Stealth RIb south Africa

[limeydal]

Came across this today at the ramp.
Apparently limited edition ,as they make a batch now and again.
Looks pretty sleek and cant wait to see it out in the bay

cheers Dal

[BBirnie]

That type of twin hull seems to be relatively common in the waters around South Africa. I grew up in Cape town and saw many small fishing boats with a similar design without the toobs and twin engines. Look forward to seeing some more of your photography Limeydal.

[limeydal]

Bryan,
you are correct. The Hydrofoil supported RIb was developed by KGW Hoppe , a proffessor of marine engineering at a cape town university. The "Hysucat" design relies on lifting the RIB above the water on comparitivley small hydrofoils for increased fuel efficiency and speed while offering an extremely comfortable ride. (said to reach 50 knots with twin 60's) Think the owner here paid $45,000 for it. (Think they have reps' in the UK and Australia ) Hope to get some shots out on the water and would love to see the lift system working
cheers Dal

[prairie tuber]

That would also probably be why the superlight tunnel hull SIBs such as Gemini Zapcats, Ceasar Thundercats & Mako Xtremes all originated from Cape Town.

[Tomas]

A number of years ago I was involved with a group called Quadramarine. The had S.A. roots as well had had developed a quad hull vessel of over 200'. The lateral separation in the bow section of the hulls was greater than aft which would compress air entering the space as it moved aft and provide lift for the vessel. Their initial project was to provide fast cargo vessels for the Congo. The political situation there fell apart and as far as I know...so did their business. They were fast but not as fast as a speeding bullet!

There are a number of motorized rigid hull cats around here and sea kindly though they may be, they are all just plain but ugly.

T