Q-West has built the same design as patrol boats for the New Zealand Police and Victoria Police in Australia.
Being a Coastguard vessel, special considerations were needed, Mitchell said.
“Obviously, they do a lot of towing so the boat’s been specifically built to tow other boats back to port.”
The foil-assisted design means the boat is far more fuel efficient than other catamarans, as the foils lift much of the boat out of the water while it is moving, reducing the amount of drag on the hull.
“You use less energy to push it along, so it’s a very capable, safe craft,” Mitchell said.
The foils made the boat design more complex, but Q-West was experienced in such construction.
“We’ve built over 50 foil boats in New Zealand over the last 25 years,” Mitchell said.
Now the boat is finished, it will undergo two weeks of testing before being sent off for duty.
“Every day it goes in the water on our slipway and then it’ll have about two to four hours of testing in the river and in the ocean.
“We test the engine outputs and the air conditioning and different safety systems so it all functions properly.”
At the end of the two-week process, a surveyor will provide the boat with a certificate of fitness.
It is expected the boat will go to Tauranga by December 20, though this is weather-dependent.
Mitchell said Q-West also had two 34m hybrid catamarans under construction for Auckland Transport and next year the company would start work on a new 18m boat for Victoria Police.
Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.
