WARREN, R.I. (June 22, 2001): The new 85’ FIRE ISLAND FLYER designed and built by Blount-Barker Shipbuilding was delivered to Bay Shore, New York on Monday, June 18th. The 400-passenger, all aluminum fast commuter boat will be operating on the 7.5 mile run across Great South Bay between Bay Shore, Long Island and Fire Island.

The Fire Island Flyer was designed and built to maximize lift and speed. She planes very easily and quickly with a minimal wake and very gentle entrance through the water. The vessel is about 30% lighter than the earlier Blount hulls built for Fire Island. The Flyer is sister boat to the Firebird, hull #253 (the first all aluminum Blount boat for Fire Island) but has more horsepower. Permanently fixed full width trim tabs, refined by many years of trial and error by the Fire Island crew, extend the waterline of the Fire Island Flyer and create further lift. A spray rail incorporated into the forward 1/3 of the hull chine enhances the bow lift. During sea trials she proved to be very responsive to both rudder and power. The five-bladed Rolls Royce propellers are exceptionally smooth, eliminating most of the vibration felt on the older boats.

The Flyers three Detroit Diesel 8V-2000’s are the first fully electronic engines in Ed Mooney’s fleet. Detroit Diesel offered detailed involvement with the design, installation and sea trailing of the boat. Mr. Mooney explains that this new four-cycle engine is smoother than the 12-71 TI’s in his other planning hulls. A nice feature of the electronic engines is Detroit Diesel Headquarters in Michigan can plug into the engine, analyze all systems and adjust accordingly. When run at 2100 rpm’s the hull reaches its designed speed of 26.5 knots.

Duramax brand copper nickel keel cooler pipes provide engine cooling. This metal provides excellent transfer of heat between the circulating coolant and the other seawater. Mooney likes the fully closed, isolated coolant system. It is not affected by the debris that clog sea strainers on heat exchange units, when operating in shallow water.

The onboard systems are simple and kept to a minimum. There is no generator, all power is provided by three engine driven alternators. The steering is Blount’s traditional mechanical, manual cable steering. As Blount explains, “if the rudders are built right and properly balanced, the cables periodically adjusted, and the shives kept lubricated, it’s as reliable a system as you can get.”

The Fire Island Flyer is impressive in its speed, high passenger capacity, and durable hull, which promise to give decades of service. With her ability to cruise with 400 passengers in excess of 20 knots, the Fire Island Flyer is a boat that can compete well with similar length fast catamarans.