84 www.workboat.com •• SEPTEMBER 2006 •• WORKBOAT

Think of it as an air-hockey tableturned upside down,” said KeithWhittemore, president of

Kvichak Marine Industries, during aninterview with a Seattle TV station.

Whittemore was standing on the welldeck of the Suna-X, a 93'×44' hover-craft built to carry up to 49 passengers,an ambulance or other vehicles, andcargo between two remote Alaskatowns. Whittemore had persuaded thecity of Seattle to allow him to run thenew hovercraft up on a public beach fora local dog-and-pony show beforesending it up north. (Some mothers andtheir children probably got moreexcitement then they expected whenthe big blue-and-white craft came roar-ing up not far from their beach blan-kets.)

Known best for their fast aluminumboats, Kvichak is making inroads intothe hovercraft market, the current proj-ect being its sec-ond. The first wasa smaller, single-prop hovercraftbuilt for CrowleyMarine’s opera-tions in PrudhoeBay, Alaska.

“We aren’t surewhat to callthem,” saidJennifer Rose, Kvichak’s marketingmanager. “They aren’t really boats,even though they float. I think we’ve

settled on ‘craft.’ ”“These are won-

derful things,” saidWhittemore, “but

they have very specific uses. If you canuse a boat, that’s best. But if there’s notenough water or if it’s a sensitive area

that can’t be dredged or have adequatedocks, pilings or other large infrastruc-ture, then hovercrafts are the answer.”

BRITISH HERITAGEThe new $9 million craft was

designed by Hoverwork Ltd., a hover-

Air Support

BY BRUCE BULS, TECHNICAL EDITOR

BOATS & GEAR93' HOVERCRAFT

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Hovercraft willcarry passengersand vehiclesbetween remoteAlaska towns.

The $9 million hovercraft willcruise at 45 knots.

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craft manufacturing company andoperator based on the Isle of Wight inthe United Kingdom. Hoverworkdesigned and built several hovercraftsfor the Canadian Coast Guard that arenow stationed near Vancouver, BritishColumbia.

John McGrath, the Suna-X projectmanager for the Aleutians EastBorough, the craft’s owners, recentlyretired from the Canadian Coast Guardwhere he worked extensively with theagency’s hovercraft. His new company,Seamasters, specializes in the design,construction and operations of thehigh-speed, amphibious vessels.

“The Alaskans came to the CanadianCoast Guard when they started consid-ering hovercraft, and they liked whatthey saw,” said McGrath. “So wehelped develop this one for them.”

For more than two decades, the peo-ple of King Cove, Alaska, have beenlooking for a way to get from their iso-lated fishing village on the southeastend of Cold Bay on the AlaskaPeninsula to the all-weather airport inthe city of Cold Bay at the northwestend, mostly for emergency medevacs.The preferred solution has been byroad, but environmental concerns haveprecluded that option for the timebeing. The compromise is a new, 17-mile road partway up the east side ofCold Bay to a hovercraft landing area.From there, the Suna-X will run across

the north end of Cold Bay to a spot nearthe airport, which features a 10,000'landing strip. The trip across the northend of Cold Bay is about nine milesand should take about 15 minutes withthe hovercraft running at 40-45 knots.

While both King Cove and Cold Bayhave docks, running boats betweenthem is often difficult if not impossiblebecause of weather, especially duringthe winter. “There is no protective har-bor in Cold Bay,” said Stanley Mackwith the Aleutians East Borough. “AndKing Cove is directly exposed to theNorth Pacific Ocean. The area that thehovercraft will be operating in is notexposed to the outside.”

“This is the perfect application for ahovercraft,” said McGrath. “It’s anenvironmentally sensitive area whereyou really only have two choices: hov-ercraft or helicopter.” And like a heli-copter, a hovercraft can be parked any-where since it travels over land and

water. But unlike a helicopter, you candrive a large truck or an ambulance onand off this craft.

CUSHION LIFTThe Suna-X is powered by two sets

of Detroit Diesel/MTU engines. A pairof 16V2000s, each rated at 1,200 hp,turns two 5-bladed controllable-pitchcompressed-wood propellers thatmeasure 11'6" in diameter. The pro-pellers are housed in aerodynamicducts. The other engines are 12V2000s,each rated at 900 hp, that power thefour squirrel-cage fans in the cushionlift system. The 12V2000s also turntwo separate fans that push air through

the swiveling thrusternozzles located on eachside of the forward cargodeck. All engines aremounted on vibration iso-lators.

