Marine Turbine Technologies LLC

Marine Turbine Technologies LLC
Last month I promised to tell you a bit about a spirited ride on North America's fastest ferryboat. It's the Clipper
IV, a 132' catamaran with a 33'3" beam operated by Victoria Clippers. Driven by a pair of 4,400-hp Lycoming
diesels turning twin KaMeWa waterjets, it has a top speed of 45 knots, which is more than 50 mph (51.75 to be
exact). I couldn't miss an opportunity to ride on something so big, and so fast, so I made a one-day, 142-mile
round-trip voyage from Seattle to Victoria, B.C.
The high speed cat covers the distance each way in two hours or less, cutting 60 to 90 minutes off a regular ferry
trip. The captain was kind enough to give me a tour of the bridge, which had state-of-the-art navigational aids and
even closed-circuit TV that provided various views of the engine room. You'll notice, however, that I didn't say
anything about him letting me drive.
But, as any high-performance boater knows, speed and performance translate into dollars. The round-trip fare to
Victoria on Clipper IV is $89 during the off season (when I went in November) and $109 during tourist season. In
these fast-paced days when everyone wants to save time, high-speed ferry service is being introduced in many
more markets. This summer passengers will be able to travel from Bar Harbor, Maine, to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia,
at close to 50 mph. The ferry, The Cat, can carry 900 passengers and 240 vehicles. How long do you think it will
be before we have offshore ferry races? That would bring a new meaning to the word "Superboat".
November and December are quiet months for pleasure boat shows. As you may recall from last month's
column, I attended Fish Expo, the Commercial Marine Industry Show last November to see if there was anything
there that might be of interest for gadget fans. In December, I went to another commerical marine show, The
International Workboat Show in New Orleans. There actually were some gadgets on display there that are useful
for any boater, and I'll be reporting on them over the next few months.
What amazed me most about the International Workboat Show was the enormous size of some of the equipment
on sale. If you think paying fifty or sixty bucks for a boat fender is a bit on the high side, how about a fender that
costs more than, and is bigger then, the average boat? Seaward International offers their largest Standard Sea
Cushion Fender for $144,000. Yep, that's for the fender, you supply the boat, or rather, the ship. This fender
measures 14' in diameter and 28' long. You could probably put a pair of 250-hp Mercury outboards on one of
these fenders, drive it straight into a brick wall at full bore, and not damage it or the engines. Seaward makes
fenders for every kind of commerical use, but the real big ones are for protecting hulls during ship-to-ship
transfers out in the open water.
There are some high-tech rescue vehicles on display. Marine Turbine Technologies offered the world's fastest
rescue airboat. The MTT airboat also is the world's first twin-engine model and is the most powerful one in
existence, with two 750-hp turbines driving six-blade propellers. It's 25' long and has a 13'6" beam. The
representative at the booth said it could probably run as fast as 100 mph, but it hadn't seen those speed yet. The
only downside is the $250,000 price tag. MTT marine turbine engines have been seen in offshore powerboats built
by Talon and Turbinator, among others.
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y Talon and Turbinator, among others.
Marine Turbine Technologies LLC
If you want a boat that's unsinkable in any weather or water, Beihai makes a craft that can hold 65 people and
stay afloat even if flooded. It's the ultimate lifeboat. Once the passengers are belted into place and the hatches
are closed, it can roll over and right itself again. The cost? Just a little more than one of those giant sea-going
fenders, about $170,000. How many did you want?
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