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Yanmar power below vessel is in the body of a Hercules. Under its clip down cover this space is an ideal stowage place for the eight-man life-raft. There is an anchor winch to starboard and a large bollard to port. Down in the voids under the helm seat area, are two 300lt fuel tanks in each hull, with one 100lt Hercules polyethylene freshwater tank forward in the port hull to supply potable water for the crew, and freshwater showers for the divers to flush the salt off. On leaving the marina for our sea trial, we were surprised at the slow-speed manoeuvrability of the vessel under six knots. Engine gauges are a bit low on the front of the helm console and required a considered look, not a glance. This is yet another compromise because of the lift off top and height restriction. As we built up speed, the quiet purr from below rises to a very tolerable growl as the turbos kick in. The vessel lifts to an easy plane and the speed increases until we are doing a very smart 24-25 knots at 2800rpm. At this speed in the prevailing conditions: a fresh breeze approaching sea state 5 above the specified sea state 3, some concentration is required. It is after all, a heavy little boat in a 15 to 20 knot chop and it was taking no prisoners. I decided to head out towards the Nine Pin to get a bit of lift from the two metre northerly swell that was running. This, with a nice chop across the top would give us something to play with. Into the turns, we are comforted that the inner hull digs in as we lay into the turn. Not much of a slot but it works. East and then west across the waves, no problems so far until we tried to lift the engine revs to get maximum horsepower at 3300rpm and did she get lively! So much so that in these conditions and on detecting a bit of chine chatter, this experienced sailor gave up and dropped the revs back as we approached 30 knots. Next, it was north/south across the swells and no problems, although we did find a goody with a larger hole in behind it to test the unexpected drop and the Shark seats. We were pleasantly surprised at the softness of the landing compared to a mono-hull. Another tick in the box, now let���s test a following sea. By this time I was becoming very conscious of the throttles right at my elbow, as I had bumped them several times during normal operation. The bucket controls are forward and out of the way, so as we overtook a 19.8 knot running swell, the bow dropped to slide down the front, my elbow knocked 1000rpm off the port engine, skewing us into a potential broach. Foo-aye��� Whack! Back on both throttles, and control was regained, to which Terry quickly confirmed that the position of the throttles was in for an immediate modification even though that���s where the Navy boss said to put them. No harm done, that���s what we do sea trials for. We were running in light ship with none of the gear the Navy would carry. The addition of tabs made the vessel easy to trim, which will be important when carrying loads or the crew move about. Our conclusion is, while the vessel is a bit over-powered and might have got away with the smaller motors, a service speed of 24 knots is very manageable. But we would be restricting the top speed to less than 30 knots to avoid any potential chine walk. As a sea boat, we would be very happy to operate her in and above the specified sea state 3 to say sea state 5 and still feel in control and safe. As we look around the vessel, it is obvious that this is one solid chunk of a boat, that is expected to do a multitude of tasks without compromise, when everything screams compromise: a design and build nightmare; or, at the very least a real test of design and build skills. It is an unfortunate fact that the NZDF has a poor reputation as a client. This is partly because of the constant changing of key personnel during the drafting of tender documents, through to the design and build stage and delivery. Defence people just keep changing and with them go any understanding, lessons learnt and continuity of ideas. When the client contact and decision maker keeps changing��� It is something the private maritime and boat building industry struggles with. The fact that we are about to see the successful completion and handover of these vessels, delivered on budget, speaks heaps for the skill and patience of both the design and build team, and the navy personnel they worked with. The NZDF can be proud it chose to build New Zealand-made when it let the contract for the RNZN���s new REA vessels. Yes, there will no doubt be operational challenges as the Navy comes to grips with the operating parameters of these new multi-task craft. The best thing NZDF can now do, is to let the sailors loose with them, test them in a range of sea states, and get them into service before any warranty claims run out. S P E C I F I C AT I O N S LOA Beam Draft Displacement Power Propulsion Designer Builder 9.20m 2.70m 0.65m 7.67 tonnes Twin Yanmar 6LY-STP 370hp marine diesels Twin Hamilton Jet 274 water jets Alan Walker of Coastdesign NSR Alloy Boat Builders CLEAR SURFACE PROTECTION NZ/EUROPE ��� www.nyalic.co.nz AUSTRALIA ��� www.nyalic.com.au USA ��� www.nyalic.com Nyalic is a Registered Trademark of HBI Inc. TUFF PREP , RIGHT RINSE , BUILDING PREP and SIMPLE PREP are all trademarks of HBI Inc. �� 2002 HBI Inc. www.nyalic.com �� 26 Professional Skipper March/April 2013 TM TM TM TM VIP.S92 A unique anticorrosive clear coat that lasts Ph 0800 692 542