Philip Christian Hercus AO BSc (20 December 1942 in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

– 3 September 2017) was a naval architect and marine vessel designer in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He left

to attend the

faculty of engineering Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warra ...

at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

where in 1967 he gained a Bachelor of Science (Technology) degree in

naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and o ...

. In 1977), he formed a partnership, namely International Catamaran Pty Ltd designing and building catamarans in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. This combination of Philip Hercus and Bob Clifford made significant advances in fast powered catamaran technology culminating in the introduction of

wave piercing A wave-piercing boat hull has a very fine bow, with reduced buoyancy in the forward portions. When a wave is encountered, the lack of buoyancy means the hull pierces through the water rather than riding over the top, resulting in a smoother ri ...

catamarans. Early in 1988, the shipyard partnership was mutually terminated and a design-only company, International Catamaran Designs Pty Ltd (renamed Incat Designs (Sydney)) was formed as part of the Hercus Marine Group. The other partner Robert Clifford then commenced designing and building under a new company,

Incat Incat Tasmania is an Australian manufacturer of high-speed craft (HSC) catamaran ferries. Its greatest success has been with large, sea going passenger and vehicle ferries, but it has also built military transports and since 2015 it has built s ...

Tasmania Pty Ltd. Incat Designs (Sydney) and Crowther Designs merged in 2005 becoming

Incat Crowther Incat Crowther is an Australian Company, headquartered in Belrose, a suburb of Sydney specializing in Marine engineering design. Incat Crowther has offices in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States and Romsey, UK. The company has a diverse produc ...

. The key staff from both organizations were maintained with Brett Crowther as Managing Director, Ben Hercus as Commercial Director, Andrew Tuite as Technical Director and Philip Hercus taking the role of Senior Adviser. Hercus died in September 2017

Awards

Philip Hercus(1992 AGM

Michell Michell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Anthony Michell (1870–1959), Australian mechanical engineer * Bert S. Michell (c.1882–1938), American horse racing trainer * Charles Collier Michell (1793–1851), British soldier ...

medal recipient from the Institution of Engineers, Australia). Clunies Ross National Science and Technology Award in 2000. Philip Hercus and Robert Clifford received the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) in 1995 for service to the shipbuilding industry.

References

External links

Incat Crowther
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hercus, Philip 2017 deaths 20th-century Australian businesspeople Officers of the Order of Australia New Zealand emigrants to Australia Multihull designers Year of birth uncertain Australian businesspeople in shipping 1942 births