FERRY SEA COASTER CONCEPT

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aukepalmhof
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FERRY SEA COASTER CONCEPT

Post by aukepalmhof » Wed Oct 18, 2017 8:10 pm

When you look carefully to this stamp you can see that the name ROCKET II is painted mid-ships on the hull, the stamp gives that a “ferry sea coaster concept” is shown. The stamp shows I believe a ship drawing of the design, but actually the ship is the ISLAND ROCKET II.

She was built in 1997 for the Island Express Boat Lines, Sandosky, OH by the Air Ride Craft Inc. Miami.
Delivered as the ISLAND ROCKET II.
Tonnage 32 grt, 25 nrt, dim. 64.70 x 19.20 x 6.5ft.
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On the "home-grown" design front, the new Surface Effect Ship (SES) catamaran ferry ISLAND ROCKET II will begin service this summer on Lake Erie for owner Island Express Boat Lines, Ltd., Sandusky, Ohio.
"We were looking for something with a little more speed and a little more passenger comfort," Island Express general manager Brad Castle told Marine Log, "and this certainly fit the bill."
At full load, Castle says the 149-passenger ISLAND ROCKET II should reach cruising speeds in the "mid-40 knot range" and still be comfortable for passengers. It will combine with Island Express Boat Lines' other ferry, the ISLAND ROCKET I, to offer regular service from Sandusky to Kelleys Island to Put-in-Bay.
Based on the Seacoaster design from inventor Don Burg, president of Air Ride Craft, Inc., Miami, the 72 ft ISLAND ROCKET II integrates the best features of an SES and a catamaran. Like other SESs, the Seacoaster rides on a pressurized air cushion created under the vessel, which carries some 75 to 90% of its weight, greatly reducing the wetted area hull friction. This means that an SES normally needs much less propulsive power--about half--of that required for similar size monohulls or catamarans at speeds of 25 knots and up. For operators, this translates into fuel and power savings, a smooth ride in rough seas, and better wake characteristics at high speeds.
While SES craft are nothing new, the Seacoaster design has attracted some interest among other operators. One of those is Dan Yates, owner of the PORTLAND SPIRIT, as well as two other dinner boats in Portland, Ore. Yates has been exploring the possibility of creating a network of water taxis and fast ferries that would connect downtown Portland with Vancouver, Wash., via the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. The concept would involve possibly five ferries in the 100 passenger range.
"The designs are out there," says Yates, "but I don't want to be an innovator in technology. Rather, I want to use technology in an innovative way." But because of political and operational hurdles, he believes the effort could take two more years to come to fruition. "There's a strong light rail contingent," says Yates, "and there's also a lot of debris in the river. My dinner boats get their props banged every so often by 125 ft trees floating down the river," says Yates. ML

http://m.marinelog.com/DOCS/hisp.html

2005 The last I can find on the net that she was in a service in Florida and for sale. At that time still owned by the same owner, under USA Flag and registry IMO Number D1058181.

https://cgmix.uscg.mil/PSIX/PSIXSearch.aspx
Gambia 2000 D8 sg?, scott?
Attachments
SEACOASTER FERRY.jpg
island rocket II SHIPSPOTTING Foto.jpg
Image (13).jpg

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