Salthouse Updates

Things don’t seem to stand still for too long at the Salthouse yard these days. 

No sooner has the ETNZ Chase boat left the number 1 shed than out comes the mould again for a sister ship to be built.  This second chase boat is for an overseas client who was impressed with the power, speed and functionality of this new design.

From one powerboat to another; Salthouses have begun work on a new Southstar37.  This is number 5 of these great little coastal cruisers and proving the versatility and adaptability both in layout and powering options; will be driven by jet engine and used predominately as a commuting vessel.

Across the yard in the number 2 shed, or what has affectionately become known as ‘Vaka Land’, is  a 72ft traditional Vaka Moana near completion.  This Vaka will go on to join the fleet of previously launched catamarans currently doing their tour of duty in the Pacific Islands and beyond.  The shed space will then remain empty long enough to have a good sweep out before 4 of the 7 original Vaka return to the yard after 3 years for some well deserved maintenance.

Meanwhile, right next door is a group of men clad in white paper-suits, crawling like ants over a soon to be finished Elliott35 SuperSport, due for launch early September. With the launch of this exciting new canting keel race boat – we will have photo’s and footage with feedback from designer Greg Elliott and her new owner.  

Watch this space….

And just to top things off, we also have our slipways packed full with our local boaties coming up for their winter maintenance.  Most notable of these is the old classic Trinidad which was built by Salthouses back in 1964. Trinidad is having a complete strip down with 20years worth of anti-foul being removed, and a new breakthrough anti-foul product applied.  Check back for our next news update for a story on this.

Emirates Team New Zealand Chase 1 Video Footage

Designed by Morrelli & Melvin, built by Salthouse Boatbuilders, the new ETNZ tender takes to the water at pace....

Emirate Team New Zealand Chase 1

July saw the launching of Emirates Team New Zealand’s latest chase boat from the Salthouse Boatbuilders yard.  The new chase boat is powered by four Yamaha F300B V6 four stroke engines. With the advent of the new America's Cup, the whole format of the race has changed. The competition has moved from traditional mono hull yachts to massive 72 foot (22m) catamarans. These catamarans are capable of achieving speeds of up to 40 knots. This new format provided some unique challenges and requirements when it came time to look for support craft, as previous boats used for this purpose would not be sufficient.  Emirates Team New Zealand approached the challenge head on by designing a totally new craft in house with input from Chris Salthouse, from Salthouse Boat Builders.  The new 14m Cat that has resulted exceeds the required design speed of 50 Knots with an impressive top speed of 58 Knots (107km/h) – amazing performance for a boat of its size.

With limited days allowed for testing between now and January 2013 this Chase boat will need to be capable of being on the water and operational on these set days from dawn until dusk. That requires long range fuel efficiency - an area where the big Yamaha F300Bs excel. The reported fuel consumption of these engines at mid range cruise speeds is 100 Litres per hour at 30 Knots (56 Km/h). That’s only 25L/h per engine. At this speed the boat has a range of 510 nautical miles (926 Km).

The boat is expected to carry a range of support crew during this important preparation period. Among the staff onboard will be sailing coaches, boat builders, sail makers, riggers and on-board systems experts monitoring the finest details of boat and crew performance to get the most out of Emirates Team New Zealand. For added comfort for all on board, suspension seats have been added to smooth the ride in rough conditions, a feature that has been especially well appreciated by the crew. The success of this new chase boat design has not gone unnoticed and Salthouses are already in discussions for another 2 boats.