| Lürssen 200 |  |
“We wrote a very detailed bid specification using a
number of outside consultants under the direction of my captain and project
manager, Nick Ruiz,” recalls Phoenix’s owner. The spec addressed seakeeping and
rolling by specifying a particular GM (metacentric height) as well as speed and
decibel targets. It was up to the yards to design how best to meet these
multiple requirements with an original hull design. Eventually, Lürssen gained
the owner’s confidence.
“I really like Espen Øeino’s work and we hired him
to review Lürssen’s initial hull design. We wanted to get the right roll
characteristics for the world’s oceans so Phoenix could go anywhere in comfort,”
the owner recalled. Per the contract, Øeino tank-tested Lürssen’s design in
conditions simulating Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as the Mediterranean
Sea.
“Lürssen did a great job because she now handles exactly like the
model,” says the owner. “Not only is she stable, but we found during sea trials
in the North Sea last summer we could perform emergency crash stops within
one-and-a-half boat lengths and one hundred eighty-degree turns at thirteen
knots.”“Some people confuse comfort and stability,” says Lürssen’s Michael
Breman. “A boat can roll and still be stable. But there are different types of
rolls: long, slow rolls typical of ocean liners and short rolls typical of
commercial ships. Our challenge was to eliminate the roll this owner finds
uncomfortable,” Bremen said. “It isn’t just one solution, but an entire package
of solutions.”
|
Email This
Printer Friendly Version
Reprints & Permissions
Most Popular Searches