Excellence in Advanced High Speed Craft Solutions
Advanced High Seakeeping Hulls
Today's demanding Navies, commercial operators and ferry passengers expect more comfort, speed and reliability at all times.
HIGH SEAKEEPING + LOW WAKE + ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY + LOW OPERATING COSTS = BENTLEY MARINE
BENTLEY MARINE is proud to provide our commercial operators, the world's Navies and shipyards with the most advanced high seakeeping hulls current available.
We have a specific hull design to suit the needs and requirements of each route and application. Most of our advanced hull designs incorporate computerized motion control systems. All BENTLEY MARINE hull forms were originally developed for the world's leading Navies at a cost of Millions and Millions of Dollars to provide unparalleled seakeeping, unsurpassed fuel efficiency and low wake in extreme conditions.
The following hulls and motion control systems offer the best performance for the Dollar with unmatched comfort:
Seakeeping Masterpieces TM
...Saving our planet's energy with ultra-efficient hull forms
Blade Runner Hull TM - Twin Interceptors Motion Control System:
Our military developed Blade Runner TM-Twin Interceptor hull form, which dramatically reduces hydrodynamic drag and wetted area under a monohull or a multihull by two sets of automatic, electronically-controlled, vertical blades installed amidships and aft, at the stern.
The system which is currently installed in many special Navy Frigates and Patrol Boats of up to 150ft plus in length, not only increases the boat speed for a given power in comparison to a conventional monohull, but also effectively controls the vessels pitch and roll motion by varying the amount of vertical travel of the port and starboard amidships and transom mounted blades into the water. This hull form also features a special bow type with a very narrow entry line that cuts through the waves like a blade instead of causing the boat to pitch as conventional monohulls would do when passing through a wave crest.
Blade Runner
TM-Twin Interceptor hull form profile and bottom views.
Note the bow fine entry lines.
We recommend the Blade Runner TM-Twin Interceptor hull form for boats ranging from 60ft to over 300ft that cruise at speeds over 20 knots.
Make an Appointment if you are interested in sea-trial a Blade Runner TM equipped monohull for a unique and comfortable ride.
T-Foil Motion Control System:
Our hulls equipped with T-foil motion control systems are composed by one (monohulls) or more (catamarans) fixed or retractable automatic electronically-controlled T-Foils forward and a set of interceptor plates (a vertical type of trim tabs that generate lift) at the stern. The system is used to effectively reduce or eliminate the vessel's roll and pitch motions during moderate and high speeds and increase the fuel efficiency by reducing the hull hydrodynamic drag. Contrary to conventional hydrofoils, the system will not lift the hull out of the water and therefore can be also used in displacement hulls.
Typical T-foil System with transom Interceptors
A-Foil Hydrofoil System for Monohulls and
Catamarans:
In addition to the T-foil motion control system and conventional hydrofoils, BENTLEY MARINE also offers the revolutionary A-foil. Simpler than a conventional hydrofoil, the system uses a computer controlled fully Submerged or fixed Surface Piercing Hydrofoil in the forward portion of the hull that lifts the forward section of the yacht completely out of the water. The special foil design destroys the wave geometry passing through the A-foil, creating a flat water surface under the hull for a very smooth ride. The system drastically reduces hydrodynamic drag, pitch and roll, considering increasing the vessel's speed, seakeeping and fuel economy. Roll an pitch control is achieved by Interceptor Plates, a pair of special vertical hydraulic trim tabs in the transom area (see picture above). The system is custom engineered for each yacht and can be made retractable. It is available for monohulls and catamarans of up to 200ft in length.
