Fast, lightweight aluminum catamarans are making the passenger ferry business more competitive. Universities and research institutions see the advantages too, and their latest newbuilds are moving the multihull concept forward.
Catamarans as research platforms have been around for a long time. The 96’x40’x7’ F.G. Walton Smith, named for the founder of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, has been its flagship since Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Panama City, Fla., delivered her in 2000.
At the time, the Smith’s relatively shallow 7’ draft safely opened Florida’s endangered reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove shores to scientists, in a big 97-gross-ton package that moves at a stately 10 knots with twin Cummins QSK 19 engines of 760 hp each. The new generation is evolving toward lighter, faster and shallower drafts. In January 2013 Geo Shipyard, New Iberia, La., delivered the 64’9”x21’x4’4” Apalachee to the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory. With twin 13.5 liter John Deere engines and a cruising speed of 16 knots, the boat extended FSU researchers’ reach for trips up to six days in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Another iteration of the design by naval architect Roger Fyffe, Texas A&M University’s research vessel Trident, was delivered by Geo last year and selected as one of WorkBoat’s Significant Boats of 2015. With bigger accommodations for a dozen crew and researchers, the Trident can cruise at 18 knots and top out at 23 knots with a pair of Scania D1-13070M 13-liter 500-hp diesels.
Now comes Derecktor Shipyards, with a second edition of the 63’ hybrid-electric drive catamaran Spirit of the Sound that it delivered to The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Conn., in summer 2014.
Under contract with the State University of New York and Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay, Derecktor will build the next version, a research vessel able to slip through nearshore waters quietly doing fisheries and environmental research.
Power will come from the trademarked BAE HybriDrive system, using low-emission diesel with lithium batteries and electric drive. With environmental attributes of being quiet with low emissions, it has another advantage for doing science on tight budgets: fuel costs will ne about 75% less compared to conventional diesel power, according to Derecktor.
