New boats on the Thames
We have some new river boats on the Brentford/Kew stretch of the Thames. The ‘Richmond’ PLA patrol boat sailed past Brentford Dock this morning, in the mist:And her sister boat, the ‘Chelsea’ sailed past on Monday:The PLA website http://www.portoflondon.co.uk says that:“These new launches were built by Ecocats Limited in 2006/07, for use in the PLA's Upper District, following a three-year research programme into wash characteristics in shallow water carried out by the PLA and Southampton University. The overall length of 10 metres and beam of just under 4 metres gives a large open platform and a spacious island wheelhouse from which the river patrol can provide ready assistance and guidance to rowers, canoeists and other small boat operators. The narrow-beamed hulls and light displacement (3.9 tonnes) cause the least possible resistance, which substantially reduces the power required to achieve normal patrol and emergency response speeds. Due to the vessel's low resistance, the twin Yanmar 36hp diesel outboards provide power for 17 knots, but offer a substantial 67% fuel saving when compared with the former Upper District patrol launches. This fuel economy, together with the solar panels provided to supplement electrical systems onboard, offer savings not only in operating costs but also in emissions of CO2.”Thames Water have also introduced new boats to help clear up the Thames, described on their website http://www.thameswater.co.uk/UK/region/en_gb/content/Section_Homepages/Multi_Download_001182.jsp?SECT=Multi_Download_001182 they say that: “‘Skimmer’ boats have been specially designed to collect surface litter from the River Thames following occasional sewage discharges.”“Clearwater I and Clearwater II are the first vessels of their kind in the world. Thames Water commissioned the Skimmer vessels, which began operation in September 2007, operating from as far upstream as Kew to the Thames Estuary.
Duncan Walker ● 6463d4 Comments