1.
What keeps it up, or
how does it float?
Hydro-Lance (HARTH Technology) is industry new, but it is still a
basic displacement hull. It does not use horsepower
to lift, or to raise it above the waves. It does not
have gyros , shifting ballast, or trim tabs, to make it
ride level or to remain straight, smooth and true, even in
high sea states. Buoyancy holds it up
at any speed, and the well understood
physics of hydro-static pressure, keeps the hull straight
and true. If the power is lost in seas, or in rough
water, the Hydro-Lance design is formulated for stability, with a geometry that assures dynamic
wave averaging to
each hull
and results with structural stress forces at near zero.
Invention is often the
unexpected.
.
2. What kind of engine does it
use?
Hydro-Lance can utilize any, or multiple, types of
propulsion. Because of the small cross-section in
its rails (hulls), smaller boats will have their engines
built in or under the main deck, in the root section of the two
rear or front legs. Power plants may be located in
the hulls of larger ships, which will have a larger hull
cross-section, or
within the main deck.
For slow harbor speeds, propulsion can be hydraulic,
electric or directly driven through 360 degree water jets, allowing for
maneuvering in any direction, including sideways and 'cater pillaring'
in its own length. High-speeds in open-ocean may be handled by
aircraft propeller ducted air drive, jet drive in the hull,
direct turbine
thrust, electric drive, or by a pair of directly driven cavitation
screws. Engines can be gasoline, diesel, piston, rotary, closed cycle
systems, or by gas turbines,
whichever offers the best efficiency, performance and a cost-effective trade-off,
for the owner/operator.
3. How fast will it go?
Graph
Speed is a function of horsepower vs. drag. Horsepower is a
function of platform size, range desired, hull
drag, and structural ability to deal
with rough water slamming. Hydro-Lance reduces
frontal wave-making drag up to 93% compared to the
conventional. The HARTH hull drills through the wave, so that the rails (hulls) always ride
in a flat, horizontal position with
no slamming. The
vessel's geometry averages the ocean
surface contours,
reducing overall structural stress at all speeds to near zero forces.
Graph
Hydro-Lance recognizes that sea water is nearly 800 times
more dense than air. It is fundamental that boats
should be more streamlined than
airplanes, given that air
weights 2.2 pounds per cubic yard, vs. over 1,700 pounds
for water. In order to achieve 60-80 MPH (Hydro Lance
economic cruising speeds , when measured against a modern 15-20 Knott
traditional displacement mono-hull of equal weight), the
Hydro-Lance, or HARTH technology, became a "no
compromise" and "no foolishness"
design...a technology developed from physical studies of
speed and the
varied ocean surface observations, analyses and profiles.
High seas and waves become a function of speed
capabilities.
No one yet knows, the hulls upper HARTH limits of speed in high seas, except that it is well over 160
Knots. With
specific designs for higher speeds, theoretical
bow wake resistance can be
eliminated, or pushed out to well over 200 Knots.
Larger vessels offer high speeds, and range
potential, because of their economies of scale and higher force
sea-state capabilities. The
inventor believes that with certain modifications in
basic design, speeds in excess of 200 MPH, in relatively
high seas, can be economically maintained for trans-ocean
runs. Operations in the Northern Seas would utilize designs of
larger HARTH
vessels with higher amounts of prime power installed. After all,
even with the significant overall 83% hull drag reduction, speed remains a function of Horse Power
vs. total drag including both the house and hulls.
4.
How about beam seas?
(Graph) Beaufort #11 Sea State
All vessels are at their worst in beam seas, high winds
and waves. Some craft such as catamarans
are even susceptible to roll-over (axial rotation) when
placed on the slope of a large wave. Hydro-Lance is
designed to eliminate this problem, with
specialized
geometry. Any new vessels are designed with specifically rated
maximum sea-state operational parameters.
You may compare yachts,
trawler and a
Blue-Water vessel.
HARTH Hull
Stability Video Clip
Careful study of the Hydro-Lance proportions will reveal,
that in proportion to its weight and size, it has a very
large and stable base. Short wave lengths contain the
most energy, yet the Hydro-Lance, when cruising in the
maximum specified sea-state rating, will never produce
more than one or two degrees of roll. Even while
standing dead in the water, without speed or power, roll
does not exceed five degrees. Obviously the
Captain
can eliminate even the minimal /
maximum five (5) degree roll by
starting the engines, gain some speed, and steer onto a heading a few
degrees away from full beam conditions.
Conclusion: Hydro-Lance handles very well in beam sea headings,
quartering seas, following seas or at any heading. Axial rotation is not a
concern because of
the geometry and hull design. The reserve buoyancy in each hull
(rail), is sufficient to carry the vessel's loaded
weight, even if the hull becomes flooded. Other
proprietary means are employed, to eliminate any and all roll for larger
open-ocean class vessels.
5. What about draft?
Because of the design specialized geometry that is utilized in
the Hydro-Lance design, draft is kept to a minimum.
