Stability 60 SWATH - the practical superyacht
from On the Water (250 articles)
Stability 60 SWATH - the practical superyacht
Image Gallery ( 6 images )To most people who own a boat, that sounds like a lot of work because of the small passageways and narrow stairs into the cabin and over the gunnel to the dock. Changing the furniture is easy because there are no inclines or stairs and the elevator delivers everything to dock level.
With the jet drives, extremely light weight, and 18 inch shallow draft, the designers have even developed a system that allows you to winch yourself afloat if you should run aground. It means the boat is at least partially amphibious, and could be used to explore islands and live with nature whilst treading lightly. Indeed, develop another winching system to enable the Stability to be moved on land, and the craft might become a new class of portable home.
As a diving platform, the elevator makes dealing with a scuba tank and weight belt easy. Instead of using your last energy to climb a ladder with your weight belt and tank making you feel how heavy you are, the elevator submerges two feet below the water so you can float on and then be lifted to deck level.
The stability 60 might look vulnerable but it has been designed to be near to unsinkable. The vessel has separate sealed compartments all equipped with pumps. Even with most of its compartments damaged, the vessel will still get you home. Even if all compartments are compromised, it will not sink.
Safety features not normally available on other vessels include system redundancy. The port and starboard engines are totally separate systems with their own fuel tanks, batteries and electrical loads. If a fault occurred that caused the port batteries to discharge, you can temporarily link the starboard to the port system and recharge the batteries. The normal diesel reliability is therefore enhanced because they are totally isolated from each other. Therefore, the chance of losing both engines is quite remote. The engines meet Tier 2 emission standards and will run even if you loose an alternator or plug your water intake. When the water intake is plugged the engine will run at slow speed with internal water-cooling.
The vessel runs level, not bow up. There are no stairs to negotiate because everything is on one level and of course the vessel is stable in the SWATH operating mode. This makes walking on the vessel relatively safe. There are no exposed propellers, so you are safe if you are in the water and someone starts the engines by mistake.
Fire is always a more frightening experience on the water, especially if you are trapped on the vessel. The structural material of the Stability 60 is non-flammable.
However, if you add burning fuel, the heat will decompose the material. An optional A fire suppression system is available for the engine compartments. This system automatically shuts off the diesel fuel and extinguishes the fire.
