T&T: Azimuth drives

[Lawrence Zeitlin]

On Nov 29, 2008, at 12:00 AM, Phillip wrote:

> Does the community know of any other steel hull semi series build  
> in the 55
> to 65 foot range which offers this option and do you think the  
> advantages
> are worth the initial cost?


360 degree azimuth drives are fitted on many of the large riverboats  
that ply the Rhine.  Their real advantage is the superb  
maneuverability they give the nearly football field long craft in  
transiting canals and landing at tight riverside docks. But no one  
ever claimed that they were particularly efficient or economical. The  
strut and the lower pod add drag and the complicated drive, whether  
mechanical or hydraulic, absorbs power. One ship operator I talked to  
claimed that the newer hydraulic drive boats used 50% more fuel than  
the older straight shaft drives he had used in the past. But he was  
willing to absorb the cost since crew productivity was much higher.  
Of course this was a couple of years ago when fuel costs were lower  
and German wages were headed for the sky.

Larry Z