Boat Class: CSB 508
Owner: MOD
Date: 1997
Length: 26.0′ (7.9m)
Power: 2 x 210hp diesel
Builder: VT-Halmatic
Comments:
In 1997 I was asked by RTK Marine (now part of VT-Halmatic) to design the hull and do all the hydrodynamic and hydrostatic calculation for a proposed new bridging tug for the MOD. The craft was to help erect mobile bridging sections for army transit, amongst other duties. A shoal draught capability and high forward and astern thrusts were needed, combined with a substantial payload requirement and a good planing performance. Propulsion was by waterjet and an asymmetric catamaran form with a wetted, planing, tunnel was used to achieve this. Working in conjunction with the small but enthusiastic design team at RTK who covered all the rest of the work, made this a very satisfying project. All of us had to work extremely hard to cover a large list of requirements, but the successful outcome made it all worthwhile.