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Jemison Marine & Shipbuilding of Bayou La Batre, Ala., recently delivered the scallop boat Patriarch, the fourth new fishing vessel built by Jemison for Tom McNulty Sr. of T&S Fisheries out of Cape May, N.J.

The double-dredge permit F/V Patriarch is the latest of the four boats at 80' x 27' x 13' and holds 50,000 pounds of payload in its insulated ice hold. In comparison, McNulty’s boat Pride and Joy, also built by Jemison, holds 25,000 pounds.

“You can fit twice as much in the Patriarch as in the Pride & Joy,” said McNulty. “We have just started working the new boat, and it is outstanding.”

McNulty said he has had two different crews work the Patriarch on seven closed trips and 15 open bottom day trips. “The crews cannot say enough about how comfortable the boat is.”

Patriarch was designed by naval architect Travis Carver of Sterling Marine in Gulf Breeze, Fla., with the aid of McNulty’s son Tom McNulty Jr.

“Tom Jr. played a big part in the design of the boat,” says his dad. “He provided a great deal of input into the design of the deck and fish hold.”

Main propulsion for the new vessel is a Caterpillar C32. The engine is working through a 6:1 Twin Disc reduction gear. A C9.3 Caterpillar engine was installed to run hydraulics and two John Deere Diesel 50-kW generators for electric. New World Electronics of Bayou La Batre provided and installed electronics. “This is the second boat they have done for us, and they do an outstanding job.”

The scalloper has 3/8-inch steel plating on the bottom and the bulwarks’ after sections. There’s 5/16-inch steel plating in the rest of the hull and 1/4-inch plating in the forward bulwarks. This is the first of McNulty’s boats to have a bulbous bow.

“We wanted to try something different, and it proved itself out,” says McNulty. A bulbous bow modifies the way water flows around the hull, reducing drag, which increases speed, range, fuel efficiency and stability. “All indications are that the new style bow is working for us,” he says.

McNulty keeps coming back to the great relationship he has with builder Tim Jemison. “Tim has built four boats for us, and Tom Jr. had him rebuild an older boat (named Redemption) with a new main engine and complete refit.

“Tim builds an awesome boat, and I cannot say enough about what a quality person he is,” says McNulty. “When he tells you something, you know it to be a fact. Over the years, we have become good friends, and our business relationship is outstanding.”

Jemison Marine & Shipbuilding currently has two new boats under construction. One is an 88' x 27' scallop boat for Warren Alexander of Atlantic Shellfish Inc. in Cape May. It was designed by Farrell & Norton Naval Architects of Newcastle, Maine.

The other vessel under construction is an 88' x 27' scallop boat for Keith Laudeman of Cold Spring Fish and Supply Co., also in Cape May. It was designed by Sterling Marine of Gulf Breeze, Fla.

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Larry Chowning is a writer for the Southside Sentinel in Urbanna, Va., a regular contributor to National Fisherman, and the author of numerous books.

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