Heros have sailed

The last two Canadian Coast Guard Hero class mid-shore patrol boats sailed today, bound eventually to their new home port of Victoria, BC.

The final two Hero class boats at BIO January 5, awaiting their delivery crews.

Despite a request for proposals for a heavy lift ship issued in the summer, crews arrived at BIO yesterday and took the boats out to sea today. Captain Goddard M.S.M. and M. Charles M.B. will hop - skip their way via the Panama Canal, with the first port of call scheduled for Portsmouth, VA on January 14.
 
Radio call sign for Captain Goddard MSM is CGNG, (for Nicola Goddard) and for M.Charles M.B. is CGMC.

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Trials for Heros

The last two Hero class mid-shore patrol boats were undergoing trials today.
CCGS M.Charles M.B. set out from the Coast Guard base at the Bedford Institute and spent the day in Bedford Basin. Number eight in the series, it underwent builders trials in June and was handed over to the Coast Guard.

M.Charles at anchor in Bedford Basin, with a RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflable Boat) alongside.

Captain Goddard M.S.M., the ninth and final boat, was launched in May and has spent the summer in Halifax Shipyard, but moved to the trials berth at pier 9C September 19. This morning it also went to the Basin, then this afternoon put out to sea. Late this afternoon it headed inbound as far as Middle Ground, then put about for sea again.

Captain Goddard turns to head outbound again and pours on the speed.

Both boats are to be stationed on the west coast, and will be dry transported there by heavy lift ship late this autumn.

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End of an era

The ninth and final boat in Halifax Shipyard's contract for Hero class patrol craft took to the water this morning. Not only is this the last ship to be built at the yard until the first deliveries under the NSPS, it is also the last ship to be launched "conventionally" at the yard.

From now on, new ships will be traversed onto a floating dock, submerged and floated off. The sloped  launchway, a feature of the yard since it was built*, has already been partly removed. Now the remaining short section can be demolished.

[*The shipyard started life as the Halifax Graving Dock Co, a repair yard. It only became the Halifax Shipyard after it was expropriated by the Canadian  government in 1918 and launchways were set up to build ships.]

Today's launch of Captaion Goddard M.S.M. seemed to go off without a hitch. The boat, perched on its launch cradle, was eased down the slope of the launchway to water's edge and the riding crew boarded.

Using a heavily ballasted Kenworth truck as a counterweight, a single cable through a large sheave controlled the cradle.

 As the truck eased ahead, it allowed the cradle to roll into the water.
 

Divers cleared the the cradle and the wire was eased off again until the boat achieved buoyancy.
A little help from Connors Diving's fleet of small craft and their launch Northcom soon had the boat afloat for the first time.
 

 

 
It was then taken in hands by Dominion Diving's Halmar and Roseway.

This is the only boat in the series not to go immediately to pier 9B. The last launch, M.Charles M.B. (February 22) went to pier 9 briefly, but was soon moved back to the yard alongside the Novadock for fitting out. That work is now completed, and it was moved to pier 9B yesterday to start trials.
This morning Captain Goddard M.S.M. went directly in alongside Novadock.

Both the Charles and the Goddard are destined for the west coast, and will be transported by heavy lift ship later this year.

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Coast Guard Bow Wows

Captain Goddard M.S.M. on the launch way this week.

With the end of the construction of the Canadian Coast Guard Hero class patrol boats in sight, and several of the boats in service, one has to wonder if the CCG is entirely happy with build quality. I have certainly heard that they are happy with the boats' performance - in fact exceeding expectations for sea-keeping and speed, but I have to wonder if the wrinkly bow plating really meets expectations.

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Halifax Shipyard launch and roll out (Part 2)

.....continued from previous post

 

M. Charles M.B. en route back to the shipyard for fitting out after overnighting at pier 9B.

 

 

Meanwhile at the shipyard, the last patrol boat in the series Captain Goddard M.S.M. was rolled out immediately after the launch to allow for the demolition of the buildings in which it was assembled.

 

Captain Goddard M.S.M. sits outside now where she will be readied for launch. By that time the buildings in the background will likely be gone to make room for the new shipyard buildings.

 

Both the Charles and Goddard will serve on the west coast, and  will be transported to the Pacific - they will not sail on their own hulls according to the latest plans.

 

I have also been reliably informed that the boats can exceed their design speed if lightly loaded, and speeds of over 26 knots have been achieved in normal trials, with 29 knots in tests.

 

 

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Halifax Shipyard launch and roll out (Part 1)

After the successful launch of the CCG Hero class patrol boat M. Charles M.B. late last night/ early this morning, the boat was shepherded to pier 9B as a temporary berth. The regular fitting out berth, also at pier 9B is still occupied by the previous boat in the class A. LeBlanc which has not been handed over to the CCG yet.

A. LeBlanc (background) at the fitting out berth, and M. Charles M.B. foreground.

 

Early this afternoon, Dominion Diving's work boats Halmar and Roseway tugged the new ship back to Halifax Shipyard to tuck it in alongside the Novadock.

 

 

 Halmar with a bow line and Roseway on the quarter, ease the M.Charles M.B. away from the dock.