POWERGLIDE 46 Wind Farm Crew Boat

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Why does this Catamaran Work so well?

The Powerglide 46 “Vanishing Point” always ensures that the technicians can access the towers when virtually all others are in port.

Again, Why? 

The answer is simple, The Powerglide 46 was designed to absorb the power of the waves at the ultra slim bow and because of that the ride at any speed gives a very smooth and calm ride.

This means that the Powerglide 46, just 14m long, can stay out longer and do more work than most other catamarans of up to 20m in length.                                                                                                             Just about any Catamaran can go out in the rough weather and sit there, but very few can work when the Powerglide 46 is still working.              More days at sea than any other cat.

Skipper Terry Batt and the now famous “Vanishing Point” have made it pretty clear to all, that the Powerglide 46 can drop and pick up technicians in complete safety when virtually all the other Catamaran Skippers have already called it a day due to rough weather.  

At 1500 rpm Terry can hold the Vanishing point stationary against the tower in 2.5m waves. 

Most of the other, usually bigger and very much more expensive catamarans, are suffering a 6 to 8 rung rise on the ladder and this is far too dangerous to be called “complete safety”.        So they go back home! 

Basically, this is the reason that they cannot work in the same conditions as the Powerglide 46 

The 1500 rpm  equates back to something like 110 hp each engine in the Powerglide 46, to give full control over the rise and fall at the tower.

Whereas the bigger, inefficient  planing Catamarans use something like 80% to 100%  of their full power, which is up to and beyond 800 hp for each engine,  in some cases, and this is usually not enough to hold the cat stationary.  

We now have plans to build a really heavy weather Catamaran that will work easily in conditions of  3.0m and over, that can access the distant offshore towers of the future in “complete safety” without the aid of any computer controlled bow devices and moving platforms that take an age to set up. (and will cost plenty). 

The standard tower needs no modification for the Powerglide. 

Our new catamaran will be based on a 20m version of the Vanishing Point with many new design features to enhance the sea handling performance.  This is not simply a scaled up version, but a stand alone design.  

The craft can be moulded in a variety of lengths and a variety of beam widths and we intend to supply other yards in Europe with the basic hull that can be built up from the shell to finished craft, to the size you specify, in the fastest possible time.

The GRP hull will be virtually indestructible and have a working life in excess of forty years.

Engine power required will be less than half that used today on the present day breed of 20m catamarans, fuel consumption will be about 25% of that used today. (our 14 m Powerglide 46 uses approx 10% of the fuel that the 18m-20m craft use, so my saving of 75% fuel cost will be on the conservative side ).

[If you are worried about disposal of a GRP craft after its working life is over for any reason, you don’t have to grind it down to powder, you can sell it to a fish farming project or similar uses in emerging countries].

After a highly successful first year, skipper Terry Batt has ordered his second Powerglide 46 Wind Farm Catamaran.

 The original “Vanishing Point” is able to work in harsh sea conditions and because of the special bow shape, could drop off and pick up technicians from the towers when virtually all the other craft could not.

The secret lies in the fact that the bows don’t rise when the boat is gently pushing onto the mast, the section of the bow is so slim it makes little difference as a wave passes under the Cat. The after section rises and falls as the waves pass under, but once the bow is locked on to the tower there is no bow movement with wave heights of up to 2.5m  This means that the crew transfers are made in absolute safety and there is no risk of the bow suddenly rising  6 or 7  rungs just as the crew transfer, as the bigger Catamarans do.

In other word, The Powerglide 46 can work more safely in harsh conditions, and in most cases is the only Cat that can  pick up crew safely.

 Vanishing point had a fast cruise speed of around 30 knots and could easily cruise at 21 knots in most weather conditions, making the crew transfers fast and efficient.

The load on these High Performance displacement catamarans makes little difference is speed and in fact, Skipper Terry Batt  said “it even feels better”.

The ride, as expected, was smooth and bump free and the normal sprung seating was not required and even in the roughest weather the ride remains smooth.

 The fuel consumption, or lack of it, was truly startling,  Some of the Catamarans on site are using eight times the amount of fuel that Vanishing Point consumes and this is due to the highly efficient hull design of the Powerglide 46. 

The normal cruising range of the Powerglide 46 is 450 to 500 miles with standard fuel tanks, Vanishing Point 2 is to have this increased to 700 miles to allow more work between fuel stops.

For the Cat to maintain a speed of 21 knots the engines have to produce no more that 100 hp each, so have plenty in reserve with the continuously rated 370 hp engines.

This Catamarans is a full  High Performance Displacement Catamaran, it can cruise at any speed within the top speed of the Cat.   There is no “Hump” for a planing cat to rise over, and as we all know, the planing Cats are just about dead in the water until they are actually planing. There are many occasions when the planing Catamarans can never actually reach planing speeds and the fuel consumption at these sub planing speeds can be colossal.

