Page 42: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1995)

TECHNOLOGY

Model tests of the SeaCoaster indicate the vessel is capable of high speeds and high efficiency.

Fint Full-size

SeaCoaster Built

Air Ride Craft and Able Boat Inc. announced the construction of the first full-size commercial

SeaCoaster. The new vessel is a catamaran-hulled Surface Effect

Ship (SES), but reportedly differs extensively from the generic flex- ible seal SES.

The SeaCoaster has a high length to beam blower pressurized air cush- ion under each sidehull. The two widely separated air cushions, thus formed, support 85 to 90 percent of displacement. The sidehulls have very fine entry wave slicing bows, designed to provide outstanding seakeeping. Seakeeping ability can reportedly be enhanced by a hydro- foil between the sidehulls forward.

The SeaCoaster has flexible seals and no air cushion between its sidehulls.

The SeaCoaster being built by

Able is 45 x 18 ft. (13.7 x 5.5 m). The vessel is being built with advanced composites to provide high strength and low weight. The boat is being configured to be a 48-passenger, 45- knot ferry.

The SeaCoaster hull shape is what reportedly makes for an inherently strong structure longitudinally, as there are four full-length keels, two on each sidehull. Transverse strength is ensured by four robust watertight bulkheads positioned fore and aft of the blower compartment, and of the engine compartment. The composite construction hull incor- porates E-glass skins and special- ized cores, and the specific mechani- cal properties of two uniquely dif- ferent state-of-the-art cores are be- ing integrated to provide an opti- mum design to meet ABS and U.S.

Coast Guard certification. One is

Core-Cell, a new generation of closed cell linear polymer foam core, by

ATC Chemical Corp. of Buffalo, N.Y.

The other is a high-strength, light- weight honeycomb structural core supplied by Nida-Core Corp. of 44

Hoboken, N.J. The two aluminum and stainless steel blowers are driven by a single Caterpillar 3054 diesel at 67 kW (90 hp) through a right angle T-gear. The two main propulsion engines are Caterpillar 3126 diesels at 260 kW (350 hp).

The Caterpillar diesels were sup- jpl ap-plied and engineered for the appli- cation by Pantropic Power Products of Miami, and model tests show speeds with this power of more than 50 knots at moderate loads, and approximately 40 knots at full loads. wri«NiRnfr"iiRfr"i|ir",.«>n,i ••ar.ss •, h^UII ^ 1 i s. r—

General arrangement of the Gentry Transatlantic vessel. See full story next page. (Note: Because of the confidential nature of these drawings, it was necessary to reproduce them at a much smaller scale.)

To find out more about

John Deere diesel engines for marine applications, contact one of our authorized distributors listed below:

For North America contact:

BELL POWER SYSTEMS, INC. 36 Plains Road, P.O. Box 980

Essex, CT 06426-0980

Tel: (203) 767-7502

Fax: (203) 767-7290

CK POWER PRODUCTS 9290 West Florissant

St. Louis, MO 63136

Tel: (314) 868-8620

Fax:(314)868-9314

CK POWER PRODUCTS

CORPORATION OF FLORIDA 100 Southwest 52nd Avenue

Ocala, FL 34474-1894

Tel: (904)237-7660

Fax: (904) 237-0855

CN POWER SYSTEMS 220 Harter Avenue, P.O. Box 650

Woodland, CA 95776

Tel: (916)666-6624

Fax: (916) 661-1226

DIESEL-BEC, INC. 1805 Lionel-Bertrand

Boisbriand, PQ J7H 1N8

Tel: (514)434-3401

Fax: (514) 434-1135

DIESELTECH 100 Otter Street, P.O. Box 1740

Winnipeg, MB R3C 3A1

Tel: (204)452-4334

Fax: (204) 452-7984

Branch Office: 10630 176th Street,P.O. Box 20059

Beverly Postal Outlet

Edmonton, AB T5W 5E6

Tel: (403)483-0180

Fax: (403)489-6891

EAST COAST POWER SYSTEMS 1475 Woodstock Road, P.O. Box 1263

Fredericton, NB E3B 5C8

Tel: (506)458-1091

Fax: (506) 458-1423

Branch Offices:

Eastcoast Power Systems 80 Glenwood Drive

Truro, NS B2N 1P3

Tel: (902) 895-9377

Fax: (902) 893-7584

Sansom Equipment, Ltd. 5 Hallett Crescent, P.O. Box 8331

St. Johns, NFA1B 3N7

Tel: (709)726-4344

Fax: (709) 726-4419

EMERSON POWER PRODUCTS,

INC. 426 South Cloverdale Street

Seattle, WA 98108

Tel: (206) 764-3850

Fax: (206) 764-3832

ENGINE DISTRIBUTORS, INC. 1709-B South Slappey Blvd.