The welded aluminumhull is essentially a flat-bottomed raft with asemicircular bow. Thenearly vertical sidesincline slightly at theupper edge where theneoprene rubber coated,

woven nylon skirt is attached. The flex-ible skirt, which measures 1.5m (4.92')deep at the stern and 1.8m (5.91') at thebow, forms a virtual seal between thehull and the surface below. The skirtallows the craft to pass over irregularsurfaces, including waves up to about6'6".

The ability to travel over water, mudflats, marshes and relatively flat land isone of the great selling points of hover-crafts. The air pressure under the hullof the Suna-X is only 50-lbs./sq. ft.,which makes it ideal for environmen-tally sensitive areas.

Another environmental considerationwas noise. While some hovercraft arepowered by gas-turbine engines, theSuna-X uses quieter diesels. The craft’snoise signature is also reduced by theuse of two large-diameter slow-speedpropellers. The noise level at 1,000' isabout 65 dBA.

Noise levels inside the heavily insu-lated passenger cabin haven’t been

86 www.workboat.com •• SEPTEMBER 2006 •• WORKBOAT

BOATS & GEAR: 93' HOVERCRAFT

The 11'6"-dia. com-pressed-wood propsare housed in aero-

dynamic ducts.

There’s room for 49 passengers.

The 11'6"-dia. com-pressed-wood propsare housed in aero-

dynamic ducts.

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measured, but passengers could havenormal conversations while running atabout 40 knots during the demonstra-tion rides in Seattle. Double-glazedwindows from Garibaldi Glass,

B u r n a b y ,B r i t i s hC o l u m b i a ,also reducenoise, retainheat and elim-inate fogging.

The cabin isequipped with

47 seats and space for two wheelchairs.A ladder in the center of the passen-

ger cabin provides access to the smallpilothouse or “control cabin” above.Two operators — a captain on the star-board side and a radar operator on theport side — sit in a pair of seats facingthe instrument panels over and underthe forward windows.

Steering is accomplished by control-ling the three rudders mounted to therear of each propeller duct. The captainmoves the hydraulically operated rud-ders by means of a foot-operated rudderbar. The bow thrusters provide bothyawing moments and side force, and areused primarily for low-speed maneu-vering. The thrusters are also used forgoing in reverse and as air brakes.

McGrath said he will provide theAlaskan operators with 100 hours ofhands-on training. He will also helpsupervise the construction of concretelanding ramps.

“The people in King Cove have beenwaiting for something like this for over10 years,” said McGrath. “This is alsothe first commercial hovercraft thatwill regularly carry passengers. There’sa sister ship being built in England thatwill carry 130 passengers, but this isthe first of its kind.”

88 www.workboat.com •• SEPTEMBER 2006 •• WORKBOAT

BOATS & GEAR: 93' HOVERCRAFT

SUNA-XSPECIFICATIONSBuilder: Kvichak Marine Industries

Designer: Hoverwork Ltd.

Owner: Aleutians East

Borough, Alaska

Mission: Passenger-vehi-

cle ferry

Length: 93'6"

Beam: 44' on cushion

Depth: 6' tapered skirt

Hull/Superstructure

Material: 5083-H116 plate

Bow Ramp Width: 11'

Well Deck Length: 31'

Main Propulsion: (2) Detroit

Diesel/MTU 16V2000, 1,205 hp @

1,800 rpm

Propellers: (2) 5-bladed, 11'6"-dia.,

compressed wood, controllable pitch

Cushion Lift System Power: (2)

Detroit Diesel/MTU 12V2000, 905 hp

@ 2,100 rpm

Speed: 45 knots, cruising; 60 knots,

maximum

Ship’s Service Power: (3) Auragen

“Viper” 8 kw, belt-driven off propul-

sion engines

Electronics: Furuno radar, GPS, satel-

lite compass, chart plotter, loudhail-

er; ICOM, Motorola radios

Fuel Capacity: 1,000 gals.

Cargo Capacity: 18 MT

Passenger/Crew Capacity: 49 pas-

sengers; 2-3 crew

Certification: U.S. Coast Guard

Subchapter T

Delivery Date: August 2006

The hovercraft can travel overwater, mud flats, marshes and

relatively flat land.

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