Page 15: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 1994)

imp room, spacious engine room ith stair access from the accommo- ation unit lobby and a separate irge steering gear compartment are 11 incorporated.

The vessel achieves a healthy 14- on bollard pull and a free running peed of nine knots from a pair of :eel-cooled Cummins KT19-M die- sels, each developing 470 bhp at 1,800 rpm, driving 51-in. (1,300 mm) diameter four-bladed propellers in- side fixed Kort nozzles through Twin

Disc gears. A dual manual and power/hydraulic steering arrange- ment is incorporated with power derived from one of the Cummins main engines. Steering is princi- pally by jog lever with a conven- tional wheel as manual back-up.

The entire steering system is ex- tremely heavy duty and features a special rudder feedback unit incor- porating limit switches to prevent the steering gear running full against the "stops."

The spacious wheelhouse is ac- cessed from a bridge deck level walk- way on the port side connected to the main deck by stairs both fore and aft. Electronics include two daylight viewing radars (by

Raytheon and JRC), Raytheon color fishfinder, echosounder and GPS,

Navtex receiver and Robertson AP45 dual mode autopilot.

Hover RIB For Venice Lagoon

Proving that building at the very smallest end of the workboat mar- ket is far less restrictive than would first appear, is U.K.-based Griffon

Hovercraft, with its latest design — a 19.5-ft. (6-m) diesel engined hovercraft, which the company be- lieves to be the first ever built on

RIB lines (see picture, pg. 14).

Of open deck design, capable of carrying five people or an 825-lb. (375-kg) payload, the 375TD is of small conventional workboat size but, as Sales Manager Graham

Gifford said, "will do virtually ev- erything a small fast boat will do but will reach the parts other boats can- not reach, operating well over deep or shallow water, over land, mudflats, sandbars, ice or rapids."

This is the standard sales talk one would expect, but, neverthe- less, the 375TD is worthy of a sec- ond look, partly because it is diesel powered when many competitive models at the smaller end rely on gas, and also because it has been specifically designed for swi ft trans- portation with an optional hover- on/hover-off road trailer which can be towed behind a Land Rover or similar vehicle. So far, the design has impressed a wealth of potential customers such as hydrographic and survey companies, police and cus- toms authorities, civil engineering companies and crash rescue organi- zations with the first model already in operation by Vigili del Fuoco (the

Italian Fire Service) for crash res- cue work in the shallow lagoon of

Venice. Equipped with VHF radio, radar, spotlights, siren and flashing beacon, the craft operates with ease

October, 1994 over very shallow water, reeds and swamp in the lagoon. Most impor- tant, however, is that unlike con- ventional craft operating in Venice it can take the most direct line from its base to the scene of the accident, thus arguably proving to be the most efficient craft in the rescue fleet.

The propulsion option — a Land

Rover 300 Tdi 83-kW (Ill-hp) die- sel — has proved an equal success with no electrics to risk in a salt spray, muddy, weedy environment and a greatly reduced risk of fire in rescue situations. The375TDisthe smallest craft in the Griffon range but not by any means the first to be sold for crash rescue duties. Larger versions, capable of carrying pay- loads of between one and six tons have to date carved Griffon a com- fortable market niche but it would be a mistake to see the baby of the fleet merely as a five-person rescue boat; with three 69-passenger air- craft-type liferafts aboard, it is ca- pable of rescuing over 200 people.

ROYAL RUST KOTE

Ballast and Void Paint

Our water based non flammable asphaltic paint is really starting to catch on with vessel owners. No sandblasting is needed and only a clean tight surface is required. It is safe to torch, and heat resistant to 300°F, penetrates tight rust, dries like rubber, and is inexpensive to use.

Royal Chemical Corporation Ph # (504)392-8811

P.O. Box 342 Fax # (504)392-2173

Gretna, LA. 70054

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