Albany, GA 31701

Tel: (912) 888-1900

Fax: (912) 435-2946

ENGINES, INC.

U.S. Highway 49 South, P.O. Box 425

Weiner, AR 72479

Tel: (510) 684-7361

Fax: (501) 684-7338

Branch Office:

Engines, Inc.

U.S. Highway 61 South,

P.O. Box 1154

Cleveland, MS 38732

Tel: (601) 843-0083

Fax: (601) 843-0856

FRONTIER EQUIPMENT, LTD. 8029 River Way

Delta, BC V4G 1G9

Tel: (604) 946-5531

Fax: (604) 946-8524

HEARTLAND ENGINE CO., INC. 884 Medina Road

Medina, OH 44256

Tel: (216)239-2242

Fax: (216) 239-2672

INDUSTRIAL IRRIGATION

SERVICES 221 East J Street, P.O. Box 189

Hastings, NE 68902-0189

Tel: (402)463-1377

Fax: (402) 463-2136

Branch Office:

Industrial Irrigation Services

West Highway 50, P.O. Box 755

Garden City, KS 67846

Tel: (316)275-4216

Fax: (316) 275-4224

M-K POWER PRODUCTS CORP. 5641 McAdam Road

Mississauga, ON L4Z 1N9

Tel: (905) 890-5323

Fax: (905) 890-6660

NORTH AMERICAN ENGINE CO. 3003 Thurston Avenue

Greensboro, NC 27406

Tel: (910)370-4776

Fax: (910) 370-4993

NORTHSTAR POWER COMPANY 700 S.E. Oralabor Road, P.O. Box 307

Ankeny, IA 50021

Tel: (515)964-6100

Fax: (515)964-6119

Branch Office:

Northstar Power Company 201 West Travelers Trail, Suite 20

Burnsville, MN 55337

Tel: (612) 895-8946

Fax: (612) 895-8948

POWER SYSTEMS 540 West 3615 South

Salt Lake City, UT 84115-4250

Tel: (801)266-9654

Fax: (801) 266-9850

SUPERIOR DIESEL 1632 North Stevens Street,

P.O. Box 1187

Rhinelander, WI 54501

Tel: (715)369-5900

Fax: (715)369-5918

Branch Offices: 461 East Fenn Road

Coldwater, MI 49036

Tel: (517)278-2445

Fax: (517) 278-8272 204 North 37th Road (Intersection 251 &52)

Mendota, IL 61342

Tel: (815) 538-1818

Fax: (815) 538-3200

WESTERN ENGINE

DISTRIBUTORS 321 Industrial Street

Bakersfield, CA 93307

Tel: (805) 327-3881

Fax: (805) 327-1731

Branch Office:

Western Engine Distributors 7431 Belva Drive

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Tel: (714) 841-9200

Fax: (714) 842-3969

YORK POWER SYSTEMS 804 West Cotton, P.O. Box 3939

Longview, TX 75606-3939

Tel: (903) 757-6700

Fax: (903) 757-9927

Branch Office: 14020 Interdrive West

Houston, TX 77032-3300

Tel: (713)449-7736

Fax: (713)449-2766

For Europe, Africa and the

Middle East:

DEERE POWER SYSTEMS

JOHN DEERE ENGINE DIVISION

Usine de Saran

B.P. 13, 45401 Fleury les Aubrais,

France

Tel: (33)38 82 61 19

Fax: (33) 38 82 60 00

For Asia, Caribbean and

South America:

JOHN DEERE

INTERCONTINENTAL GmbH 400 19th Street

Moline, IL 61265-1388

Tel: (309)765-3310

Fax: (309) 765-3197

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Maritime Reporter/Engineering News