Q-West chief executive Colin Mitchell and Hamilton Jet's Albear Montocchio. Photo / Bevan Conley
Q-West chief executive Colin Mitchell and Hamilton Jet's Albear Montocchio. Photo / Bevan Conley
Some of the newest and most advanced marine technology was rolled out of a Whanganui boatyard yesterday bound for Auckland, with a well-known Whanganui company part of the group behind its development.
Put together by Whanganui boat builders Q-West, the vessel was reconfigured as a demonstrater for HamiltonJet, a Christchurch-basedwaterjet propulsion company.
The boat uses HamiltonJet's hybrid propulsion technology, making use of a traditional diesel engine as well as an electric propulsion system.
The vessel has the ability to use both methods of propulsion, and HamiltonJet's Albear Montocchio said it has real-world practical use.
Q-West chief executive Colin Mitchell and Hamilton Jet's Albear Montocchio. Photo / Bevan Conley
"The beauty of having a hybrid vessel is that you could have a ferry that runs point-to-point in a short run using electric to come into the dock quietly, and when you get out in the open you can use the engines to gain speed.
"This is the start of the journey. There is a lot of future development we can do on this project going forward."
Previously a pleasure vessel based in the Wellington region, the boat was originally built by Q-West in 2007.
Q-West chief executive Colin Mitchell said there was a growing interest in electrically propelled vessels.
"Overseas, a lot of it is driven by regulations. Noise is another factor. Everything from pilot boats to ferry operators, there's a huge group of people exploring it."
Hamilton Jet has purchased the boat Aria and installed electric motors between the jet and diesel engines to make a Electro-Hybrid Drive (EHX). Photo / Bevan Conley
Project manager Richard Keir compared the boat's technology to that of the Toyota Prius, the most commercially prominent hybrid electric vehicle on the market today.
"We always compare it to the Prius. You get in and you drive and there's a bunch of stuff happening under the bonnet," Keir said.
"There are some pretty tricky things to get right developing that, so we figured the best way to do that was to have a vessel."
With the initial work completed on Thursday, the vessel began its journey to Auckland for the America's Cup, which Keir said was a good chance to get the technology in front of interested eyes.
"New Zealand is something like 2 per cent of our market, so it's a global market, but it's very hard to get the globe involved at the moment.
"You may as well take advantage of a great opportunity."
