Marine News Boat of the Month: June 2017

The Elastec Inlander river utility boat (RUB) is a unique concept. But, Elastec already manufactures many other response and utility craft for this market. What prompted the internal effort to create such a craft was that while on oil spill deployments with customers, Elastec personnel began to notice quite a few response organizations using “reconfigured” recreational watercraft (fishing boats) to perform tasks. Those boats, according to Elastec, were not well suited to the tasks they were doing, both in terms of safety and operational utility. In particular, low freeboard, thin hulls, and working around the original design of the boats caused may problems with deployments. In response, Elastec created a design that would be both operationally and economically attractive to oil spill responders, municipalities, marinas and waterway maintenance service contractors. 

Conceptualized and designed in-house, the final specifications for the general arrangement were worked out in coordination with Specmar Inc. out of Scappoose, Ore. In a nutshell, the Inlander’s shallow draft hull is designed to accommodate a broad spectrum of tasks. It can be outfitted for search and rescue, oil spill response, boom deployment, fisheries research (shocking), construction, and (in barge configuration) equipment hauling. The targeted mission for the Inlander is rapid response to an oil spill scenario. The boat can be outfitted with boom, skimmer, HPU and portable bladder to contain, skim and store the spilled hydrocarbons. Beyond this, the vessel and its contents are easily trailered to get to a spill site where over-the-road travel is more advantageous. Elastec will deliver the boat with an 8400 dual axle galvanized trailer with disk brakes. 

The standard model Inlander will include port and starboard davit receivers at the bow and 800 pound davits are available. Significantly, the rectangular straight sheer allows for multiple hulls to be lashed together to form work platforms of varying configurations depending on the need and number of hulls available. Hence, one or more municipalities could each purchase a single hull and then coordinate with neighboring governments to form mutual aid arrangements that would work as a force multiplier. The console, fuel tank, and battery storage are designed into a pod that is removable from the hull to facilitate stacking for shipment of multiple hulls or to transform the hull as a barge. The open design of the hull allows for different general arrangement configurations depending on the customer’s needs. 

Notably, the sheer line of the boat is a straight rectangle with the boat and transom of the vessel the same width. This will allow for multiple boats to be lashed together to form a work platform of sorts with no “gaps” to cause injury. They could also be lashed corner to corner (4) to create a sheltered dive opening or construction zone, using specially placed cleats. 

Some customers might decide to buy a second Inlander RUB to use as a ‘barge’ with no propulsion. And, that second hull could be easily fitted for propulsion and controls within one work day. With the prototype hull complete, Elastec is working on the “Control pod” and hope to be lake testing by the beginning of this month. After that, Elastec will utilize the boats at the 2017 Elastec Inland Oil Spill Workshop held every year, the first week in October. The first few boats, of course, will be built to in-house specifications, however, that is all dependent on the customer. According to Elastec, an Inlander fitted with twin 90 hp Suzuki’s and a tandem axle galvanized trailer will retail “in the mid-forties to low-fifties, depending upon options.”

Hull: Modified vee hull, 60 deadrise

LOA: 22’ (24’ with motor guard)

Beam: 8’5”

Sides: 36”

Draft (w/motors & 2 Crew): 21”

Draft (w/4,000 pounds cargo): 27”

Freeboard (w/4000 pounds cargo): 24”

Propulsion: twin 90 hp Suzuki (or jets)

Speed: Up to 35 knots

(As published in the June 2017 edition of Marine News)