These vessels measure draft in inches, or a few feet, and
not the typical 40-100 feet. A smaller 100 ton
vessel, for example, might have a draft of 18-22 inches, making it possible to cross over reefs at
high-tide, or pass through shoal waters, that only very small
boats might otherwise venture. This feature makes
Hydro-Lance design a good candidate for cruise ships,
tankers,
LNG and bulk
cargo design, where shallow-draft may be essential for entry
into shallow harbors or unimproved beaches, thus providing for
expanded
markets. The HARTH technology
includes, many other proprietary hull
application advantages,
formulations and safety features.
6. What about safety?
First, the ship's stability assures greater ocean transport
safety...and comfort. No pitch, roll, yaw. sway or heave in high force sea
states (Visit
Ocean Force Sea States). This stability design also produces
far lower stress on the hulls as compared to
conventional designs.
The hull's design averages ocean waves to a near zero influence on
the hulls and structure, thus mitigates hog or sag. These factors equal far greater vessel
safety in ocean going high force sea-states, than any
conventional or
specialty ship on the ocean today. Because conventional ships do
not average these forces, their structures suffer from
hog and sag
(Video)
which is a leading cause of
sinking ships.
The long rails, naturally make
newcomers nervous about everything, from hitting
semi-submerged logs, or flotsam and jetsam, to hitting
whales. Others ask what happens if you hit a rock
wall, or lose a rail on one side; will the upper body
float long enough, to get rescued?
These types of questions are reminiscent of those faced
by the first airplane. "If those long things
you call wings should happen to come off the airplane,
what happens then?" Fortunately, Hydro-Lance
is not as vulnerable as it may appear. For example,
flooded buoyancy is assured, by having a ship's reserve
displacement as foam back-filled hull sections - in each
hull or rail with the same for the legs and the
house. Even the components will float. The
speed assures the ship's ability to easily outrun
hurricanes or dangerous storms of any kind. The hull design, allows for the over-ride of
logs and debris, and satellite linked electronics assure
precise navigation ... there is so much more ...
The extreme shallow draft, and the bow design, are
more likely to ride up and over low floating objects, at
or below the water line. Floating objects are also
going to be pushed down, as well as Hydro-Lance being
lifted. The likelihood of center-punching a whale
is very remote, since whales hear things (sub-surface
signal horns incorporated) at long distances. Those
creatures, dropping a few feet below the surface, will
then avoid any collision of the ship with these
'intelligent' creatures. Hydro-Lance does not
have exposed propellers, keels, rudder or fins below the hull bottom, which
more often destroys or chops up marine animals currently.
.
The long tapered bow-points pass over kelp and
floating nets, etc. Even here, design provisions
are incorporated, to help cut away such occurrence.
What happens if you hit a sailboat, or power vessel,
while traveling even 60-80 Knots? Have you ever seen the
picture of the straw driven through
a tree, fence post or telephone pole,
during a tornado or hurricane? Arrows, harpoons, spears, etc.
are stronger along their length with velocity as are the HARTH hulls. A close
examination of Hydro-Lance's front legs may reveal their
cutting slope, where they fasten to
the hull.
We're hoping that pilot competence, long range radar, GPS, and
the new starlight night vision equipment ,will prevent
the test of such collisions.
7.
What keeps the rails running
straight?
Almost everyone worries about the rails going
their own separate ways. I believe a simple
comparison would be water skies, ice skates, snow skies,
etc. How strong are your ankles compared to your
body weight? The plain facts are that, the water
itself demands that the rails travel in a path of least
resistance. As a matter of interest, it takes more
energy to turn the hulls, than it does to make them go
straight. When standing still, wave action
might create minor pressures to create lateral forces,
and movement. This is normal (See
12 minute video). Under way, these
forces work back-and-forth to cancel each other. At
high-speed, the water has only enough time, to move a
very short distance, until the rail feels pressures of it
going the other way. The higher the speed of
Hydro-Lance, the closer these forces equate to
zero. Remember, just 60 MPH is 88 feet per second.
To understand the subtleness of the Hydro-Lance design,
you must do a velocity time vector analysis of
waves. Amazing, isn't it? Time profiles,
dwell, water forces and surface physics are important to the
understanding of HARTH for averaging wave forces.
8. Where do you park it?
Any place in sheltered or unsheltered water.
You don't need a snug harbor when your boat remains flat and stable when
parked in a high-surf. In the real world, this is
a stable platform at sea, making the technology a candidate for
a stable floating ocean piers and platforms as well. In fact, separately, the
Company has such designs, for stable floating piers,
docks, cities and platforms. When the hulls are beached
at the bow, even with large waves rolling in, it remains
stable without hull chaffing. The unexpected is
invention.
Consider that conventional vessels are
built for the convenience of harbors, while the Hydro
Lance is designed and build to first accommodate the physics
of the ocean environments. When airplanes were finally accepted as
viable, old airplane dirt-landing strips, were rebuilt as
airports and then further expanded, again and again.
Hydro Lance can accommodate open beaches and shallow
waters, and can accommodate some existing port
facilities, however there will be modifications made, for
this high speed transport capability. Just like the introduction
of airplanes,
economic benefits and time savings will demand it.
