The Westamaran is a pioneer type of passenger transport high speed
catamarans developed by
Westermoen Hydrofoil in 1973. The craft was highly successful, and introduced a new era of passenger transport along the Norwegian coast and elsewhere.
On the
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
to
Stavanger
Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
route, there was already a high speed service by
hydrofoil, introduced early in the 1960s. The initial Westamaran models were somewhat slower than the hydrofoils, but passenger comfort, both in terms of spaciousness but especially foul weather handling, was better in the Westamarans, so they were better liked by the public.
The Westamaran had asymmetrical hulls, where the insides was essentially flat, forming a tunnel between the hulls that were rectangular in shape. The profiles were in fact quite like a
Storm class torpedo boat cut in two, and the construction of the Westamaran built heavily on the experience gained from the Storm class.
Specifications:
* Capacity: 166 passengers
* Length overall: 26.67m
* Beam: 9.02m
* Draft: 1.20m
* Engines: 2 x Diesel MTU 12 V 396 TC 62
* Power: 2 x 880
kW.
* Layout: Shaft drive through two
ZF BW 800 HS 20 hydraulic gearboxes to LIPS fixed propellers.
* Aux. engine: Mercedes
OM314, Stamford MHC 2341 generator 32,5 kVA
External links
Westamaran image from http://www.hydrofoilen.no/
Article from Classic Fast Ferries
Ship types
Catamarans
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