OK I’ll let you know, on both counts.
So we have gone from what is causing the corrosion problems on the NYC boats to Composite construction from anywhere other than the USA is far superior to aluminum construction and vessels constructed in and near the USA are also crap does that about sum it up.
Aluminum has its place in vessel construction if care is given to selection of plate it’s very durable cheap to construct and repair its also easy to inspect.
Composites are expensive materials construction and repair almost double that of other suitable materials. Now lets talk durability and inspection both not so good.
Can we get back to the ferry corrosion problem was it bad material selection did someone slip in the wrong grade of aluminum to cut costs or do they have a serious bonding issue i’m curious to find out. I know Bollinger had trouble with one of the cutter runs I believe it was found to be a material problem wrong grade plate if i remember correctly.
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I merely pointed out that HSCs built from Carbon Fiber Composite have certain advantages over aluminum. Lack of corrosion problems being one of them.
Nothing mentioned about “constructed anywhere else then USA” . In fact I even linked to a shipbuilder in Belfast, ME, US who offer such vessels built to tried and tested design for the US market.
If this has been proven a success in other parts of the world, why is it “impossible” in USA?
No one said it was impossible, merely that for various reasons it’s not what the market demands in this part of the world.
The corrosion issues on these ferries are the cause of someone’s foul up. Not because it’s a drastically inferior boat building material.
Edit, front street shipyard may offer the design from the Norwegian ferry company, but they’ve never built one. To my knowledge they’ve never built an all composite vessel of that size either. Cold molded yes, but not an all carbon composite. I think they could do it successfully, but no one has been willing to take the plunge yet.
It’s not impossible composites and combinations of building materials have been used for quite some time in the USA
When it’s economically viable you will see the technology being used more often.
I wonder what the startup costs for something that size would be and how many hulls would have to be pulled to even break even.
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Someone have to be first with everything, but this time Front Street Shipyard can draw on Br.Aa’s 15 years experience and 50 boats delivered, so far. They will also be able to bring in the expertise necessary to train their staff for the first few deliveries.
I don’t know what the cost will be and whether they are aiming at breaking even from the first delivery, but with financial backing from Br.Aa and their Chinese partners, they should be able to take a loss initially, bearing in mind the potentially huge market in North and South America going forward.
There is no reason to believe that the cost of construction should be any higher in USA than in Norway, nor that the US yard should have any more problem adapting to carbon composite as material than the yard in China that will start such production soon. (It isn’t rocket science)
I work for an agency that purchased two Metal Shark 38 foot patrol boats in 2013/2014. Metal Shark was the lowest bidder and the old saying “you get what you pay for” couldn’t be more fitting. The boats were an absolute mess, plagued with structural problems, including galvanic corrosion due to improperly installed electrical components causing stray currents. The first time I crawled into the engine compartment I sliced my hand open on a section of aluminum plating the yard workers never bothered to debur. The boats were out of warranty in a year and it took us an additional six months to fix all of the problems ourselves. I’m not surprised to see Hornblower is already having issues with the Metal Shark ferries.
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Br.Aa will deliver 3 more Composite Carbon Fiber ferries for service in China and two for service in Northern Norway. All will be fitted with Rolls-Royce waterjets and MTU engines:
https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/press-releases/yr-2018/02-03-2018-rr-waterjets-and-mtu-engines-selected-for-new-fast-ferries-in-hongkong.aspx