34m sailing yacht Anemos, built by the renowned Finnish shipyard Nautor’s Swan is a modern cruising sloop with a composite hull construction. Designed by well known German Frers, the Anemos superyacht was fitted with the NRG Sonihull System by E-Tech Yachting in early 2011, as an addition to her regular paint based antifouling, before she started her busy season cruising the Central as well as Eastern Mediterranean.
Nautors Swan 34m sailing yacht ANEMOS fitted with the NRG Sonihull System by E-Tech Yachting
Anemos superyacht´s captain, Richard Foster was really keen to see her underwater hull condition when she was hauled out at STP boatyard in Palma de Mallorca a year later in January 2012.
Richard was already pleased with the inconspicuous trouble free installation, and the fact that the system had required no onboard maintenance at all. Checking around the water line from the tender, and experiencing a noticeable improvement in the sailing performance of the luxury yacht Anemos throughout the season had shown very promising signs, so expectations were high!
Luxury yacht Anemos hauled out at STP boatyard in Palma de Mallorca
And now the real test of Sonihull´s antifouling effectiveness would be obvious as soon as the hull was clear of the water sitting in the travel lift slings.
To Richard’s delight there was no visible fouling at all on the hull, anywhere from the water line right down to the bottom of the keel.
He said; “I can only think of positives when it comes to commenting on this system! A friend who had it fitted on his boat in Dubai recommended it to us, so we had some track record to base our decision on. The major convincing factor in favour of us fitting SoniHull was the results from installation in the middle east, where there are serious growth problems due to warm water temperatures.”
Anemos Superyacht by Nautors Swan
Would he continue using it and recommend it to others? “Based on these results I would say a resounding yes” said Richard. “Before Sonihull was installed the bottom would have to be physically cleaned by divers twice in a season. And the yacht’s performance is noticeably and consistently improved due to having a clean hull.”
NRG Sonihull System
NRG Sonihull system is an ultrasonic antifouling system marketed and installed by yacht electronics specialists E-Tech Yachting. Sonihull already has many years of research, development and proven practical use behind it. And E-Tech has all the expertise and resources needed to install it professionally and effectively, on all sizes of yacht from 10 metres up to superyachts.
NRG Sonihull System by E-Tech Yachting
Sonihull features:
– Improved hydrodynamics & speed.
– Noticeable reduction of maintenance expenses.
– Return of investment within a short time.
– Less fouling of ship’s hull.
– Improved fuel efficiency & performance.
How does it work?
Multiple transducers are installed in the hull. The transfer rate of the ultrasonic signal is much higher on steel than fibreglass and therefore most effective. However, the system works and has been proven on all hard surfaces. On commercial ships each transducer should be calculated to a 3-5 metre radius on steel hulls to obtain ultimate results.
The Sonihull Marine Hull protection system utilises the latest digital electronics and ultrasonic transducer technology, by producing multiple bursts of ultra sonic energy simultaneously in a multiple range of frequencies. This energy produces a pattern of alternating positive and negative pressure. The alternating pattern creates microscopic bubbles during periods of negative pressure and implodes them during periods of positive pressure in a phenomenon known as “cavitation.” The implosion creates a micro-jet action that not only provides the cleaning effect on the hulls surface below the water line, it also resonates and destroys single cell organisms such as algae. The removal of the initial link in the food chain inhibits the growth barnacles and other marine life that feed on the algae.
