“We Could Not Have Chosen a Better Engine Than
Yanmar”
Bill Coombe is a long standing, well
respected commercial operator who
powered his new whale watching
vessel, Amaroo, with a pair of Yanmar
6HY-WET marine engines. Bill’s
endorsement of the Yanmar brand is
just as powerful as the 650mhp engines
now in the engine room.
“We could not have chosen a better
engine than Yanmar”, said Bill Coombe
who has operated the Amaroo Cruises
business out of Forster for the past 36
years.
“We are very, very happy to have
chosen Yanmar,” Coombe said.
“The Yanmar 6HY-WET diesels are so smooth, quiet and vibration free. They start
instantly and are devoid of complicated and hard to service electronics. The
Yanmar’s are of extra heavy construction but the surprising feature is their fuel
economy.”
8 Palmer Street, South Melbourne, Victoria 3205
t (03) 9690 2171
e bca@connexionpr.com.au w www.connexionpr.com.au
Following rigorous sea trials, the fuel data since the vessel entered service confirms
that under a variety of loads and speeds up to 25 knots, the fuel burn is only 15 litres
per engine per hour. For a vessel of the size of Amaroo, the economy according to
Bill Coombe is “unbelievable”.
Yanmar’s 6HY-WET model is a purpose built commercial grade marine engine. It
includes Yanmar’s latest combustion chamber design, named ASSIGN, a system
originally pioneered by Yanmar on their large bore, low speed propulsion engines.
This technology combined with Yanmar’s own mechanical fuel system delivers
impressive fuel consumption results and provides commercial operators with
excellent fuel savings.
The Yanmar 6HY-WET is the perfect selection for operators who demand the
ultimate reliability from their vessel. The cylinder head features a quad valve design
for each cylinder. Combined with the twin turbochargers the Yanmar excels in all
conditions, whether it be continuous duty application such as a tug boat or an
intermittent high fluctuating load as experienced with a passenger ferry or tourist
vessel
Amaroo Cruises enjoys a long standing relationship with Incat Crowther, the Sydney
based specialist catamaran designers. The first Incat Crowther design was built for
Amaroo in 1981, the second hull followed in 1998 and now the third and current hull
is a 2014 build.
Incat Crowther developed Amaroo a full 4m longer than the previous hull, without
adding to the already shallow displacement. Amaroo’s daily dolphin and whale
watching run presented many design challenges as the trip originates in the shallows
of Wallis Lake, before passing under a low bridge and then entering the open ocean.
With Amaroo built by Aluminium Marine in Brisbane, the hull boasts a length overall
of 23.9m, a beam of 7.5m and a maximum draft of 0.85m. Propulsion is
conventional shaft drives driving through heavy duty ZF500A hydraulic shift downangle transmissions. This is another area where Bill Coombe elected to ‘oversize’
the equipment to ensure long life and high reliability.
On board Amaroo, the facilities are amongst the best in the business. The
superstructure is isolated from the hull on resilient mounts. The isolated deck house
ensures exceptional low noise and vibration characteristics.
The vessel is rated to carry 171 passengers. This is spread across 101 passengers
inside, 70 seats on the upper deck and additional space for up to 5 wheel chairs.
Indeed Amaroo is a ‘next generation’ vessel meeting the latest regulations for
access, wheel chair capable lavatories, wide aisles and dedicated priority seats.
Prior to selecting Yanmar to power the new vessel, Bill Coombe spent considerable
time with Ray Harris from Power Equipment who explained the benefits and
advantages of Yanmar diesel engines. This involved a visit to personally inspect
similar Yanmar engines at the Power Equipment Coomera branch office. Bill
Coombe then went further and spoke to existing Yanmar customers to assist in his
research process.
Once the hull was complete and the engines installed, Bill Coombe was on hand for
the sea trials conducted by Power Equipment technicians. He was impressed with
the process and attention to detail.
“Sea trials were comprehensive,” Bill recalled.
“Three senior Yanmar representatives attended, each testing and ticking off every
engine parameter. They spent many hours making sure everything was perfect,
before signing off.”
In sea trials a top speed in excess of 27 knots was achieved. The hull has a service
speed of 25 knots. The speed trials both light ship and fully loaded, exceeded the
designer’s forecast by 15%. Boat handling is both predictable and easy, with a very
low wash.
“We could not have chosen a better engine than Yanmar.”
Relevant web links:
Power Equipment
www.powerequipment.com.au
Yanmar 6HY-WET
http://www.powerequipment.com.au/products/sailing-engines/commercialengines/6hy-series-500-700mhp/
Amaroo Cruises
http://amaroocruise.com.au/
Aluminium Marine
http://www.aluminiummarine.com.au/
Incat Crowther
http://www.incatcrowther.com/
Power Equipment is the exclusive and authorised Australian, New Zealand, Papua
New Guinea and South Pacific Distributor of Yanmar Marine and Industrial diesel
engines, JCB DieselMax, MASE diesel marine generators, Gori high quality folding
sailboat propellers, PSS Shaft Seals, and Northern Lights Gen Sets.
For more information contact:
Michael Blair
National Marine Sales Manager - Australia
Power Equipment Pty Ltd
Tel:
(07) 5644 9600
Fax: (07) 5644 9644
Email: michael.blair@powerequipment.com.au