Last updated Broč (former Sunnhordland, bnr 38), a Westamaran Type W95, built in 1975, still operating in Croatia (photo taken on Mar 19, 2013)
The Westamaran is a pioneer type of passenger transport high-speed catamaran developed by Westermoen Hydrofoil in 1973. The craft was highly successful and introduced a new era of passenger transport along the Norwegian coast and elsewhere.
On the Bergen to Stavanger route, there was already a high-speed service by hydrofoil, introduced early in the 1960s. The initial Westamaran models were somewhat slower than the hydrofoils. Still, passenger comfort, both in terms of spaciousness, especially foul weather handling, was better in the Westamarans, so the public liked them.
The Westamaran had asymmetrical hulls, where the insides were essentially flat, forming a tunnel between the hulls that were rectangular in shape. The profiles were quite like a Storm class torpedo boat cut in two, and the construction of the Westamaran built heavily on the experience gained from the Storm class.
A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains speed, the hydrofoils lift the boat's hull out of the water, decreasing drag and allowing greater speeds.
A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces.
A catamaran is a watercraft with two parallel hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is required. Catamarans typically have less hull volume, smaller displacement, and shallower draft (draught) than monohulls of comparable length. The two hulls combined also often have a smaller hydrodynamic resistance than comparable monohulls, requiring less propulsive power from either sails or motors. The catamaran's wider stance on the water can reduce both heeling and wave-induced motion, as compared with a monohull, and can give reduced wakes.
A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are inflated with air to a high pressure so as to give the sides resilient rigidity along the boat's topsides. The design is stable, light, fast and seaworthy. The inflated collar acts as a life jacket, ensuring that the vessel retains its buoyancy, even if the boat is taking on water. The RIB is an evolutionary development of the inflatable boat with a rubberized fabric bottom that is stiffened with flat boards within the collar to form the deck or floor of the boat.
Planing is the mode of operation for a waterborne craft in which its weight is predominantly supported by hydrodynamic lift, rather than hydrostatic lift (buoyancy).
Shun Tak–China Travel Ship Management Limited, doing business as TurboJET, is a ferry company based in Hong Kong. The company was established from the joint venture between Shun Tak Holdings and China Travel International Investment Hong Kong in July 1999. It operates hydrofoil and high-speed ferry services between Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai in the Pearl River Delta area.
The Beriev Be-8, was built by the Soviet Beriev OKB in 1947. It was a passenger/liaison amphibian aircraft with a layout similar to the Be-4 but substantially larger and heavier. It was a single engined parasol winged aircraft, with the wing installed on a thin pylon and two pairs of short struts. Compared to the Be-4, the Be-8 was equipped with retractable landing gear, with cockpit and passenger cabins heated by an engine exhaust heat exchanger. The Be-8 was intended as a civil aircraft and carried no armament. First flight was on 3 December 1947, demonstrating good performance and of the two prototypes, one was demonstrated during the 1951 Soviet Aviation Day at Tushino.
The A-90 Orlyonok is a Soviet ekranoplan that was designed by Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeyev of the Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau.
Toralf Westermoen was a pioneer for the development of high speed craft in Norway. Westermoen was involved in the companies Båtservice Verft, Westermoen Båtbyggeri og Mek. Verksted , Westermoen Hydrofoil and Westamarin , all situated in Mandal.
A high-speed craft (HSC) is a high-speed water vessel for civilian use, also called a fastcraft or fast ferry. The first high-speed craft were often hydrofoils or hovercraft, but in the 1990s catamaran and monohull designs become more popular. Most high-speed craft serve as passenger ferries, but the largest catamarans and monohulls also carry cars, buses, large trucks and freight.
A sailing hydrofoil, hydrofoil sailboat, or hydrosail is a sailboat with wing-like foils mounted under the hull. As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils lift the hull up and out of the water, greatly reducing wetted area, resulting in decreased drag and increased speed. A sailing hydrofoil can achieve speeds exceeding double and in some cases triple the wind speed.
Manly ferry services operate on Sydney Harbour connecting the Sydney suburb of Manly with Circular Quay in the CBD, a journey of seven nautical miles.
The Type 025 torpedo boat, also known as the Huchuan or Hu Chwan class, was once the backbone of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in its confrontations with its much larger opponents in the Republic of China Navy. Although no longer serving in that capacity, this class is still active. While relatively unsophisticated, the class has enjoyed a longevity in active service thanks to a philosophy within PLAN which has continued to favor its use. Powered by Soviet-era engines, the hydrofoil-equipped boats are capable of 50 knots and carry two torpedo tubes, with some known to be armed with naval mines.
A ground-effect vehicle (GEV), also called a wing-in-ground-effect, ground-effect craft/machine (GEM), wingship, flarecraft, surface effect vehicle or ekranoplan, is a vehicle that is able to move over the surface by gaining support from the reactions of the air against the surface of the earth or water. Typically, it is designed to glide over a level surface by making use of ground effect, the aerodynamic interaction between the moving wing and the surface below. Some models can operate over any flat area such as frozen lakes or flat plains similar to a hovercraft. The term Ground-Effect Vehicle originally referred to any craft utilizing ground effect, including what is known later as hovercraft, in descriptions of patents during the 1950s. However, this term is nowadays regarded as distinct from air-cushion vehicles or hovercraft. The definition of GEVs does not include racecars utilizing ground-effect for increasing downforce.
The Sparviero class, also known as the Nibbio class, are small hydrofoil missile boats capable of traveling at speeds of 46 knots. They were designed for and formerly used by the Italian Navy. The Japanese 1-go-class missile boat is an updated version formerly used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
MV Mariam is a Bolivian-flagged passenger ferry with a 228 gross tonnage (GT). Built in 1982 at Westermoen Hydrofoil shipyard, the ship is a catamaran 29.00 metres in length with a capacity of about 200 passengers. Built as Venture 84, the ship was in service with the French ferry operator Emeraude Lines from 1983 to 1996, serving a route between the Channel Islands and France. From 1996 to 2008, the ship was operated by Cypriot ferry operator Fergün Denizcilik as Fergün Express III.
MV Manly was a Supramar PT20 type hydrofoil ferry which operated on Sydney Harbour from 1965 to 1980. It was the first hydrofoil to operate on Sydney Harbour.
Diesel multiple units and railcars are trains, usually with passenger accommodation, that do not require a locomotive. Railcars can be single cars, while in multiple units cars are marshalled together with a driving position either end. As of December 2010, 23 percent of the rail passenger cars used on Network Rail are part of a diesel multiple unit.
The Weiße Flotte is a shipping company with its head office in Stralsund, Germany, that offers passenger and car ferry services as well as excursions by boat, especially along the Baltic Sea coast of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The Freshwater class is a class of ferry operating the Manly ferry service between Circular Quay and Manly on Sydney Harbour. The ferries are owned by the Government of New South Wales and operated by the franchisee Transdev Sydney Ferries under the government's Sydney Ferries brand.
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