ACI Boats, Port Townsend, Wash., brought its latest 32’x16.5’ aluminum gillnetter to the water during this year’s Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle, offering onboard demonstrations for attendees. The vessel is the fifth in a seven-boat series and is currently available for purchase at $1.25 million.
The hull is constructed from 5086 aluminum alloy, with the interior transverse frames, engine room bulkhead, self-bailing decks, and superstructure built from 5052 alloy. The company noted longitudinal hull stiffeners, an extruded hull guard, gunwale tube, and bolted-on anodes provide additional strength and corrosion protection.
Designer Mike Carr joined the demo and walked attendees through the propulsion package, which includes twin Cummins QSC 8.3, 592-hp diesel engines matched to ZF 305-3 marine gears and MJP 340HT UltraJet waterjets with Duplex stainless impellers.
“We tried to find one [propulsion package] that was short enough to fit in here,” Carr said. “We’re looking for it to be compact and powerful—and obviously have the reliability and the service we need.”
The setup is supported by an 8" stainless steel wet/dry exhaust system with bellows, a through-transom discharge, high-temperature alarms, and mufflers. Cooling is handled by a Fernstrum Gridcooler keel-cooler system.
The newbuild is outfitted with three Glendinning electronic control stations located in the pilothouse, flybridge, and portside aft station, with joystick controls in both the pilothouse and flybridge, along with an autopilot and rudder indicator. Visibility from the tophouse is extensive, with 17 commercial-grade windows, including three forward-raked panes, eight direct-bond look-up windows with dark tint, four sliding windows, and two fixed windows. Access throughout is provided by aluminum ladders, a hinged Dutch cabin door with drop slider, and a hinged head door with frosted slider.
On board the demonstration was a commercial fisherman who runs a jetboat in Bristol Bay. He took the helm to acquaint himself with the vessel’s maneuverability, and after some quick S-turns behind the wheel, he sang the vessel’s praises.
ACI Boats owner Cory Armstrong said fitting a large volume of equipment into a compact 32’ platform posed a design challenge. “With the trim packages all the way up, we designed them to get on step with a lot of weight,” Armstrong said. Carr added that the hydraulic trim tabs “make a world of difference when you’re mucking through the chop.”
Maritime Fabrication supplied the gillnet drum with level-wind, a Big Bay roller, a picking bar, and an aluminum jet guard with a transom ladder.
The lower cabin on the vessel includes berthing for four, each with storage trays and privacy curtains, along with a convertible dinette, built-in shelving, and additional storage under the stairs. The galley contains a Dickinson Mediterranean stove, dual 5-gals. propane tanks with a solenoid shutoff, sapele cabinetry, laminate countertops, a stainless sink with hot and cold water, a 7.3-cu.-ft. Novacold refrigerator and a microwave. The pilothouse includes a Bentley Patriot helm seat on an S4 suspension pedestal, a starboard bench seat, a day bunk, and additional storage.
Heating and ventilation come from a Planar 9DM diesel heater ducted to the crew quarters, pilothouse, and head, along with an ACI defrost bar, dash ventilation fans, and a Heater Craft system serving the main cabin and flybridge.
Tankage includes 52 gals. of freshwater, a six-gallon hot water tank, 20 gals. of blackwater, and 400 gals. of fuel (with Wema gauge and sump).
Electronics include dual Garmin 12" MFDs on the flybridge, dual Garmin 10" MFDs at the main station, and a 7" Garmin GPSMap display. The package also includes an external GPS antenna, Airmar SS60 transducer, Garmin radome, MSC 10 satellite compass, Reactor 40 autopilot with dual GHC 20 displays, ICOM VHF with AIS and hailer, a CommandMic on the flybridge, a Morad antenna, magnetic compass, stereo system, TV/DVD, and pre-wiring for Starlink.
Hydraulic systems include a 40-gal. tank with Murphy gauge, dual load-sensing pumps, a PacWest 10-ton RSW system with electronic zoning, cross-transom trim tabs, hydraulic washdown, and proportional joysticks for drum control. Ground tackle includes a bolt-on bow roller, aluminum anchor guard, Maritime Fabrication hydraulic anchor winch, and a 73-lb. Rocna Vulcan anchor with line and chain. The vessel carries 18 F-6 fenders and standard safety equipment, including fire extinguishers, grab rails, CO, and smoke detectors. The exterior hull is mill-finished aluminum with Sharkhide coating, while interior spaces are finished in Zolatone.
ACI Boats provided the performance summary of the vessel, showing light sea-trial conditions with 175 gals. of fuel and three passengers, ACI Boats reported two performance scenarios. At 40,700 pounds displacement with the aft hold at 100% (8,200 pounds), the boat reached 30.6 knots. At 45,500 pounds displacement with a full aft hold and mid-holds at 60% (13,000 pounds), top speed was 26.5 knots.
ACI Boats will run additional water demos at 2:30 p.m. from Bell Harbor Marina (Slip A8) during the remaining days of the show.
