| The
Market
A
study of the fast ferry market shows that passenger-only ferries
have been developed to operate on routes in sheltered and semi-sheltered
waters. When designers have tried to identify concepts to operate
in rougher waters the main solution has been to increase the size.
This has led to the development of the vehicle-carrying ferry
simply because there was more space available in the ferry than
was needed for passengers. These are large, expensive vessels,
which can only operate economically on high-density routes.
The development of fast ferries has focused on these large designs,
leaving the smaller passenger-only sector to stagnate to a degree.
There have been designs which offer higher speeds in this sector,
but none, except the SWATH which can offer the ability to operate
at speed in open sea conditions and the SWATH is relatively slow.
The
C-Rex offers the potential to operate at 50 knots in these open
ocean conditions and it is conservatively estimated that there
are 20 to 30 similar potential ferry routes world-wide where the
C-Rex could provide a viable ferry operation. These are mainly
inter-island or island to shore routes. Dag Pike
The
Application
The application of the C-Rex as a passenger ferry is by all means
not the only application. The design is versatile and applicable
in other areas where the provision of good fuel economy and sea
keeping are essential, such as: tourist transfer, surveillance
and patrol, fisheries protection, yachts, record attempts. Any
of these designs can be adapted for conventional propeller or
waterjet propulsion, depending on individual needs such as speed
requirements. The construction is in composite, according to classification
requirements and the vessel's intended application. Despite its
size the cost remains extremely competitive.
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