Green Marine, a leading specialist in high-tech carbon fiber molding, announced their latest accomplishment, the completion of one of the world’s largest composite rudders for an in-build project at Vitters Shipyard in the Netherlands. A performance boat builder in Lymington, UK, Green Marine has built many of the world’s renowned racing and cruising yachts, including Volvo Round the World Race contenders, America’s Cup challengers, and cutting-edge cruising superyachts.
The rudder, designed by Dubois Naval Architects for a new 216-foot sloop, is constructed of carbon fiber for outstanding strength and stiffness at the lowest possible weights. A test program was created to validate the properties of the chosen materials and if the 25-foot rudder meets performance expectations it is likely to impact construction techniques throughout the marine industry.
Green Marine used high-tech 3D precision measurement equipment during construction, which played a vital role in the validation of the accuracy of the foil shape and the bearing alignment. Once in service the rudder will see enormous twisting and bending loads and the Dubois team 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.
Specializing in working with carbon fiber, Green Marine is well placed to have built this innovative rudder, having built rudders for other Vitters super yachts, and more than 50 racing and cruising yachts ranging from 40-130 feet. In recent years, the company has also applied its expertise 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.
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