It's true that the relatively large footprint of the Hydro Lance, for its
weight and house size, does not conform with traditional
ships. Hydro-Lance is a complete opposite (invention); designed
on the basis of ocean physics. It performs well at sea,
but does not fit in the compact boat slips. On the other hand, traditional boats berth
well, but do very poorly at sea. At least
there is now an intelligent option on what purpose that we design for,
build
and buy, or what and how we can justify the capitalization for a new boat or ship
- or a fleet.
9. How expensive is it?
Hydro-Lance should not cost much more than
ordinary vessels once they are repeatedly
produced. Hydro-Lance has approximately 30 percent
more surface area, which means more skin and ribs,
etc. But measured against weight, it has double the
living or cargo area. A relatively small Hydro-Lance will
offer more space, clear-span space, safety and luxury
than a traditional boat twice its weight. The
twin-hull geometry, reduced hull cross-section, bow
point, reduced drag and elevated house is the synergistic difference for
comfort, speed and greater safety.
10. How
about fuel consumption? See Ferry Study Economy Summary
Because Hydro-Lance is over 80 percent efficient in the
amount of water disturbed per mile, with fuel consumption and
horsepower being kept at a minimum. Compared to a
standard mono-hull displacement vessel, or even a
catamaran,
tri-maran,
SWATH,
SLICE,
Hydrofoil,
Hovercraft or
Planning Hull, the
Hydro-Lance will either double or multiply your speed, for
the same fuel and horsepower per ton/passenger mile consumption.
Alternately, going only somewhat faster than that of the 'conventional' vessel,
operational fuel
consumption is reduced by approximately seven times
per ton or passenger mile, when compared to
these other
vessels (many existing hull shapes may resemble
large plows pushing
through water). Marine architecture today, may revel in a "breakthrough accomplishment" for achieving just one or two percent
improvement in reducing hull
drag. In other words, redesigning the same old bucket,
keeps getting the same results; a bigger bucket, slimmer bucket,
planning bucket, or
smaller bucket, but still a tub. Tubs and
bucket hulls all behave and
obey to the wave contours of the ocean - as they must
slow way down in elevated sea-states for
punishment
avoidance. There is a much better way;
The Hydro Lance HARTH technology is the unexpected answer, and is
ready now.
11.
What about heave?
Heave is negligible or non-existent. Within any
total wave length,
there is 50% of rising water, and 50% of falling
water. The forces of heave become averaged to zero (See
12 minute Video).
It's important to observe and understand the vertical rise and falling speed of the
water, energy movement, hull dynamics, and the variables in different forces of sea states. The development of the
HARTH technology was based on an extensive study of ocean physics. Hydro Lance design averages
these forces to approximate zero and prevents the unwanted pitch, roll, heave, yaw or sway. This is a significant gain for
ocean safety, speed and comfort of
surface ocean transport.
.
Waves pass over each hull, as a normal
function. As speed increases, the frequency of waves encountered
increases, and effectively becomes calm water with
relationship to these specially designed hulls. Even HARTH pontoons on
retired aircraft
can transform old 'airliners' to super fast ferries,
or be modified for flight and mounted to larger aircraft for
ocean landings and
take-offs.
12.
What about turning at high-speed?
Turning a Hydro-Lance may be as fast, as any large
ship in the water. The new methods used are
proprietary and are part of the overall Patents,
Patent Applications,
and Copyright processes. Many new practical inventions and innovations had to be developed
to make Hydro-Lance a total working system.
Features such as low-energy wetted-surface drag reduction,
variable displacement, high/low decks, elimination of rudders & keels,
descending tail gates - ramps - platforms,
walk-ashore rails and people-moving mechanisms which may eliminate most shore boat transfer
problems. Enhancing fast-loading & unloading systems, overhead traveling
cranes, lowering deck platforms, port infrastructures together with other unique features were
designed to make Hydro-Lance a true contender for global
marine improvement - for both light or heavy tonnage ocean transport.
13.
What about Aircraft Flight Pontoons?
Special modifications of the proprietary HARTH
hulls may
allow mounting of these fast hulls to
large aircraft, including large
jet aircraft, for landings and take-offs with
more safety and comfort in ocean environments. The stability of
the HARTH pontoon system provides for these landings or take-offs
through a Force 6 Sea-State Beaufort ...
Above: HARTH Aircraft
Flight Pontoons
HARTH Matched-Speed Aircraft Carrier
HARTH Super-Fast Patrol Boats
14. ..
Still have a question? ...
'More about The Technology
15.
Early Test Demonstration?
...
Hydro Lance 12 Minute Video
.
16..........How Do You Reach Us? .....
CONTACTING OUR
STAFF
17.
What about the Company? ...
About History and the Company
18.
HARTH Industry Participation
...
HARTH License,
Manufacture & Investors
19.
The HARTH and HARSH Technologies are
owned in whole by the
Hydro Lance Corporation
Above: HARTH Fast
Manta Series Live Stock Fast
Transport
New Life & Markets for Retired Airliners
New Markets
for Ocean Transport
And Very Much
More
...
You may
mouse-click the underlined
headings below, or
any
image
above
or any of the underlined
phrases
for additional
information ...
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