Shock Mitigating Technology News

Before any keel is ever laid, naval architects spend considerable time in determining how exactly the vessel must come together. All great marine craft still need skilled and competent crews to make them maneuver and perform as their design intended. With their feet on the deck plates, crewmen have perhaps the best insight as to what works and what does not when it comes to highly functional vessel design. It happens more often than vessel owners will care to admit, but complete specifications have been written and contracts signed without bringing a single mariner to the table.

Speed. When Zodiac unveiled its Hurricane MACH2 earlier this year, its eye-popping 60+ knot speed caught the attention of potential military and port security clients. "Today, if you're not 50 knots plus, you're not in the running," said J.J. Marie, president, Zodiac, at the Mach2's in-water running earlier this summer at the MACC 2008 exhibition, While the 11-m RIB is indeed fast, powered by a trio of 300-hp Mercury outboards as tested in Virginia, the boat is designed to be a flexible…