter T standards, designed as a passenger vessel for use on “Lakes, Bays and Sounds."
Kyle Griffith vice president of GWA, said in a statement: “We always provide the best experience for our customers and throughout our operations, so selecting All American Marine to build the boats for our new marine division made perfect sense. All American builds the highest quality vessels and offers the best value overall value in the country. When we visited their state-of-the-art facility and saw the rapid progress and the quality of work on our first boat, we decided to go ahead and build two vessels.”
