159
January 3, 2002

Proven SWATH Technology For Dive Boats

In the U.S. there have been many Small Water-plane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) boats proposed and a few have been built, but costs and industry conservatism have limited repeat orders. But now a Fort Lauderdale, Florida firm, Swacat Technologies, Inc. has designed a second SWATH boat that takes advantage of the first boat’s innovation while enhancing performance through design modifications.

Nekton Diving Cruises, LLC, has operated the Nekton Pilot since 1994. This 25-metre (80-foot) long vessel has a 2:1 length to beam ratio resulting in a 12-metre (40-foot) beam. This beam is supported on twin hulls. The superstructure on the Nekton Pilot is supported on two columns from each of the two submerged hulls to create four pillars.

In an effort to increase hull speed, extensive model testing led to a series of modifications that were incorporated in the Nekton Rorqual which was launched by Gulf County Shipbuilding, Inc. of Port St. Joe Florida in 2001. The submerged hulls have been retained, as have the overall dimensions, but each hull now has a single pillar extending nearly the full length of the submerged hull to connect it with the superstructure. The result is improved speed at sea with the same horsepower.

Located aft in the twin hulls are the two Cummins QSK19 main engines, each delivering 760 HP at 2100 RPM through ZF W3260 5.85:1 gears. In a further innovation the Rice 58.75-inch speed props are enclosed in independently steerable nozzles. The hulls on both boats are steel while the superstructure, with crew accommodation, galley and 16 guest cabins each with its own head, are aluminum. The hulls contain ballast tanks allowing the draft to be adjusted from six to 12 feet. A pair of Cummins powered 165 Kw gen sets provide for the ship’s extensive electrical needs. The small ship has tankage for 1400 gallons of fresh water and can make 3000 gallons per day. The 2500 gallon fuel capacity gives the vessel a 1000 nautical mile cruising range. Maximum speed is 13 knots with an eleven-knot cruising speed. Nekton Diving Cruises continues to utilize these two vessels on scheduled dive cruises through out the Bahamas, Central America and the Caribbean. SWACAT Technologies in partnership with Gulf County Shipbuilding offer the SWACAT 80 and a smaller Cummins N14-powered SWACAT 42 in a variety of top side layouts. Photos of the boats are available on the Swacat web page at www.swacat.com, the Nekton web page at: http://www.nektoncruises.com/swath.htm and at the Gulf County web site: http://www.gcship.com/assortedpics.htm.

For more information:

SWACAT Technologies
520 SE 32nd St.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
(954) 463-9902
E-mail info@swacat.com
Web www.swacat.com

Gulf County Shipbuilding, Inc.
1550 Old Dynamite Dock Rd.
Port St. Joe, Florida 32456
Phone 850 229-9300 Fax 850 229-9422
E-mail info@gcship.com
Web www.gcship.com

Larry Neff
V/P Marine Marketing
Cummins Alabama Inc.
3422 Georgia Pacific Ave.
Moblie, AL 36617 U.S.A.
Phone: 334 452_6426 Fax: 334 473_6657
E-mail: Larry.E.Neff@Cummins.com

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