Page 97: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2015)

hulls … they are all hand-made.” the family of four chassis attractive to many boat builders,” and thus it was de- bodies the Ophardt philosophy.

While the Ophardt engineered solution a diverse set of users, from traditional cided to focus solely on building a small “Only because of the computer aided is available to all, Thomas Ophardt said commercial to advanced fast craft own- family of exceptional chassis’ instead of design is it possible to create its Clone that ideal partners would primarily be ers in patrol and military applications. wading into the market with a fully de- Tech,” said Thomas Ophardt. “This is independent, private owned shipyards “The vision was to build the best signed boat. enabling a platform that can be used on or vessels owners that share a similar aluminum boat chassis,” said Thomas There are many limbs to the Ophardt different models. It is repeatable and thought process and philosophy. In his Ophardt. way, but Clone Tech is its heart and soul predictable manufacturing … The ? rst is thinking, for the right companies the “Once we did this, we quickly learned as it is in this ef? cient, effective, predict- the same as the 100th.”

Ophardt chassis will be an extension of that the ‘chassis idea’ was a new idea to able engineered solution that best em- their business line with a proven, stable hull design.

The Ophardt operation bene? ts not solely from the long-standing engineer- ing acumen of Hermann, but also from the fact that it is a small, ? exible and fast-moving industrial operation, self- funded and able to makes changes quick- ly to product, process of selling angle as

Shell Marine Products it is beholden to no one but itself.

Ophardt started from the ground up with its own proprietary, innovative and

YOU CAN RELY ON unique hull design, and has built and

SHELL MARINE PRODUCTS TO staffed its operation based on its patent- ed Clone Tech production system, a pro-

HELP OVERCOME CHALLENGES duction line more akin to cars than boats.

Q Emission control area “If you look at the automotive indus-

Q Equipment reliability For more information visit www.shell.com/marine try, it is totally different with the produc-

Q Cold corrosion or email [email protected] tion line concept and the reliance on au- tomation,” said Hermann Ophardt. “We build a platform, a chassis like a truck, a chassis (available in four sizes) that will be used by the small to medium size boat builders to customize to build mul- tiple types of boats all using the common chassis.”

Ophardt’s Clone Tech is a combination of facilities, machine and software, a system that is designed to deliver exact- ing replicas of each boat, with a consis- tency of quality, price and performance. “Predictable is the best word” in describ- ing Clone Tech, according to Hermann

Ophardt, and to date the company has invested approximately 12 million Euro in buildings, machinery and engineering.

The Chassis Design

While much can be written about the

Ophardt marine chassis manufacturing design, it should be noted from the out- set that the performance and handling of two models test-driven by Maritime

Reporter & Engineering News on the

Rhine River with a light 1.5-ft. chop in early October – the 12m, 900 hp chassis and the 8m, 300 hp chassis – exhibited excellence in all phases of operation, from acceleration, maneuverability, as well as outstanding stability in all phases and turns at all speeds. All accolades re- garding the hull design, engineering and manufacture were proven on the water in these conditions.

The Ophardt boat chassis incorporates a number of manufacturing advances and hull features that are designed to make www.marinelink.com 97

MR #11 (90-97).indd 97 11/5/2015 3:34:10 PM