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Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest
and most luxurious boats with information, interviews, technical
articles, images and yachting news
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ROLLS-ROYCE, KAMEWA WATERJET
Rolls-Royce is one of the leading companies in the development and
production of propulsion jet systems, for various sectors such as
military, mercantile, high speed sea transportation and naturally
pleasure yachting. The Rolls-Royce hydro-jet sea propulsion
systems carry the Kamewa mark and are divided up into four
different series, the S series for fast ferries used on over 1,400
ferries throughout the world, the A series with 100% aluminium
hydro-jets to be used for high performance boats, the FF series
designed for the needs of vessels equipped with semi-planing hulls
and planing hulls with displacement between 6,500 and 160,000 lbs.
and, finally, the APS series - acronym for Advanced Propulsion
System, identifying a system developed especially for Volvo Penta
engines from 200 to 800 HP which is marketed using the same sales
network of the Swedish company. Kamewa is a Swedish company taken
over by a British colossus, which boasts a long experience in the
sector of hydro-jet propulsion, systems used on thousands of ships
and boats all over the world.
We could go on forever about Rolls- Royce, for example about its commitment in the design and production of nuclear reactors to generate electricity or other prestigious projects completed successfully in various fields, both civil and military, but for obvious reasons of space we stop here, inviting those of you who want to know more about it to visit the website www.rolls-royce.com. |
Remaining in our particular
favourite sector, pleasure yachting, let's take for example the Ab
Yachts boatyard, part of the Fipa Group, which chooses to install
this type of propulsion on all of its models. This Italian
boatyard believes that the hydro-jet is the best propulsion system
for high performance yachts and for high safety levels. Without
doubt this type of propulsion offers very high performance levels,
as well as the advantage of not needing special maintenance and of
being suitable for manoeuvres even in shallow waters. As already
mentioned, the Kamewa A series is made entirely in aluminium, with
stainless steel internal propeller and flow management system.
Modern techniques are used to develop the design for these jets,
including the 3D CAD/CAM, in order to ensure a high level of
quality and precision both at the planning and assembly stages of
each single element. Rolls-Royce has its own testing and trial
centre, where the results obtained and developed in each single
application are compared daily, so as to allow the identification
of the most suitable diameter and inclination of the propeller
blades for the different application of its products. The Kamewa A
series hydro-jets are recommended by Rolls-Royce for planing boats
required to produce a speed of over 30 knots with displacement
between 31,000 and 218,000 lbs., allowing for single, double,
triple and even quadruple installation. The characteristics of
this series, besides its limited weight due to its aluminium
structure, lie in the high propulsive efficiency they offer,
allowing a reduced consumption for the same propulsion. Thanks to
the materials used for all the system components, the Kamewa
hydro-jets are guaranteed free from problems such as corrosion;
none of the immersed parts are, in fact, sensitive to the
deteriorating agents of the marine environment. Rolls-Royce
produces a vast range of products dedicated to the shipping
sector, such as gas turbines, nuclear reactors, shipping design,
propeller or jet propulsion systems and integrated electronic
systems for system management. The marine sector of this British
company relies on the daily work of 7,300 employees, working at
its production plants in England, the United States and
Scandinavia. At present, high technology products by Rolls-Royce
for the shipping sector are distributed in 34 countries and used
on over 20,000 among ships of various types and pleasure boats. To
quote just a few applications of Rolls-Royce products, present and
future, we signal their presence on board English class Type 45
torpedo-boat destroyers. Furthermore, they will be fitted on
English attack submarines to be built in the near future and are
already in use on American, French, Australian and Korean surface
military units. In 1998 the company was chosen to design the new
nuclear reactor for the Royal Navy's future class of Astute
submarines. Rolls-Royce also operates successfully in the aircraft
sector, both civil and military, for which it manufactures all
kinds of propulsion systems used by numerous aircrafts of no less
than 41 international airlines out of the world's top 50, as well
as by numerous military aircraft including the future Eurofighter
Typhoon and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. Suffice to say that at
the moment there are more than 54,000 Rolls-Royce turbines working
on board helicopters, military jets, transport planes and
scheduled passenger planes.
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