Munson Delivers 48-Ft. PACKCAT

Nikolski Fisherman's Association recently took delivery of this 48-ft. (14.6-m) welded aluminum PACKCAT landing craft designed and built by the William E. Munson Company of Mount Vernon, Wash. The vessel is designed to transport 20-ft. (6 m) shipping containers to and from Dutch Harbor to the remote island of Nikolski – 110 miles west in the Aleutian chain. Nikolski Fisherman’s Association will use the specialized vessel to transport the containers loaded with construction materials to build their new fishing lodge, as well as for general purpose cargo hauling to and from Dutch.

The craft’s 10-ft. (3-m) wide bow door and 34-in. long open cargo deck are outfitted with heavy duty deck rollers for offloading containers on the beach with a backhoe. Twin Mercruiser 7.3L 270 hp diesels with Bravo 2 sterndrives provide a 35 mph top speed. Additional outfitting includes a 7 x 7 ft. (2.1 m) wheelhouse elevated for maximum visibility, diesel cabin heater, Yamaha 2600 gen set, Furuno 16 radar with interfaced GPS, davit with 12V winch and bow anchor pulpit.