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Download for C and B Consultants - Salmon
Power Sports Division
Press Release for seaworkex2002 - released
10th June 2002
RNLI Atlantic 75 series RIB’s lifeboat showing
Salmon Power Sports ballast valve (on right) and control unit.
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seaworkex2002
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New ballast control system
improves stability, increases speed and reduces fuel consumption
Offshore power boat racing provides the perfect proving ground for the RNLI
Poole, Dorset, UK
- 10th June 2002 – Through their work in the offshore power
boat racing industry, Salmon Power Sports have teamed up with RNLI design
engineers to develop an innovative ballast control system which has been
approved for use as standard equipment on the fleet of RNLI Atlantic 75
RIB’s. The advanced new solution will be displayed for the first time
worldwide at seaworkex2002 (stand S26).
The system, comprising
an innovative ballast valve with a
lockable manual control box improves handling and optimises
boat stability by precise regulation of the volume of water taken into
buoyancy tanks. The new system is purely manual with no need for expensive
pumps or solenoids. Its flexibility also allows the boat to ride higher in
calmer seas and
thereby achieve faster speeds and higher efficiencies.
Ultimately, the “pay back” cost of installation is calculable by significant
savings in fuel consumption.
Salmon Power Sports have developed
the ballast valve system through challenging applications in the power boat
racing industry where they provide a specialist design and manufacture
service for marine hardware. They supply many leading teams including Spirit
of Norway, the current Class 1 World Champions with “throttle man” Steve
Curtis.
In the sport, ballast control is used
to optimise the buoyancy and to maximise the amount of time the propeller is
kept in the water. These factors are crucial to the performance of the boat
and its success in competition. With competition speeds of over 150mph,
combined with the most arduous sea conditions, offshore power boat racing
has proven to be the perfect test bed for products applied to demanding work
boat applications, none more so than the RNLI.
The RNLI ballast valve has three
operating positions which are controlled by the navigator from a manual
control box. These positions cater for taking on water into the buoyancy
tank; a “sealed” position where water levels are maintained; and a position
which allows water to be dumped. As opposed to standard water-pickup type
solutions, the Salmon Power product uses a cast stainless steel construction
including “O” ring seals and has no leakage. This high performance system
can be applied to form the heart of a pumped ballast control system for more
advanced control of stability and performance, and there is interest to
develop this system for other applications such as ocean going yachts,
racing boats and RIB’s.
Salmon Power’s other products include
a low cost range of standard water pick-ups for less critical applications
as well as throttle and gearshift controls which are CNC machined and hand
assembled to customer’s requirements from modular components.
ENDS
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