Mono-Swath from Abeking & Rasmussen

A Swath has a very level ride in waves because of its small water plane area which means that it is not affected by waves like conventional vessels. Because of the constraints of the design A & R felt that Swath designs could not be viable in sizes under 22m and so the company looked for a new solution that would combine the stability and sea-going of the Swath but which could be viable in smaller sizes. The solution found was the Mono-Swath.

“One of the main restrictions on building smaller Swaths was the difficulty of access and the space available for the engines that are located in the underwater torpedo shaped hulls,” said Nils Olschner of A & R, “So with this new concept we have taken one of the underwater Swath hull units and added slim side hulls or stabilisers. The result is a design that we hope will have all the benefits of the Swath and allow smaller sizes for which we see a considerable demand”.

The Mono-Swath is currently under construction at the A & R shipyard in Germany with completion expected later this year. “We are building this prototype in order to test the concept and if it works then we will offer it onto the market”. The prototype is 20.5m long with a beam of 12.5m, which creates a large deck area which could create a large working deck area for fishing or underwater operations, or on which accommodation could be built for a yacht.

“We have chosen this size for our prototype because it means that we can use one of our standard Swath hulls,” says Mr Olschner. The vessel will be propelled by a single diesel engine coupled to a variable pitch Servogear propeller. The side hulls or stabilisers are about 0.5m wide so they offer little resistance but there is enough volume to help maintain the vessel on an even keel, even in rough seas.

A & R is hoping that if the trials with this new concept are successful, a new generation of very stable working craft can be offered to the market, with probable applications in pilot boats and maybe the fishing industry.