Green Marine launches massive composite rudder

by Green Marine UK on 13 Dec 2010 Green Marine one of the world’s leading specialists in advanced carbon fibre moulding techniques, has completed the build of one of the largest composite rudders ever made, at its factory in Lymington, Hampshire, UK.

The rudder was designed by Dubois Naval Architects for a 66 metre (216 foot) sloop, which is currently in-build at Vitters Shipyard in the Netherlands. The 7.5 metre long rudder stock was laminated using approximately one ton of carbon pre preg, and is, by far, the largest rudder that Green Marine has built during its 28 years of operation.

In conjunction with Lloyds Certification office and SP-High Modulus, the marine business of Gurit, a specific test programme was created to validate the properties of the chosen materials.

Once in service the rudder will see enormous twisting and bending loads, and the Dubois office calculate that the reaction load at the lower bearing will reach up to 160 tonnes. The rudder also features a crash tip that will snap off in the event of the vessel grounding.

Green Marine’s Managing Director, Marcel Müller, said: 'This project was perfect for Green Marine. We are very pleased with our skilled component team who completed this project with exacting precision, and who ensured that the rudder was completed to the highest possible quality standards.'

With decades of experience and having built rudders for other Vitters super yachts, including MY Cinderella and MY Sarissa, and for more than 50 racing and cruising yachts ranging from 40-130 feet, Green Marine is well placed to have built this innovative rudder. The company is one of the largest, most experienced and technically advanced composite boatyards in the world, specialising in working with carbon fibre.

Explaining why carbon is the best building material for such projects, Marcus Attridge, Green Marine’s Project Manager explained: 'Building the rudder from carbon fibre pre preg, gives us the best possible combination of strength and stiffness at the lowest possible weights, which are crucial properties. The rudder is one of the most critical components on any yacht, and accuracy and structural integrity must be 100% for a rudder of a vessel this size. You can only achieve this when the applied production processes are planned and controlled in every detail, as we have done on this project.'

Green Marine has used its new 3D precision measurement equipment during the construction of this rudder. It played a vital role in the validation of the accuracy of the foil shape and the bearing alignment.

Green Marine is an established performance boat builder in Lymington, UK, and has been building many of the world’s best known racing and cruising yachts for 28 years, including the Volvo Round the World Race contenders, America’s Cup challengers, and cutting-edge cruising superyachts.

Green Marine is part of the Vitters Shipyard group - a well known builder of top quality yachts and has been specialising in custom yachts, high performance cruising yachts and super yachts for over 28 years. It has earned a world-wide reputation as a leading specialist in advanced carbon fibre moulding techniques. In recent years, the company has applied its expertise to superyacht hulls of over 40m in length and to a wide variety of composite industrial and commercial components, including steering systems, canards, hatches, water tight doors and superstructures for racing and super yachts.

More at www.greenmarine.eu