New waterjets large and small from Castoldi
Italian company Castoldi has been in the waterjet business for close to 40 years and to celebrate the company has added two new jets to its range, writes Dag Pike.
At the top end of the range is the 600 HCT which is a single stage axial flow jet. Like most of the Castoldi jets this new unit incorporates the reduction gearbox into the water jet housing which offers the benefit of lowering the main waterjet shaft for efficiency and allowing a direct drive from the engine to the jet. Also incorporated into the unit is a hydraulic clutch that can disconnect the jet from the engine. These features help to simplify the installation.
All of the hydraulic actuators for controlling the steering and reverse are mounted inboard with the hydraulic power supplied from a main shaft driven hydraulic pump. The reversing system incorporates Castoldi’s Twin Duct reversing bucket that offers 75% of the forward thrust when in reverse.
Construction is in a special aluminium alloy with full corrosion protection and moving parts are largely made from stainless steel. The new design is particularly compact for a water jet and the dry weight is 1650kg.
Added to the bottom end of the range is the 224 DD which is a compact unit designed primarily for small RIBs and sports boats. Castoldi uses this jet in its own brand of RIB and this is the only unit in the Castoldi range that does not have a gearbox incorporated into the housing but uses direct drive and is designed for use with relatively high speed engines up to 147kW.
The new large water jet takes Castoldi into an area where they can supply jets to match the requirements of a wide range of modern high performance diesels that are used to power patrol and workboats. The unit has been under test in a patrol boat for the past year. Castoldi is thought to be the only waterjet manufacturer which also builds a range of work and leisure boats that are specifically designed to maximise the water jet performance.
