Castoldi boasts successful sea trials for workboats equipped with turbodrives

Castoldi S.r.l. says it’s completed successful sea trials for two patrol vessels, both equipped with dual installations of the latest Castoldi Turbodrive 400 HCT waterjets. One is for the Italian Coastguard, the other is for fisheries patrol duties in the North Sea, Germany.

Speaking about the new 16 metre patrol vessel for the Italian Coastguard, Giacomo Castoldi, owner at Castoldi says: “This new generation, high performance boat, christened CP335 and designed and constructed in Italy by FB Design, began its life with a demanding cruise from Venice to Puglia in winter sea conditions. The crew recorded speeds up to 38 knots, which is higher than the maximum forecast by the designers, underscoring the efficiency of the Turbodrive 400 HCT.”

The Turbodrive 400 HCT was launched about a year ago and – in common with all Castoldi waterjets – features a durable hydraulic gearbox (heavy duty certified) and multi-disc clutch allowing the drive to be engaged and disengaged without stopping the engine – an important consideration for the fast ferries, police, patrol and SAR (Search and Rescue) boats which make up a significant proportion of Castoldi’s customers. It launched its waterjets into the USA in 2022.

Weighing in at 509kg, the Turbodrive 400 HCT includes essential components such as gearbox, hydraulic clutch, water intake, duct, anodes, and levers. The integrated gearbox offers 21 gear ratios, allowing for precise matching with a variety of engines in its power range, says the company.

Capable of handling up to 882kW (1,200mHP) of input power, the turbodrive also fields a redesigned steering system to help with greater precision and reduce speed loss during turns. Additionally a new reversing bucket geometry, and increased hydraulic power, enable prompt and efficient crash-stop manoeuvres.

“After many years of using only our own propulsion system, we were surprised both by the ease of installation and by the performance,” says Ebe Buzzi, commercial director at FB design.

“With a tight delivery timing and a demanding customer, Castoldi provided the best solution on the market. Castoldi allowed us to build a fast, reliable, efficient boat, that was also incredibly easy to manoeuvre and perfectly suited the client’s needs.”

Completed at Tamsen Maritim, the Rostock shipyard, on Germany’s northern coast, the 17 metre fisheries patrol is set to patrol the cold waters of the Baltic year in and year out.

Both vessels are utilising the Castoldi ACES control system for accurate station keeping in port, and at sea. ACES is seemingly a totally integrated Electronic Control System based on a 32-bit embedded processor using a dedicated CAN bus network protocol. Designed in partnership with Xenta, a specialist in integrated control systems, ACES is suitable for single or multiple installations of Castoldi waterjet units. It provides control of engine rpm, waterjet steering nozzles and reversing buckets in docking, cruising and dynamic positioning mode operations. Additionally ACES is available with a proven interface for USV applications and Turbodrive 400 HCT will soon be installed on such a vessel.

In both builds, ACES has been configured to serve the hull and power characteristics of the very different vessels, says Chiara Colombo, marketing and communications manager at Xenta. “Xenta continuously improves the algorithms related with the powertrains control systems, focusing specifically on manoeuvring and dynamic positioning systems. 20 years ago, Xenta began developing a method (that is part of a registered patent) that allows its algorithm to seamlessly adapt to any type of boat, regardless of differences between vessels. Rather than aiming to define the dynamics of a ‘perfect’ boat, our approach prioritises replicating the intuitive decisions of an experienced captain in various situations. During the commissioning phases, our engineers enable the system to learn and optimise its handling for each specific boat.”

Castoldi lists the range of its waterjet propulsion applications on its website.