“Workhorse” catamaran`s new style
Australian boat designer Incat Crowther is designing the catamaran workboat for Offshore Unlimited. It’s the third vessel from the three-way partnership of builder Richardson Devine Marine, Incat Crowther and the operator.
The 24m Catamaran Unlimited was developed in 2008, capitalising on the unique skills of the three parties, resulting in a practical, capable workhorse that found itself in immediate demand for charter operations. The concept was further improved with the 28m Limitless, launched in 2010.
The vessel will be able to carry 125t of deadweight, with capacity for up to 50 passengers on day operations and 32 berths for overnight operations. Work spaces will abound, with desks in every cabin and an upper deck workspace with 14 seats. This workspace will be fitted with direct wireways to the aft deck to allow for quick installation and configuration of deck mounted equipment.
The main deck cabin will house a wet room with lockers and bathroom, lounge, galley, mess, medical room and six cabins. A pair of these cabins will be able to be joined by retracting a dividing wall, creating a large four berth cabin.
The vessel’s hulls will house a further six cabins, four of which will also feature a sliding joining partition. In addition to these cabins, the hulls will house refrigerator and freezer rooms, service and storage spaces.
The aft working deck will feature over 160 square metres of work space – enough to accommodate a quartet of 20 foot containers. A Heila HLM 35-4S deck crane will be fitted with remote control. A moon pool will also be fitted and there are mounts for a removable luffing A-Frame with 20 tonne capacity.
The vessel will be powered by a pair of Caterpillar C32 ACERT main engines, each producing 1655hp.
Propulsion will be by a pair of five-bladed propellers. Service speed will be 20 knots and the range will be 1800nm. Manoeuvring will be enhanced by a pair of Westmar bow thrusters.
Crowther Design has its roots back to Lock Crowther, who was a pioneer in sailing catamaran design, later applying his efforts to high-speed catamaran ferries and work boats.
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