Typical operational roles include patrol and surveillance duties around harbour installations and offshore anchorages, as well as high speed pursuit and apprehension when required. An array of both lethal and non-lethal weapons can be carried concealed below decks in a separate compartment in the forward cabin, and raised when required.<\/p>\n
The vessel can be deployed by helicopter utilising its in-built lifting points on deck and the 11m version can be transported easily by ship or road. Propulsion on the 11m version photographed here is by conventional stern gear supplied by Clements Engineering and chosen for its weight carrying capabilities and durability.<\/p>\n
Alternatively water jets can be fitted for higher speeds and lower draft. Capable of maximum speeds of 40kts+ depending on the propulsion system and equipment installed, Barracuda is fitted with a pair of Caterpillar C9 diesel engines rated at 560hp supplied by Finnings UK.<\/p>\n
The innovative design of the vessel uses various stealth technologies to produce a lower RCS (radar cross section), allowing it to operate with reduced degree of visibility to an adversary\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n
The design uses an innovative solution to weapon deployment. Various different types of both lethal and non-lethal weapons, including a remote control gyroscopically stabilised machine gun can be fitted to Barracuda. (A non-functioning replica is fitted to the prototype featured here for demonstration purposes). In Barracuda the weapons are cleverly concealed below decks in the forward section of the superstructure, and are raised to above deck level for deployment through large watertight carbon fibre hatches built into the foredeck.<\/p>\n
Safehaven\u2019s idea with this is that when the vessel is in engaged in surveillance or patrol, the weapons are concealed and the vessels RCS signature is reduced. When the vessel is engaged in pursuit or apprehend modes, the weapons are raised for deployment. Another factor is that the weapons are hidden when not in use for security, durability and covert reasons, as well as greatly reducing the vessels VCG when beneficial, such as in heavy weather.<\/p>\n
The superstructure and hull design utilises flat plane principles to its surfaces in its forward and side projections to deflect radar beams away from their sources. This, together with minimal metallic fittings exposed above decks, combine to produce a vessel with a significantly lower than normal RCS, according to Safehaven.<\/p>\n
The company also claims that the design does not compromise on practicality or usability and provides for a high level of crew safety (wide side decks) for offshore boarding capabilities.<\/p>\n
The vessel is constructed from FRP cored composites, with extensive use of carbon fibre in its outfitting. Substantial in size yet lightweight Manuplas foam cored fenders with a polyurethane skin are used to minimise weight and offer maximum protection to the hull.<\/p>\n
The vessel can be moulded at lengths between 11m and 13m, and has a 4m beam, longer length versions benefit from a longer aft cockpit providing an increased working \/ crew area. The hull design below the waterline is an all-new constant deadrise, twin chine deep V hull form capable of high speeds.<\/p>\n
A 22 degree deadrise at the transom and a wave piercing bow form, with a very fine wave cutting waterline entry at the bow of 70 degrees, is designed to minimise vertical accelerations at speed in waves, thereby maximising crew endurance.<\/p>\n
Safehaven, which is renowned for its seaworthy pilot and S.A.R. vessels says that the hull provides exceptionally high levels of seakeeping abilities on all courses. Spray rail and twin chine arrangements provides for excellent spray suppression and on deck dryness, and a wide beam provides high levels of dynamic and static stability.<\/p>\n
The design is promoted as capable of operating in up to sea state 7-8, and maintain operational speed in sea state 4-5, and can accommodate a crew of 4-6 in her main cabin, all on high tech shock mitigation seating supplied by X Craft of Holland.<\/p>\n
As well as a full array of navigation equipment, a range of sonar equipment can be installed to monitor the underwater situation. In the prototype for instance, FLIR Thermal and night vision infrared cameras are integrated for surveillance. A full digital Can Buss electrical system supplied by ETA has been integrated with all onboard systems controlled by touchscreen computers at the helm and navigator\u2019s positions, and expandable to potentially allow all crew members the ability to monitor and control the vessel\u2019s navigation and onboard systems.<\/p>\n
Optionally, lightweight ballistic protection can be incorporated. The front and side glass is ballistic and is directly bonded into moulded recesses without metallic frames. Barracuda will be produced alongside Safehaven\u2019s existing range of pilot, SAR vessels and patrol boats.<\/p>\n
By Jake Frith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ireland\u2019s Safehaven Marine has taken a big leap into military and stealth boat technology with its new Barracuda. The vessel is a new high speed Interceptor\/ Patrol vessel for military and law enforcement applications designed and built in-house by Safehaven Marine, and can be produced at lengths of between 11 and 13m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"sponsor":[],"class_list":["post-2826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shipyard-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2826"},{"taxonomy":"sponsor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maritimejournal.com\/get-set-for-workboat-2050\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sponsor?post=2826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}