Moose Boats was awarded a new contract from the U.S. Navy for the construction of another Moose 340C Catamaran Patrol Boat. The contract totals approximately $475,000 and the boat is scheduled to be delivered in late 2005.
The Moose 340C is a 37.5 ft. All-Aluminum Jet Powered Catamaran with twin Cummins 380 hp turbo diesels and is propelled by Hamilton 292 water jets. This vessel will be assigned to a station in the Norfolk, Virginia area. Moose Boats is currently building six 340Cs’ for the U.S. Navy under a previous contract and has delivered six others over the past 14 months. Moose has also built a similar vessel for the U.S. Park Police that currently patrols the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, New York Harbor and surrounding areas.
The Moose Boat design was chosen because of its fast and stable catamaran hull and its powerful water jet propulsion that was well suited to meet mission requirements. The wide stable hull along with an all-weather cabin will accommodate a crew of four, in comfort. If required, she can be deployed at speeds over 35 knots with armament including 50 caliber and M60 machine guns.
In January 2005 Moose Boats will be introducing the M2, a version of the 340C Navy Boat, into the private sector. “Due to the continued interest and requests we have received to develop a high performance, no compromise vessel that can “go anywhere and do anything” we felt this boat would be yet another entry for us into the recreational market as a ‘Sport Utility Boat,’ said Julie Carlson, Marketing Manager for Moose Boats. This boat is a tough, fast, water jet propelled diesel catamaran with an all-weather cabin built to withstand demanding conditions.