JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #93 - December 2014 - 45

pilot boat

Hart Marine delivers wave
piercing pilot boats
Imagine having to bring a 100,000-ton ship into port in rough
weather and heavy seas, navigating through a narrow, rocky passage bordered by dangerous reefs. Port Phillip Bay, which forms the
entrance to the Port of Melbourne (Australia), is a place that one
can love one day and really hate the next. Its treacherous waters
are amongst the most dangerous in the world, and more than 700
vessels have met their end at the entry and within the bay.

ince 1839, it has been the responsibility
of the Port Phillip Sea Pilots to steer
ships safely through the labyrinth of
rips, reefs and unpredictable tidal currents
as they enter and leave the bay. They operate
24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And their
state-of-the-art boats are amazingly tough
composite constructions, built by Hart Marine around DIAB structural cores.

Pilot boats need to be tough

A leader in marine
composite constructions
Established in 1983, Hart Marine is recognized both locally and overseas as a leader in
the composite boatbuilding industry. With
a long history of building world-class, highperformance ocean racing yachts, Hart Marine has also produced many special one-off
custom motor vessels and other marine craft,
including a series of composite pilot vessels.
It is calculated that the company, with around
40 employees, has
worked well over two
million man-hours
building composite
structures.

Composites
rule the waves
Builders of the innovative, self-righting ORC Pilot Boat with it's unique bow design
that increases performance, comfort and safety in the wildest conditions

Composites have
been in the maritime
industry since the

1960s and with good reason. They allow a
huge freedom in the design process, do not
corrode and make it possible to create very
robust structures. The Hart Marine composite construction uses a vacuum bag resin
infusion technology which provides thermal
and acoustic advantages (better insulation in
the cabin), lower maintenance costs over the
life cycle of the vessel compared with other
materials, and a high standard of finish.

Partnering for excellence
The core material used throughout Hart Marine's projects is provided by DIAB, who also
provides services through its technical service
department and the Composites Consulting
Group (CCG) engineering division. This
partnership has enabled Hart Marine to further develop their offering and improve their
efficiency during the build process. Improved
kitting solutions and finishes have allowed
for the build time to be continuously reduced
while keeping the strength requirements for
vessels such as the new pilot boats.
Port Phillip Sea Pilot's maintenance chief
Chris Richards, who has had 35 years with
the sea pilot organization, describes the
design and construction of the new boats as
exceptional. The French naval architects Pantocarene have also endorsed Hart Marine's
build quality. n

No93 December 2014 /

More information: www.diabgroup.com

Feature Marine

A pilot boat is built for maximum performance and designed to guarantee safe operation. It must be a stable platform during pilot
boarding, minimizing vertical movement at
high speeds in rough weather conditions and
providing high manoeuvring capabilities and
efficient running at transfer speeds. Also, all

the structural elements must be able to manage a great deal of impacts. Thinking steel?
Think again.
The best pilot vessels are built of composite
material. That is why the Port Phillip Sea Pilots, when looking to acquire two new boats,
selected a self-righting design from French naval architects, Pantocarene, and Hart Marine
in Mornington, Victoria, to build them.

jec composites magazine 45

http://www.diabgroup.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #93 - December 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #93 - December 2014