Monohull equipped with A-foil System
A-Foil in action lifting the hull
132ft A-foil Catamaran Ferry (55 Knots cruising speed)
*Note how the foils can retract for shallow draft operation in ports and marinas
100' BENTLEY YACHTS Illuminations Catamaran A-foil equipped with the A-foil Hydrofoil System
50 Knot Small Fast ferry equipped with A-Foil
Hydrofoil System
Surface Piercing Hydrofoil:
50 knot - 250 passenger BENTLEY MARINE
Ocean Course Fast Ferry Hydrofoil
Typical forward Surface Piercing foil arrangement on
a large Yacht
146ft Hydrofoil hull of
BENTLEY YACHTS Ocean Course
This well proven dynamically supported self-stabilized high-speed hull technology is also offered by BENTLEY Marine leading ferry designers. Several different configurations are available and enable cruising speeds from 35 knots up to a breath-taking 65+ Knots in sea conditions of waves up to 3 meters. It's main characteristic is the low fuel consumption and excellent seaworthiness at high speeds where other hulls would require a significant reduction in speed and still provide substantial pitch and roll motions.
In the surface piercing concept, portions of the TITANIUM foils are designed to extend through the air/sea interface when foilborne. TITANIUM Struts connect the foils to the hull of the ship with sufficient length to support the hull free of the water surface when operating at design speeds. As speed is increased, the lifting force generated by the water flow over the submerged portion of the foils increases causing the ship to rise and the submerged area of the foils to decrease. For a given speed the ship will rise until the lifting force equals the weight carried by the foils.
Fully Submerged Hydrofoils:
This ultra sophisticated hull provides the best comfort ride at high-speeds. The foils of the fully-submerged concept are designed to operate at all times under the water surface. The struts which connect the foils to hull and support it when the ship is foilborne generally do not contribute to the total hydrofoil system lifting force. In this configuration, the hydrofoil system is not self-stabilizing and requires a series of sensors and computers to adjust and maneuver the ship and to vary the effective angle of attack of the foils to change the lifting force in response to changing conditions of ship speed, weight and sea conditions. The principal and unique operational capability of hydrofoils with fully-submerged foils is the ability to uncouple the ship to a substantial degree from the effect of waves.
FOIL ASSISTED CATAMARANS
& TRIMARANS:
BENTLEY Marine has several Catamaran Hydrofoil hull designs with fully submerged foils to offer, which have been already tested in successful commercial vessels such as the Foilcat.
Designed for
those operators who want a wider platform and the speed and comfort encountered only in
hydrofoils, this very stable foilborne catamaran hull design has fully submerged
hydrofoils: two in the bow and one in the stern. The stern foil is coupled to a pair of
high performance Z drive systems with variable pitch propellers facing forward that
catapult the vessel to speeds of 50 knots (90 km/h). At that speed the hull is lifted 2.3
m out of the water and the vessel can only be run with a "fly-by-wire"-computer
controlled system which adjusts the five movable foils.
Fully Submerged Forward Foils
 |
BENTLEY MARINE President & CEO, John F. Rodrigues and the FOILCAT |
Contact us if you are interested in buying or sea-trial the FOILCAT hull.
More about the unique advantages of Hydrofoil hulls and A-foil equipped BENTLEY Marine vessels:
Seakeeping of Hydrofoils:
Some of the principle advantages of hydrofoil ships, over all other
monohull or alternative ship types are:
1) The ability of a ship, which is small by conventional ship standards, to operate
effectively in nearly all sea environments, and
2) An improved ratio of power to displacement in the 30 to 50 knot speed range permitting
economical operation at these higher speeds. The submerged-foil ship can maintain its
speed and maneuverability in heavy seas while simultaneously providing a comfortable
working environment for the crew.
The ship's automatic control system (ACS) provides continuous dynamic
control of the ship during takeoff, landing, and all foilborne operation. In addition to
providing ship roll and pitch stability, the ACS controls the hull height above the water
surface, provides the proper amount of banking in turns and all but eliminates ship
motions caused by the orbital particle motion of waves.
Maneuvering of Hydrofoils:
Besides the significant speed advantage, hydrofoils are more
maneuverable and provide a more stable platform than conventional ships. Foilborne turns
are accomplished in a banked (coordinated) fashion. This causes the centrifugal force
required in turns to be provided predominantly by the reliable lift capability of the
submerged foils rather than by the unpredictable side forces from the struts. Turn
coordination enhances crew comfort during high-rate turns because the accelerations due to
turning are felt primarily as slightly greater vertical forces rather than lateral forces.