 Being able to reach a high speed means that the Catamaran reaches its destination quicker,   returns quicker, and as the engine is actually working less  hours, going fast means you can save time at no extra cost.

 Terry is already planning to order a third Catamaran as well, to complete his fleet.

 For the operators and site managers, everything about the Catamaran is a bonus, they save £165,000 each year on fuel bills and can get the technicians out and back in a very much reduced time, and increased comfort, the boat can work in conditions that many boats cannot venture out of harbour, so more days are obtained.

 The basic purchase price is well below any aluminium Catamaran and the Hull is probably very much more impact resistant and will certainly have a longer and more trouble free life span.

Power Catamarans already have a bigger Catamaran on the drawing board, and many features of the Vanishing Point have been incorporated into this design.

We are very confident that our 20m Catamaran will be able to work in 3.0m seas without the aid of any special equipment to enable the crew to transfer safely to the tower. It has the capability of work from a mother ship, and can be recovered and re-launched with relative ease due to the inherent stability of the displacement crafts shape.

 This will make the High Performance Displacement Catamaran the industry standard for the next phases of the Wind farm construction and maintenance.

 After a highly successful first year, skipper Terry Batt has ordered his second Powerglide 46 Wind Farm Catamaran.

The first vessel proved successful beyond all doubt, fuel consumption was better than ever expected and has saved the operating company something like £165,000 in the first year alone.

 The original “Vanishing Point” is able to work in harsh sea conditions and because of the special bow shape, could drop off and pick up technicians from the towers when virtually all the other craft could not.

The secret lies in the fact that the bows don’t rise when the boat is gently pushing onto the mast, the section of the bow is so slim it makes little difference as a wave passes under the Cat. The after section rises and falls as the waves pass under, but once the bow is locked on to the tower there is no bow movement with wave heights of up to 2.0m  This means that the crew transfers are made in absolute safety and there is no risk of the bow suddenly rising  six or seven rungs just as the crew transfer !

 Vanishing point had a fast cruise speed of around 29 knots and could easily cruise at 21 knots in most weather conditions, making the crew transfers fast and efficient.

The load on these High Performance displacement catamarans makes little difference is speed and in fact, Skipper Terry Batt  said “it even feels better”.

The ride, as expected, was smooth and bump free and the normal sprung seating was not required and even in the roughest weather the ride remains smooth.

 The fuel consumption, or lack of it, was truly startling,  Some of the Catamarans on site are using eight times the amount of fuel that Vanishing Point consumes and this is due to the highly efficient hull design of the Powerglide 46. 

The normal cruising range of the Powerglide 46 is 450 to 500 miles with standard fuel tanks, Vanishing Point 2 is to have this increased to 700 miles to allow more work between fuel stops.

For the Cat to maintain a speed of 21 knots the engines have to produce no more that 100 hp each, so have plenty in reserve with the continuously rated 370 hp engines.

This Catamarans is a full  High Performance Displacement Catamaran, it can cruise at any speed within the top speed of the Cat.   There is no “Hump” for a planing cat to rise over, and as we all know, the planing Cats are just about dead in the water until they are actually planing. There are many occasions when the planing Catamarans can never actually reach planing speeds and the fuel consumption at these sub planing speeds can be colossal.

 Being able to reach a high speed means that the Catamaran reaches its destination quicker,   returns quicker, and as the engine is actually working less  hours, going fast means you can save time at no extra cost.

 Terry is already planning to order a third Catamaran as well, to complete his fleet.

 For the operators and site managers, everything about the Catamaran is a bonus, they save £165,000 each year on fuel bills and can get the technicians out and back in a very much reduced time, and increased comfort, the boat can work in conditions that many boats cannot venture out of harbour, so more days are obtained.

 The basic purchase price is well below any aluminium Catamaran and the Hull is probably very much more impact resistant and will certainly have a longer and more trouble free life span.

Power Catamarans already have a bigger Catamaran on the drawing board, and many features of the Vanishing Point have been incorporated into this design.

We are very confident that our 20m Catamaran will be able to work in 3.0m seas without the aid of any special equipment to enable the crew to transfer safely to the tower. It has the capability of work from a mother ship, and can be recovered and re-launched with relative ease due to the inherent stability of the displacement crafts shape.

 This will make the High Performance Displacement Catamaran the industry standard for the next phases of the Wind farm construction and maintenance.

                    Click to download Wind Farm support catamaran layouts.pdf

                                           Fuel use and speed at any combined horse power . pdf

All 51 monopiles and 51 transition pieces now installed
On Tuesday, 17 August 2010, Goliath placed the last of the 51 transition pieces in the Walney 1 offshore wind farm in its position, finalising the foundation installation.