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Thanks to the vast and versatile salon areas, WallyIsland can
be used for exhibitions, conventions and fashion shows. The Azipod electrical
propulsion system, zero-speed stabilizers and the dimensions of the boat
give extra comfort and a new aim for megayachts. —Luca Bassani is founder and president of Monaco-based Wally. www.wally.com
First there was the paddle, then there was the sail and then there
was the propeller, and in between there were various hydrofoils, jet drives and
surface drives. But according to the Russians, nothing will revolutionize the
propulsion of seagoing vessels more than the Hydroceptor.
 Evan K. Marshall. (Click image to enlarge)
The Hydroceptor is radically different from the traditional
hydrofoil with its massive and delicate appendages protruding out from the sides
of the vessel.
It’s no wonder the hydrofoil never made it into yacht
applications in a big way. Yachts have to look pretty both in and out of the
water. The Hydroceptor, as the Russian military believes, will
overcome not just the dynamic challenges of pushing a boat through the water,
but it will do so in a way that the boat remains attractive both in and out of
the water at high and low speeds. With this in mind, my office in collaboration
with Russian naval architects MTD have taken the once-secretive propulsion
system and transformed it into what we feel is a spectacular yacht
application. (Click images to enlarge)
The two vessels we have created around the Hydroceptor platform
are two 30-meter (98-foot) sport boats. One is an enclosed hardtop and the
second a flybridge version.
Man has always been aware that the biggest resistance to
pushing a boat through the water is the water itself. The hydrofoil overcame
that with the drawbacks I touched on before. But the Hydroceptor takes a radical
approach toward eliminating the multitude of appendages that lift the hull of
the boat out of the water. It relies on a single titanium foil attached to the
bow that dynamically lifts the boat out of the water while the stern is still in
contact with the sea. The transom jet drives provide the propulsion, and
interceptors provide the dynamic stability. With most of the hull out of the
water, the resistance to propel the vessel through the sea is minimized.
The concept requires less horsepower to push the hull, making
it ideally suited to high-speed vessels. Unlike a hydrofoil, in which the foils
rest on the water’s surface like a surfboard, the Hydroceptor foil is
actually below the surface and therefore not affected by the movement of the
seas. This allows the Hydroceptor to maintain high speeds even in rough surface
conditions.
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