Peregrine Falcon: Bristol Bay Innovation

Peregrine Falcon boat builders, of Eagle River near Anchorage Alaska, have a history of innovation from aluminum landing craft to Bristol Bay gillnetters. They recently sea trialed Bryan Mcmahan’s Esa Ruth, the first of their latest pair of Bristol Bay boats that will be turning some heads on the Bay during this Summer’s sockeye season.

The boats 40-knot speed will stand out amongst the crowd of fast boats. But it will be their innovative design that will attract attention even dockside. Rather than the conventional forward cabin-design, these two craft have the cabin set aft on a raised platform that allows flexibility with the salmon gillnet.  The boat’s designer and builder Jeff Johnson explained, “These boats are specific to Bristol Bay, Alaska, they have a 32 foot limit but the bow or stern picker capability makes them more versatile. They can set and pick either way depending on the situation. Additionally, these boats, because of the raised wheelhouse, have much more deck space to pick fish.”

Volume is added to that regulation 32-foot limit by having a 16-foot beam and a 7-foot moulded depth.  Fitted into the raised forepeak of the hull is a functional but comfortable set of accommodations, including galley, for a crew of four. Also in the hull, tankage is provided for 400 gallons of fuel, 40 gallons of water and 50 gallons of hydraulic oil. This results in a 26,000 pound light boat and considerably more when taking fish to the tender. To gain that light boat 40-knots and a cruising speed of 32 knots takes some horsepower. This is provided by a pair of Cummins QSB 6.7-liter diesels each delivering 550 horsepower. These drive a pair of Thrustmaster 15-inch water jets through ZF301c gears with 2.88:1 reduction. An additional advantage of the jet drives is that the boat has a 16-inch draft for the shallows that can result from the huge tides of Bristol Bay.

In a season of just a few short weeks, when the millions of sockeye salmon are making their return to the rivers of Bristol Bay, shaving minutes from your setting or recovery time can make a significant difference to your catch. Similarly the time it takes to run into your tender to deliver your fish and get back out for your next set can be crucial. The combination of raised wheelhouse, open deck and 1100 horsepower of Cummins coupled to a pair of jets will give an advantage to the owners of these two boats from Alaska’s Peregrine Falcon builder.

Photos courtesy of Peregrine Falcon
For further information:
Jeff Johnson
Pereggrine Falcon Alaska LLC
PO Box 770768
Eagle River, AK 7506
E-mail: peregrine@mtaonline.net
Web: http://www.mvperegrine.com/index.html
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Jennifer McQuilken
Marketing Communications, Marine and Oil & Gas
Cummins Inc.
4400 Leeds Ave. Suite 300
Charleston, SC 2940
E-mail: Jennifer.McQuilken@Cummins.com
Phone: +1 843-696-9534 (call or text)
 
Alan Haig-Brown
A. Haig-Brown & Assoc. Ltd.
New Westminster, BC,
Canada,
Phone: 604 377 1577
E-mail: alan@haig-brown.com
web: www.haigbrown.com