Power Cat pounces on wind farm work
This wind farm support vessel has a specially fabricated bow section designed to fit inside the turbine tower supports.
At its yard on the banks of the River Camel in Cornwall UK, Power Catamarans Ltd has built the first of its Wind Farm Crew Boats, a 14m version for owner/skipper Terry Batt.
A High Performance Displacement Catamaran (HPDC), Vanishing Point is powered by twin Iveco 450hp commercial engines supplied by Marlin Marine in Southampton and downrated to 370hp continuous use, coupled to Twin Disc 5061a down angle gearboxes which ensure that the engines are almost level inside the hull.
This gives the skipper the possibility to use the craft at over 30 knots for as many hours a day as he chooses. Normal running speed at around 1,900 rpm is an easy 21 to 22 knots. Fuel consumption at this speed averages some 35 to 40 litres per hour. This is remarkable when compared to some other crew boats on site which are reported to use 200 to 220 litres per hour.
Terry Batt put his newbuild straight to work at the Walney Offshore Wind Farm in Cumbria and reports that the average travel time to the turbines for most vessels is one hour but Vanishing Point can get there and back in almost the same time. The Powerglide 14m Cat is one of the smaller boats on the site, but is fully capable of working in the same weather conditions as larger boats. Terry Batt can carry a full passenger compliment of 12 plus two crew and has received unanimous feedback on how smooth the ride is.
Vanishing Point is fitted with a Paguro generator and invertor system supplied by Advanced Yacht Systems which can supply 7.5 kW of power in total at 230V AC. The vessel has galley area, hot and cold water system, electric heads with shower, fully upholstered seating for the passengers and crew, and comfortable overnight crew accommodation.
Conventionally shaft driven, with the shafts running though a protective keel/skeg, the stern gear is fabricated by C & O Engineering in Devon. The propellers are from Michigan Wheel in the USA.
To keep it all clean and tidy in the engine room, the shafts run through a Tides Marine Seal which keeps everything very dry inside. Terry Batt added a hydraulic anchor winch, offset to starboard, with the system powered from a hydraulic pump attached directly to the Twin Disc gearbox.
This wind farm support vessel has a specially fabricated bow section designed to fit
inside the turbine tower supports. There is a 1m wide starboard side walkway
to the bow disembarkation platform, a side wheelhouse door for the skipper to
use and aft facing wheelhouse door for the technicians.
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