For example, a 0.4g turn is felt as only 0.08g vertical acceleration increase while the
lateral acceleration is zero. Therefore, hydrofoil ships have design turn rates of 6 to 12
degrees per second, two to four times those of conventional ships, and they can maintain
these rates in both calm and rough seas. The exceptional stability of the hydrofoil
ship makes it a superior platform choice for today's ferry operators.
Canted Strut CS-SWATH:
Developed and patented by a leading aerospace company, the Canted Strut Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull CS-SWATH, is wide hull design ideal for long range cruising at moderate speeds, while the more advanced High Speed SWATH can glide at 45-55Knots. Composed by two submerged torpedo like lower hulls of a varying cross-section connected to upper hulls (sponsons) by four canted struts which pierce the water surface. A SWATH is totally supported by buoyancy from the fully submerged torpedo like hulls. The reduced waterplane area of the struts partially decouples the ship from wave action on the sea surface, thus substantially reducing wave-induced force moments acting on the vessel and producing very very small ship motions in rough waters at most headings and speeds, which translates in an unsurpassed ride quality and seamanship.
An advanced touch screen motion-control system provides a the smooth ride.
Contact us if you are interested in sea-trial the CS-SWATH hull.
High Speed
HS-SWATH:
80' Fast Ferry Vectra with variable draft SWATH
hull
Developed and patented by a leading European Navy scientist from BENTLEY MARINE and offered exclusively by BENTLEY MARINE, the variable draft High-Speed Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull HS-SWATH, uses a slender patented semi-planing hull that reduces wave drag, making it possible for this unique SWATH to achieve 45-60 Knots cruising speeds in very heavy seas.
SLICE:
BENTLEY MARINE Fast Ferry Vectra with SLICE
hull @ 40 Knots
This innovative aerospace company design, is based on four torpedo like, fully submerged, short, low drag struts that connects to the upper hull by means of four wave piercing struts. The advantage of this concept is achieving stability in rough seas with a SWATH like smooth ride, but with the ability of developing greater speeds. SLICE is able to achieve speeds of 30 to 45 knots and reduce wave resistance by 35 percent.
SLICE's short hulls are able to rise above the wave "hump" much more quickly,
similar to the way a ski boat pushes a large wave when it's traveling slowly but rises
above that resistance when it reaches higher speeds. Ships too large to move beyond the
hump encounter more resistance the faster they go, thereby becoming fuel inefficient at
higher speeds.
Ferry operators can make trips quicker and safer onboard a SLICE
in rough weather conditions and passengers are much less likely to become seasick. For the
world's Navies, the SLICE provides an excellent platform to recover and launch aircraft in
heavy seas, as well as one of the most stable platforms to launch missiles and other
strategic weapons.
SLICE patented
PC-Based Multi-Display Touch Screen Control and Maneuvering System makes it a snap! The
computer controls an automatic Fin / Ballast Motion System and has Alarm and
Monitoring capabilities.
Contact us if you are interested in sea-trial the SLICE hull.
More about the unique advantages of SC-SWATH and SLICE hulls:
Seasickness Elimination: The SC-SWATH and SLICE do not bob up and down like a cork on top of the waves as conventional monohulls and catamarans do. Its submerged hull rides like a submarine below the waves, while the waves passes harmless through the surface piercing struts, giving these type of vessels motion characteristics of ships three times its length and up to twenty times its displacement.
More Deck Space: The SC-SWATH and SLICE wider beam-to-length ratio provides much more deck space then comparable displacement monohulls, meaning more useful space along the ship.
Ability to maintain Speed and Direction in Rough Waters: Conventional ships must dramatically reduce speed in rough sea conditions to avoid slamming damage from waves and to avoid seasickness of passengers onboard. Like hydrofoils, the SC-SWATH and SLICE can maintain up to 90% of its speed under sea state 4, conventional monohulls and catamarans only up to half of it.
Excellent Low Speed Maneuverability: The SC-SWATH and SLICE wide separation of its propellers enables them to make a complete circle within its length at zero forward speed.
