Woody Marine delivers again on Rescue

by Bob Carter on 14 Dec 2010 With an enviable track record in the construction and delivery of marine search and rescue vessels throughout Australia, Woody Marine’s latest delivery marks yet another milestone.

The Sapphire III is a purpose built Woody Marine 10m RIB rescue vessel commissioned for the Marine Rescue NSW-Merimbula Unit. The brief received from the Merimbula Unit was to produce a rapid response rescue vessel capable of operating in all weather and sea conditions.

After significant research around Australia and overseas, the Merimbula Unit of Marine Rescue NSW settled on Woody Marine for their new boat. In addition to the company’s extensive background in supporting the various search and rescue organisations in Australia, Woody Marine has an in-house naval architect to support the entire build process.

This allows Woody Marine to develop a unique vessel specifically designed and equipped to best suit the needs of the customer. Areas such as weight distribution, ergonomics and performance expectation were specifically addressed in the design phase of the project.

Unit Commander Barry Harrison regularly travelled to Brisbane to oversee the construction of the Sapphire III and said 'It has been a pleasure to work with the design team at Woody Marine on this project, we are extremely pleased with the finished vessel, it’s an amazing machine.'

The outcome is a stunning RIB, one which not only has great sea kindly lines, but has the performance to match. Sapphire III is built to meet the requirements of NSW Class 2C to 30 Nm offshore. This is a well balanced rescue vessel capable of being pushed very hard when needed while at the same time capable of remaining on the plane at a relatively slow speed.

And of course, being a RIB, the vessel can come alongside another vessel in distress or people in the water, knowing that the big inflatable tube around the hull offers enormous protection and cushioning.

On board the layout is entirely functional, and is a credit to the careful planning by the team at Woody Marine and Marine Rescue Merimbula. The wheelhouse is positioned forward on the deck to ensure the cabin area is maximized, with forward raked windscreen and generous side windows that ensure maximum visibility, while also providing a spacious cabin and great sun and glare protection in the hot summer climate, essential when performing long duration search and rescues.

The vessel fit out included KAB suspension seating, an onboard marine toilet along with ample storage for all the safety equipment. The cabin and forward stations are fully lined and insulated, and the vessel features the latest in LED lighting. There was an incredible amount of thought and design that went into every aspect of this vessel, Unit Commander Barry Harrison said the finish and detail in this vessel is excellent. Barry felt this was the best finish he has ever seen on a Volunteer Rescue Vessel in Australia, and said it was a credit to the team from Woody’s. Piping and electrical runs are very well thought out and we have great access to all areas of the boat.

Sapphire III is powered by two Yamaha F250B four stroke outboard engines, with counter rotating props. These engines push the hull to a maximum speed of 44 knots, optimal cruising speed is between 22 and 30 knots. With an onboard fuel tank capacity of 530 litres and a cruise consumption rate of 63 litres per hour for both engines, Sapphire III can stay at sea for almost 8.5 hours before refuelling. The vessel also features the latest Furuno electronics with 2 x 10’ and 1 x 7' navigation screens together with a complete communication system. The vessel is also fitted with FLIR thermal imaging technology together with a full complement of first aid equipment and including a heart defibrillator / oxygen equipment.

Woody’s Stephen Plummer said 'We’re very happy with the boat that we delivered to Marine Rescue Merimbula. We are always mindful that a lot of very hard work and fund raising at the local level goes into these kinds of projects, so we endeavour to go the extra yard to produce a great boat, one which the local community can be very proud of.'

Stephen also said 'Over the years we have built a vast number of RIBs for search and rescue organisations, each one subtly different to suit the needs of our customer. Our boats are in service from Victoria in the south, to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north and range in size from 4.8m to 12.0m.'

Woody Marine Fabricating is a Brisbane based aluminium boat manufacturer with special emphasis in the design and manufacture of Rigid Hull Inflatable boats (RIBs) The company has a number of firsts, notable being the first manufacturer in the world to build a RIB with four Yamaha F350 outboards on the transom.