Operational Assessment of a Fast Rescue Craft

By M Garvin, National Research Council, Canada at the High Speed Vessels, 1-2 July 2020, Online conference

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Spark-ignited diesel engines were trialed aboard a Canadian Coast Guard fast rescue RHIB. The vessel was outfitted with a data acquisition suite to collect vessel and engine performance data and trialed in three seastates (approx. Beaufort 2 to 7). This paper focusses on the methodologies and results for several operational factors: ability to maintain course and speed, effort required to maintain course and speed, and impacts of seastate, course, and speed on fuel consumption.
The variability of steering input and course as a function of seastate, course relative to wave direction, and speed were used as a proxy for the difficulty and the effectiveness of maintaining course. The variability of throttle input and vessel speed as a function of sea state course relative to wave direction were used as a proxy for the difficulty and effectiveness of maintaining speed. The effect of seastate, course, and speed on fuel consumption were also examined.