Vessel Repair Shipyard gains push boat patent
Written by Nick Blenkey
All of Vessel Repair Shipyard'sPacesetter push boats have the now-patented hull
Port Arthur, Texas, based Vessel Repair Shipyard has received a patent (No. 10988210) for the hull of its Pacesetter class push boats.
The shipyard notes that the majority of work boats are constructed as single chine or double chine hull. It says that both designs have advantages and disadvantages as follows:
SINGLE CHINE HULLS
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Cost affective to build not efficient water flow
Very stable hull less maneuverable
Easy to dry dock higher fuel consumption
Hull resists sliding
DOUBLE CHINE HULL
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Increased water flow more costly to build
Improved water flow less stable hull
Improved fuel consumption harder to dry dock
Hull slides in hard maneuvering
The new design is a combination of single and double chine, from bow through mid-body to the start of the rise at the stern it is all single chine. From the beginning of the stern the chine splits and fairs into a double chine in way of the stern and then back to single chine at transom.
The result is a hull that combines all of the advantages of single and double chine and eliminates the disadvantages of both hulls. The combination of the two classic hulls specifically where the hull is single or double creates a hull concept that has proven to be an improvement in hull design.
This new hull concept has been examined through a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study by Maritime Research Associates LLC. The study compared the hull performance of equal displacement hulls in the single chine, double chine, and the new pacesetter hull design and concluded that the new design has the best water flow.
Considering the other advantages and lack of disadvantages it is a significant improvement in hull design. All of Vessel Repair’s Pacesetter class boats have the now-patented hull. The patent was applied for September 4, 2019, and was issued April 27, 2021.
The Pacesetter push boats have many other improvements that are unique to this design. Vessel Repair says, “we are determined to build the best, we never assume that this design is as good as it can be, we are constantly working to improve the Pacesetter.”
