Odds are in the marine business that anything that looks new has been done before in some form or other. As partial evidence we offer the following series of photos taken on the Dart River in the UK.
This is the remnants of a World War 11 era Fairmile patrol vessel. These were used for a variety of anti-submarine, coastal patrol, air sea rescue, and clandestine functions. They had to operate in the awful wind and sea states which abound in Europe, so you can assume they were seaworthy.
OK, she is tired and has seen better days, but this was a very efficient sea boat in its day.
This hull shape would be able to slice through the chop with ease, and cruise at high speed with low power requirements.
How about this nice stern? When steep British seas swept down this hull they would not find much buoyancy aft with which to shove the bow down.
Interesting concept…
Posted by Steve Dashew (September 19, 2009)
September 20th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
see – took 10 minutes to design windhorse – you just copied this cool WW II looking thing.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:53 am
It is sad to see such a pretty craft is such a state of disrepair. However, a Google image search shows what she once looked like. In photos of the Fairmile’s in motion, it is interesting to note how little wake they made! Hmmm, now where was it I heard the concept of small wake being a sign of an efficient hull form?
Thank you for creating such an informative web site!
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:02 pm
“The design of the Fairmile version ‘A’ was unsatisfactory in a number of ways, mainly related to the hard chine hull form but another design existed within the British Admiralty for a similar sized vessel with round bilges. This vessel was known to have better seakeeping qualities. Not only that, the Admiralty was impressed with the idea of having wooden kit boats assembled locally so the contract to produce the boat kits was awarded to the Fairmile Company. The new boat became known as the Fairmile ‘B’ Type Motor Launch, and like the ‘A’ Type, the kits were delivered to boatyards around the UK (and later around the world) for assembly. Later in the war, Canada began to produce her own Fairmiles . These boats were narrower, with a greater draught, and their slightly more powerful engines gave them a two knot speed advantage over the British boats.
The Fairmiles proved themselves to have excellent seakeeping qualities in most weather conditions, although there was a tendency towards broaching in seas of Force Eight or above from the stern or stern quarters. Once the seas got up to Force Ten the boats had to heave to, by steering just off the wind at minimum speed. In such weather conditions, the boats showed themselves to be more durable than their crews, who suffered badly in such severe weather. These small boats were thrown about by the sea and were continually being covered in spray.”
September 27th, 2009 at 7:40 am
The resemblance to the hull shape of Wind Horse is striking. And why shouldn’t it be? The laws of physics haven’t changed since the Fairmile was built. And its designers likely shared many of the same goals as the Dashews- excellent seakeeping qualities, speed, the ability to work for long stretches between fuel stops, and a versatile platform from which to confront new and unknown scenarios. Like the Dashews, the Fairmile’s designers likely decided not to be bound by arbitrary length restrictions or rating/tonnage rules, concentrating instead on simply finding the best answer to their requirements.
It is sad to see such a vessel in such desperate need of restoration. Still, I am optimistic that long, slender, efficient boats like this one are going to make a comeback as the costs of operating high D/L, large-engine motoryachts continue to rise.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
I remember travelling from Auckland to Waiheke Island in 1956 on a ‘converted’ Fairmile (diesel engined), and while enjoying the scenery we watched a RNZN Fairmile navigating a high speed parallel course in the Hauraki Gulf – it made several brief stops at a number of jetties and was still outpacing our ‘ferry’ by a huge margin. Is it true that some of these craft were fitted with Rolls Royce ‘Merlin’ engines as used in wartime Spitfires, Hurricanes, and American Mustangs (Allison built)- this would certainly account for their speed.
Congratulations on your achievements with ‘Windhorse’ – I have been fascinated with the whole concept from the beginning.