JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #96 - April 2015 - 16

Applications

catamaran

A new technological age
changes the way vessels
are built and operated
- A new technological age
changes the way vessels are
built and operated ......... p16
- Rigid-hulled, inflatable
powerboat .................... p18

Using GL/DNV rules, Trawlercat Marine Design (TMD) has designed a
series of innovative high-speed carbon fibre power catamarans for the
military and offshore wind farm industries. TMD is taking navy patrol
boats and offshore wind farm crew and equipment service vessels
into a new technological age that will change the way these vessels
are built and operated.

- Lightweight design: key to
the Ocean Eagle 43's rapid
acceleration & long-range
fuel efficiency ................ p19

By
Captain Graham Pfister
President & CEO
Trawlercat Marine Designs

C

arbon fibre is five times stronger
than steel and less than a third of its
weight; it is ten times stronger than
aluminium and less than half its weight.
Carbon fibre does not rust or corrode
and requires very low maintenance, reducing maintenance down time and costs.
Its low weight allows the use of smaller
engines that burn 50% less fuel than similar size aluminium catamarans and 75%
less fuel than similar size steel mono-hull
vessels, and still outperform them.

Time saving
Using expandable production moulds
and methods developed by TMD in 2001
and known production line methods,
the company will project manage the
construction of each vessel with its build
partner, Tuco Marine Group (Denmark).
Each vessel will be built in a fraction of
the time it takes to build labour-intensive
steel and aluminium boats.

16 jec composites magazine / No96 April 2015

To be known as Carbon-Cats, the vessels
will be built using the "epoxy resin
vacuum infused carbon fibre foam sandwich composite construction method".
This method ensures the strongest,
lightest possible vessel. The positively
buoyant foam sandwich construction
material and built-in void areas make
Carbon-Cats unsinkable and boats don't
get any safer than this.

Application sectors
Pirating of small oil tankers and other
ships is organised, and on the increase,
throughout some regions of the world.
Transiting ships are also targeted. Other
maritime crime includes illegal fishing
trawlers and drug and human smuggling.
These can be contained by patrol boats.
Many old "gifted" steel and aluminium
patrol boats that burn huge amounts of
fuel and have high maintenance costs
are left sitting at the dock as countries
with low navy budgets cannot afford to
operate them. The low operating costs of
Carbon-Cats will ensure that countries
can afford to operate them.
Carbon-Cat patrol boats were designed
specifically to allow countries to regain
control of their waters.
TMD's Carbon-Cat patrol boats are
available in 20m & 25m x 10m models
for riverine, harbour and coastal patrol-
http://www.jeccomposites.com
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #96 - April 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #96 - April 2015
