MJP waterjets win high praise in proven fast attack craft
Written by Marine Log StaffAUGUST 15, 2014—Tampa Yacht Manufacturing, LLC, Pinellas Spark, FL, manufactures a full range of military and commercial fast coastal interceptors, attack craft and utility boats up to 66 ft. The company prides itself on incorporating the latest composite construction methods, materials, propulsion technologies and equipment.
For example, on recent sea trials for its latest 50 Fast Attack Craft won high praise for the performance of MJP waterjets from Tampa Yacht CEO Robert Stevens.
Stevens says that “the MJP waterjets have given a huge performance boost to an already world class design” and he considers them to be “the Swiss watches of waterjets built from high quality materials and with an exceptional standard of fit and finish.”
The 50 ft Fast Attack Craft is a carbon-fiber reinforced, GRP 16.15m (53 ft), patrol vessel with a beam of 4.43m (14 ft 8-1/2 in). The design has been a best seller for Tampa Yacht Manufacturing and exists in multiple mission configurations. The latest craft is the first to have been equipped with MJP waterjets, but retains the standard MAN R6 800 hp diesel engines running at 2,350 rev/min, and a ZF 500 gearbox at 1.125:1 Ratio. The MJP 350 DRB waterjets installed are fitted with a six-blade stainless steel impeller.
During sea trials in June 2014 in Tampa Bay, the fully laden, battle-ready condition vessel reached an average top speed of 46.0 knots at full engine load and consumed 40.7 gallons of diesel per hour.
“This will make the MJP jets a key component in delivering the performance our customers expect,” says Stevens.
During the trials, acceleration performance from 0 to 25 knots averaged 23.8 seconds. Another set of acceleration trials conducted from 0 to 35 knots averaged 34.4 seconds. All tests were conducted with the vessel fully laden total weight of 48,596 lbs (24 tonnes).
The tested vessel was the first to feature implementation of the Ultrajet control system with MJP’s stainless steel waterjets. This implementation allows for the familiarity and ease of installation and the lower cost of the Ultrajet control system to be matched with the high performance duplex stainless steel MJP waterjets.
As we recently reported, MJP had a breakthrough in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, with its first two vessels for Rodi Marine, Lafayette, LA.
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