The only specialised marine publication in Oceania that focuses on the maritime industry, from super yachts to small craft to large commercial ships, including coastal shipping, tugs, tow boats, barges, ferries, tourist, sport-fishing craft, je
Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/50909
Due to continued growth, the company made a commitment to build a new ferry every two years. However, it soon became obvious the 49-seat ferries could no longer cope and Q-West Limited, the same boatbuilders who were responsible for the previous vessels, built a new ferry with double the capacity. Teknicraft Design has also been responsible for all four ferries, and the Clipper IV incorporates the same hydraulically operated foil between the hulls so the boats can operate in all but extreme weather and give a fast and smooth ride. However, the Clipper IV is some 2.7m longer and 1.35m wider to provide a more spacious interior to take the additional passengers. Like the others, she is powered by twin 615kW Detroit 60 series marine diesels coupled to Hamilton Blue Arrow HJ403 waterjets. Her top speed is around 40 knots and she can maintain a service speed of 28 to 30 knots. Senior master Mike Roycroft advises that to get the best out of waterjet power with these hulls you need to be doing more than 26 knots, and 28-30 knots is the optimum for fuel-per-mile economy. Because of the increasing hours and the need for regular servicing, the main engine oil filtration has been installed with the twin filters mounted high on the outboard hull. This makes it much easier to get a large container under the filters when changing them. "It's now a simple, 'no mess Charlie' task to spin the filters off and replace them," says Mike. It's just another trick to keep the bilges clean and dry. Fire protection for the machinery spaces is provided by a dual FM200 fire drench system that may be remotely operated. The engineroom ventilation flaps are accessed from the aft deck, and the emergency fuel shut-off and FM200 fire-suppressant release controls are in an alarmed box behind the central seats at the rear of the cabin. The main engineroom ventilation intakes aft are fitted with Seaworth Defence and Marine filters that protect the machinery space from any water or moisture intake, an all-important feature on any commercial craft. These big beasts require a good fuel supply and large amounts of cool, dry air to keep them going at their best. Access to the engineroom is via two deck hatches situated for'ard and aft of the machinery space or through a watertight door from the lazarette. It was interesting to note the seawater cooling water was drawn off the waterjet pump, with the strum box debris strainer mounted on the protective landing platform above the jets. Even waterjets are prone to sucking up debris, and while most of the rubbish gets squirted out the back with no adverse effects, if the cooling water takeoff is from the jet unit there is a risk some rubbish might get forced into the cooling system. To counter this, it is easy to check and clean the plastic strainers in the strum boxes to eliminate the chance of wetting the bilges. The bright yellow screw caps float and are easy to spot if accidently dropped. Another plus is the water drains back into the jet units along with most of the debris trapped by the strainer when the engines are shut down. This is smart thinking. NZ WORKBOAT REVIEW 2012 57 VIP.S84 Protect Your Investment Engines, controls and air-conditioning systems are not compatible with salt-water! Specify Seaworth air-water separators • Allow air intake but keep salt-spray out. • Proven effective on defence, commercial and pleasure craft. • Fabricated from marine-grade anodised aluminium. • Available in custom sizes. SEAWORTH – Manufacturered by: Camfil Farr NZ Ltd PO Box 531, Albert St Cambridge, New Zealand Ph: +64 7 827 4142, Fax: +64 7 827 8435 www.seaworth.com VIP.S69