FEATURED PROJECTS
Grahame Parker Brisbane CityCat - Gootcha
Design Concept
Designed by Grahame Parker Design, Sydney, the Brisbane City Council’s CityCats are lightweight, power-efficient, low wash vessels designed for rapid boarding and discharging of 162 passengers to meet the City of Brisbane’s growing transportation needs.
The Brisbane City Council, in conjunction with Grahame Parker, chose composites to reduce weight and maintenance, and also to allow for the inclusion of compound shapes to the vessels.
Construction
Built by Norman Wright and Sons, Bulimba, Queensland, second and third generation models of the CityCats have incorporated DuFLEX panels that were CNC kitted to reduce the build time for the manufacture of the bulkheads and centre support girders. A combination of cores – structural foam and end grain balsa – were used in the panels, each chosen for the mechanical properties required in the specific areas of the structure.
Super lightweight Featherlight panels, with ply inserts included to provide a pre-finished edge, were supplied as routed kits for the internal fit-out to maintain control over finished weight to increase overall performance while providing superior levels of stiffness, and thermal and acoustical insulating properties.
ATL’s FRP Bonding Angels were also used extensively for 900 bonding applications, in place of standard wet fibreglass lamination.
The 26m CityCats styling and construction are testament to designer Grahame Parker and the skilled team at Norman R. Wright and Sons, and if you are looking for ways to beat the traffic, or simply looking for ways to explore the Brisbane River, the Brisbane CityCats are the perfect way to do both.
CityCat Gootcha # 16 bears an indigenous name and features artwork by acclaimed local artist Judy Watson.
East Cape Marine 24m Whale Watching Vessel - Spirit of Hervey Bay
Design Concept
Designed by Noah Thompson, Noah Thompson Design, New Zealand, and built by Wayne Jones at Streamline Catamarans in Hervey Bay, the 24m EC160 Spirit of Hervey Bay was specifically designed for Glen Dorn to charter as a Whale Watching Vessel.
3 stories high, the EC160 was engineered by ATL Composites to meet Australian Standard USL 1C/1, to carry 245 passengers on her 3 decks, and to cruise at 22 knots.
“This is the way of the future,” declared Noah. “In a world where fuel economy is now king, this boat proves that composite construction is becoming the alternative to aluminium. The combination of an efficient design, the use of ATL Composites materials and engineering services, and a superb build, has led to the creation of a commercial vessel that has exceeded all expectations.”
Construction
pirit of Hervey Bay took only 15 months to build. The hulls were strip planked in DuraKore over male frames while the remainder of the vessel was manufactured and supplied by ATL as a DuFLEX Component Pack, including hull topsides, tunnel, transom, bulkheads, soles, decks and superstructure. ATL Composites also manufactured and supplied lightweight non-structural Featherlight panels for the ceilings and supplied the fibreglass reinforcements throughout. Their high performance KINETIX Professional Epoxies were used for additional laminating applications and WEST SYSTEM resins/hardeners and powder modifiers were used for structural bonding, filleting and fairing on the project.
“ Compared to traditional boat-building where you so often see a major cost over-run, this ATL product proved to be exceptional with the ease of assembly; the CNC routed DuFLEX has every part numbered, so when it arrived at the Streamline factory, each piece could be easily identified and fitted into place during the assembly process.”
DuFLEX structural panels require fewer frames and ring frames to form the structure of the composite vessel, in comparison to a similar size aluminium vessel. The reduction in frames and also the light weight properties of the Duflex Panels, adds up to a significant weight savings overall. This allows the vessel to run with smaller engines and less fuel capacity, to also help with weight reduction.
The design specification for Spirit of Hervey Bay required a service speed of between 18 and 20 knots with 245 passengers on board. Currently she is achieving 21 knots at 1800rpm, and there is ample evidence of a massive saving in fuel costs compared to other similar sized boats. Incredibly, the vessel is performing equally well at light-ship as it does at full displacement, with only a slight change in speed or rpm.
In endorsing the DuFLEX system, Noah Thompson said: ‘My personal view is that ATL Composites creates a superior boatbuilding product. ‘