Air Cavity
Craft (ACC):
390 Passenger Rocket III Catamaran Ferry equipped with Air cavity Hull
Dynamically supported Air Cavity hulls provide greater speed per horsepower in planning
monohulls and catamarans. BENTLEY Marine has several designs of monohulls and
catamarans with this fuel efficient technology.
The main feature of ACC is the configuration of the bottom of the hull
that has a delta shaped hollow composed of board flanks and stern profiling platform.
In the delta shaped hull hollow there are slots through which air is injected and
air cavity is formed when ship is moving, isolating part of the bottom surface
of ACC from the water and decreasing friction resistance in about 30%.
ACC hulls have bottom sections before and behind the cavity that are in
stationary contact with water. These sections not only protect air in the cavity from
leaking, but also render forming action on cavity surface. The volume of air cavity
in an ACC is much less than that of the cushion in a hovercraft and corresponds only to
2-3% from the power of main ship engines.
The simpler construction of ACC provides great advantages in comparison with other high
speed ships with dynamic principles of support.
Air Cavity Catamaran hulls in action.
Comfort at 60 knots!
WPT (Wave Piercing Trimaran):
WPT - Speed and Seakeeping Laboratory
Tank Tests
This is one of the most recent and advanced patented hull forms offered exclusively by BENTLEY MARINE and the second fastest, after the remarkable 250 knot Ekranoplans. The ultra sleek trimaran hull supports a triangular wing shaped superstructure that provides Wing in Ground effect in high speeds for a 70% dynamic lift of the craft's weight. Developed and tank tested in Europe by BENTLEY MARINE's world leading military marine scientists and engineers, the WPT is the ultimate platform for very high speeds with negligible wake and minimum power. Our current commercial, pleasure and military designs range from 20 tons to over 1000 tons. The giant 1000 Ton version can achieve speeds over 120 knots and operate in Sea State 5 conditions, becoming the Littoral Combatant, passenger Ferry and cargo ship of the future. Able to carry heavy helicopters at high speeds, the WPT will soon prove to be a superior and attractive Military Ship. It's Stealthy superstructure with concealed weaponry capability will outperform even the most advanced military monohulls and catamarans in the battle field. The extremely flexible modular design also makes the WPT an ideal passenger & cargo platform for offshore operators. Coming soon to a dock near you!
Aeroferries™
(Wing in Ground Effect Ships / Ekranoplans):
192' (58m) BENTLEY MARINE Gemini Aeroferry™
The fastest and most fuel efficient commercial "watercraft"
ever developed! With cruising speeds over 250 knots and no Sea State limitations, BENTLEY
Marine Aeroferries give new meaning to fast water transportation. Our leading designers
have experience in WIGs up to 500tons and ships up to 244ft. Less expensive to operate and
yet far more efficient than any aircraft, Ekranoplan ships can carry twice the weight with
a fraction of the power of commercial and military planes, with the ability to operate
over ice, snow or water.
This well proven military technology is now first offered for ferry and cargo operators by BENTLEY Marine. Several different custom configurations are available, including as a Military Transporter for cargo, soldiers and tanks.
Ultra High Speed Amphibian
Transporter:
BENTLEY Marine offers the most advanced amphibian transporter in the world! With a displacement of 700 tons and a load capacity of up to 300 tons, this magnificent vessel is capable of cruising speeds of 150km/h up to a maximum of 250km/h over ice, water or land depending on load. It is powered by a combination of turbofans and turbo props for maximum lift and best fuel efficiency.
SWATH Monohull with Outriggers:
The ultimate technology for large Fast Container Ships or even Aircraft Carriers, with far superior seakeeping than monohulls, better fuel consumption and increased deck space. BENTLEY MARINE Team of Naval architects and engineers are the world leaders in this technology are are ready to suit your particular commercial or military needs.
BENTLEY MARINE SWATH Monohull with Outriggers provide far better seakeeping and speed than the recently launched English military ship TRITON which uses a conventional monohull with outriggers.
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