Red Funnel announce new fast ferry

[Mark-1]

It feels like the sort of application that would be ideal for a "different" fuel. Electric, hydrogen, whatever. If you know you're going to be at a fixed point frequently then supplying your fuel fuel of choice is entirely feasible,. Plant on building sites is typically supplied by fuel bowsers so it's trivial to swap out hydrogen and they already are. The Ferry could have multiple interchangeable batteries on charge and crane them in and out when you're loading passengers.

The problem would be if you needed to take it to a distant ship yard for servicing or repair. I guess you just use a tug for that.

 

[ashtead]

Presumably it also has a diesel generator to top up batteries?

 

[Snowgoose-1]

the idea of the hydrofoil was first developed by Forlanini in the first decade of the 1900's. His first working prototypes around 1910 (on the Swiss/Italian lakes).

Of course electric motors predated all of that by several decades.

The Isle of Wight ferries are not particularly novel as ideas, or realisation. But it will be fun to see some ev boats working: I hope they will turn out to be commercially viable.

Hydrofoils , I think , proved to use too much fuel. The switch to multihulls was almost universal. The need to plane taken out of the equation and less weted surface plus good stability.

The Red Funnel project seems too good to be true. Good luck to them anyway.

 

[Lightwave395]

At least RF not run by local council unlike the chain ferry so no excuse to blame the previous administration or the breakwater if it fails though for red funnel. Pleased to see RF development -just need a faster car ferry though like a Condor . Wightlink for all their new ferry Victoria of wight cannot seem to make run on time even in good weather a 30 min delay from Portsmouth seems common. In bad weather the Victoria seems to struggle unlike the old retro style saints which seem more robust. I also think the actual culture of staff at RF is better than wightlink who struggle to remember it’s a service business.

In my experience it's the other way around as far as the companies go... I've generally found both RF and WL staff to be fine, in fact WL, again for me has several advantages - more frequent ferries, substantially cheaper fares in high seasons by way of Multilink passes if you're an Island resident, the ability to make immediate changes online, nicer (it's all relative) ferries - I've found Victoria to be pretty much on time, I use WL quite a bit albeit avoiding peak periods where possible and you can usually turn up at anytime relative to your booking and they'll get you on if they can, unlike RF who will get you on the one before your booking but otherwise send you away or charge you for a change. WL seem less prone in my experience to cancellations too

 

[ylop]

Hydrofoils , I think , proved to use too much fuel. The switch to multihulls was almost universal. The need to plane taken out of the equation and less weted surface.

You might be right but I thought it was multihulls were better in wider range of weathers and could operate in shallower waters? Perhaps carbon fibre and understanding of foil designs from racing has made designs possible. Perhaps changes to energy/fuel costs makes it viable.

The Red Funnel project seems too good to be true. Good luck to them anyway.

Its not just Red Funnel looking at this sort of approach:

• very small example from NZ: Full electric hydrofoil ferry launched in New Zealand
• bit bigger in Sweden:
  (it looks like they are also supplying the Kiwis with the same size)
• orkney two ferries - larger one to be 50 pax Orkney to get two electric ferries for three-year trial

Now how much of that is hype from the builders? I don't know

 

[mjcoon]

Hydrofoils , I think , proved to use too much fuel. The switch to multihulls was almost universal. The need to plane taken out of the equation and less wetted surface plus good stability.
...

Except for, for instance, the long-running Flying Dolphins...

 

[st599]

24 doesn't seem like a lot. When I used the Jets for commuting, quite often there'd be 50 plus.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

You might be right but I thought it was multihulls were better in wider range of weathers and could operate in shallower waters? Perhaps carbon fibre and understanding of foil designs from racing has made designs possible. Perhaps changes to energy/fuel costs makes it viable.

Its not just Red Funnel looking at this sort of approach:

• very small example from NZ: Full electric hydrofoil ferry launched in New Zealand
• bit bigger in Sweden:
  (it looks like they are also supplying the Kiwis with the same size)
• orkney two ferries - larger one to be 50 pax Orkney to get two electric ferries for three-year trial

Now how much of that is hype from the builders? I don't know

Perhaps they can build on the knowledge from these trials. Low passenger numbers of 12 and possibly 50 later.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

Except for, for instance, the long-running Flying Dolphins...

They seem to have found a way to make it work. Quite high passenger loads of 130 too.

 

[kashurst]

Red Funnel to add electric passenger ferry to Solent route

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