I s l a n d P i l o t 3 9 5 — Sea Trial Report!
April 21st, 2005 — Zhuhai, China. Today, the first of the new Island Pilot 395s took to the
water in her initial sea trials. Company founder, Reuben Trane, backed her out of the railway
slip into a tributary of the Pearl River, just a few miles from the South China Sea. On board
were key personal fromIsland Pilot LLC and Jane Liu, president of Her Shine Marine, Ltd.
(parent company of Uni Shine Marine), along with representatives from Volvo, Singapore and
Raymarine, China. Turning her up river, Trane eased the throttles forward. The Island Pilot
quickly found her legs and was soon on a plane, the speed climbing through 30 knots. Quick,
quiet and responsive, the Island Pilot finished accelerating at 33.4 knots, over 38 MPH!
Just over one year ago, the Island Pilot was still a line drawing on designer Trane’s computer
and today, she was cruising effortlessly on the G-T Man River at 28 knots. The built-in fuel flow
gauge (part of the standard Volvo Penta EVC LCD package) indicated a fuel flow for both motors
combined of just under 28 gallons per hour — she was getting 1 nautical mile per gallon at a
total weight of over 30,000# at 28 knots! The decision, seemingly radical at the time, of going
with the Volvo DuoProp Sterndrives was paying off. More speed. More efficiency. Less
horsepower. Less fuel burned per mile!
Still short about 1,000# of built-ins to be added before shipping, the Island Pilot was running
with about 1,750# of persons on board. Cut that back to a normal crew compliment of 4 adults,
and the final weight would be just about equal. Fuel & water were filled to 90% of capacity;
holding to 100%. The 350 HP D6, fully electronic, common rail motors were delivering their
max design RPM of 3,600 revolutions per minute. Based on this data, the smaller 260 HP D4s
should deliver a top speed of over 28 knots and a cruise of 21 knots. The standard, !63 HP D3s
should then get an 18 knot top and 13.5 cruising speed — not bad for a 30,000# motor yacht
and a total 326 HP. These speeds turn out to be faster than expected. But slow her down to a
long-range speed and her range increases to match full-displacement cruisers her size — 7.8
knots at 2.75 nautical miles per gallon equalling a range of 1,000 nautical miles using 90% of
her 400 gallons fuel.
Hull #01 will be ready to ship to Connecticut in May, arriving in June. Since virtually all
equipment is installed at the Uni Shine factory in Zhuhai, commissioning will be mostly clean
up and installation of the entertainment center elecronics (3 total LCD TVs, Raymarine 45 STV
satellite TV antenna, Bose 3.2.1 home theater system & DirecTV receiver — all standard), the
washer/dryer and her 9’ rigid bottom inflatable and 8 HP motor. Hull #01 will appear in the
Fall New England and Chesapeake Bay boat shows. Hull #02 is shipping a month later to
Seattle and will find a new home at Friday Harbor. She will be at the Fall Seattle Show. Hull
#03 is coming to Ft. Myers, Florida, at the end of the summer and will be shown at the fall
Florida boat shows.
I S L A N D P I L OT L L C , 8 2 6 0 S W 1 5 9 S t r e e t , Pa l m e t t o B ay, F l o r i d a 3 3 1 5 7
888.443.2965 — [email protected] — www.islandpilot.com
Reuben Trane has been designing and building boats for over 25 years. Starting with his
Florida Bay Hen sailboats (Peep Hen, Mud Hen, Marsh Hen & Bay Hen) he soon moved to
large, expedition style trawlers, the Florida Bay Coasters, designed in conjunction with Jay R.
Benford. As founding president of Krogen Express, a partnership with the late James S. Krogen
and his son, Kurt Krogen, Trane spearheaded the development of the Krogen Express 49, still in
production today. Trane, working closely with renowned naval architect, Lou Codega, was
instrumental in designing and bringing to market the Great Harbour trawlers. Next in line is a
larger Island Pilot, the 495, to be introduced this fall.
Jane Liu is president of Her Shine Marine, Ltd., in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Her Shine has been
building boats both under their own brand (Ben Ship & Her Shine) and as an OEM builder for
well-known American and European yachts since 1977. Two years ago, she built Uni Shine
Marine in Zhuhai, China, to take advantage of both labor and location — the new yard is right
on the water, perfect for doing extensive sea trials. Her brother, T. J. Liu, is in charge of
operations in Taiwan; her other brother, Brian Chang, runs the Zhuhai operation along with
yard manager, Anatole Hwang, a veteran of more than 25 years of building high quality motor
yachts for western clients. Her Shine builds to both NMMA and CE (European Union) standards.
photo by Maurice Adams
For a full sea trial report go to: http://www.islandpilot.com/html/ip395_seatrials.html or
contact [email protected] — 888.443.2965.
Island Pilot 395 at 33 knots on the G-T Man River in Zhuhai, China.
I S L A N D P I L OT L L C , 8 2 6 0 S W 1 5 9 S t r e e t , Pa l m e t t o B ay, F l o r i d a 3 3 1 5 7
888.443.2965 — [email protected] — www.islandpilot.com
photo by Maurice Adams
photo by Maurice Adams
Reuben Trane (left) and Jane Liu, President of Her Shine
Marine, Ltd., (right) on the fly bridge of the Island Pilot.
Left to Right — Cheryl Trane (wife of Island
Pilot designer, Reuben Trane), Reuben Trane,
Jane Liu and Anatole Hwang (Yard Manager
at Uni Shine Marine, Ltd., Zhuhai, China).
I S L A N D P I L OT L L C , 8 2 6 0 S W 1 5 9 S t r e e t , Pa l m e t t o B ay, F l o r i d a 3 3 1 5 7
888.443.2965 — [email protected] — www.islandpilot.com
photo by Maurice Adams
photo by Maurice Adams
The Island Pilot easing up onto a place on the G-T Man River in Zhuhai, China,
during initial sea trials. Three different sets of Duo Props were tried to assure the
perfect match between the 350 HP D6 Volvo Penta diesels and the 30,000# Island
Pilot 395.
The Island Pilot 395 cutting a clean wake
at a cruising speed of 28 knots — she’s
getting 1 nautical mile per gallon.
I S L A N D P I L OT L L C , 8 2 6 0 S W 1 5 9 S t r e e t , Pa l m e t t o B ay, F l o r i d a 3 3 1 5 7
888.443.2965 — [email protected] — www.islandpilot.com