Waterjets - unchallenged performance
We offer unchallenged performance under the most demanding high-speed operational conditions, with the lowest cost of ownership available.
Our waterjets have built up a reputation over many years for their high performance, durability and superior manoeuvring characteristics. They are chosen for a wide variety of applications, including naval and coast guard patrol vessels and fast ferries of all sizes and configurations.
Aluminium series
Aluminium series provides efficient and affordable propulsion for smaller vessels in unit powers up to 2,000kW. Major components in aluminium make for a light and efficient waterjet.
The aluminium inlet is integral with the mounting flange and carries the thrust bearing and hydraulic system. Aluminium series waterjets provide a high volume flow from the axial pump, with a good driving thrust at lower speeds making them suitable for both planning and displacement craft. They can be installed as single, twin, triple or quadruple systems to suit the vessel design, with steering/reversing or as boosters.
Impellers can be made to match optimally engine and gearbox range available for optimal performance. Aluminium waterjets are normally supplied as skid-mount self-contained units ready for rapid installation, but tailor-made inlets can be provided to meet particular requirements, for example specialist naval craft.
Steel series
The new steel series waterjets provide improved efficiency over a wider speed range from 450kW to over 30,000kW.
For the steel series the mixed flow pump is a highly efficient unit developed using our full research facilities including our Hydrodynamics Research Centre. Its stainless steel construction makes it durable, mean time between overhauls is set as standard to 15,000 hours, and if any attention is required the pump unit is of an easily removable plug-in design. The aim throughout is to reduce the lifetime cost of ownership to the minimum.
A new nozzle and bucket design offers enhanced manoeuvring and the Rolls-Royce control system provides the option of a AutoPos, a light dynamic positioning system. Our experience and research facilities enable us to provide owners with very accurate performance predictions when a vessel is being designed.
Delivery programme
The delivery programme is divided into three ways of supplying steel series waterjets. The first is that the yard receives a waterjet as a complete skid mounted unit with pump and inlet together and the bucket / nozzle controls assembled.
The second option is that the inlet and controls are supplied as a skid mount ready for installation, the pump being supplied as a separate unit to be bolted in place at a later stage of construction of the vessel. The third option appeals to shipyards that prefer to fabricate their own inlet ducts as part of the hull construction. In this case we supply the pump / reversing system as a unit, and provides the drawings for the optimum inlet for the yard to work from.
Waterjet inlet design is important for efficiency, so we offer a modular system that enable the yard to select both the material of the inlet and also the level of prefabrication. There is a choice of steel, aluminium or composite as the material for the inlet tract, allowing the yard to decide which is the easiest and best to install. References include installations designed for catamarans where transom width is limited.
A complete system
We can also provide complete propulsion systems comprising matched MTU engines and Kamewa waterjets and control systems to give a complete high quality, high efficiency, high power density and compact propulsion system.
