With its helm forward and crew behind in shock-absorbing seats, the new Multi-Mission Interceptor by SAFE Boats International, Bremerton, Wash., was turning heads and lining up riders at the Multi-Agency Craft Show this week in Baltimore.
“This is the next in our line of interceptors. We found that our customers are looking for a smaller interceptor, and one that is flexible and can handle a lot of different missions,” said Rob Goley, business development director at SAFE Boats.
Based on SAFE’s established family of interceptor vessels, the MMI with a trio of 350 hp Mercury outboards is capable of speeds over 55 knots, high-speed transits in open ocean waters, and “extreme velocity maneuvers,” the company says.
The 35’x10’ aluminum vessel with foam collar cruises at 35-plus knots and can carry up to 14 personnel in shock mitigating seats, reconfigurable according to mission needs with an integrated Shoxs Trax system in the aft deck.
“We worked with our friends at Shoxs to make this a totally flexible package,” Goley said, after he an co-worker Scott Clanton finished resetting the seating in preparation for a demonstration ride. “You have 80 square feet of deck back there that can do anything.”
With a lightship weight of 10,725 lbs., the MMI carries up to 5,961 lbs. of people, fuel and cargo at cruise ranges over 200 nautical miles. The company says the boat can operate in sea state 5 (seas 8’ to 13’) and survive sea state 6 (seas 13’ to 20’). Maximum personnel capacity is 14 persons.
The design incorporates new features including Mercury’s Smartcraft joystick control system for close maneuvering, and all-digital switching on the 12V electrical system.
The demo boat unveiled at MACC is the first model. SAFE Boats is marketing the design mainly to its customers including the U.S. and allied coast guards, large coastal metro police departments, and government agencies in the Caribbean and Central and South America.
