The design of a passenger catamaran conceived for tourist lake navigation is presented. The operational area considered is a small lake in northern Italy with a mild climate, and consequently with a quite moderate environmental demand acting on the vessel. Moreover, the peculiar service suggests the adoption of eco-friendly solutions to provide power for both propulsion and on-board use. Specifically, a series hybrid power system has been set up: the electric energy is generated by different sources, and stored in batteries; two electric motors drive each propeller shaft directly. Even if such a system calls for higher costs of purchase and maintenance, it offers a very appreciable low environmental impact in terms of fuel consumption, noise and gas emissions.
The paper presents the design of a catamaran complying with the European Directive 2006/87/EC, which establishes harmonized conditions for issuing technical certificates for inland waterway vessels throughout the European Community's inland waterway network.
General arrangement, midship section, power balance and power management system distribution diagram are reported.
