Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Capacity to change

The new Isle of Man Steam Packet ferry, the Manxman which operates on the Douglas-Hesyham route will soon be able sail at full capacity which is 948 passengers.

Since entering service in August, the Steam Packet's £78m newbuild flagship of 24,161 gross tonnes has been sailing with a passenger capacity currently limited to 600 while final crew training was completed.

That's almost the capacity of the 630 passenger Ben-my-Chree, with the 1998 built ropax having had to step in to cover the Isle of Man-England crossings when wind-restrictions prevented the 237 car carrying Manxman from sailing.

Alex Allinson, the Manx Treasury Minister told a House of Keys sitting yesterday, that restrictions are about to change.

Manx Radio has the story along with a link to an audio clip of the Minister.

Published in Ferry

Waszp sailing

The Waszp project was conceived in 2010 by Andrew McDougall, designer of the world-beating Mach 2 foiling Moth. 

The Waszp was created as a strict one-design foiler, where, as the class says “the true test when raced is between crews and not boats and equipment”.

The objective of the class rules is to ensure that this concept is maintained. Keeping possible modifications to a minimum ensures fair racing across the fleet, helps to reduce the overall cost to the sailor and reduces the amount of time in the workshop. 

The popularity of the WASZP has proven that the boat and the concept work. In October 2021, 1237 boats had been sold to over 45 countries. 

The top speed recorded on the foiling dinghy is 26.7 knots. 

60-95kgs+ is a weight range competitive across varied conditions with rigs knowns as ‘8.2’ and ‘6.9’.

The cost of a Moth dinghy in Europe is €14,400 inc VAT + shipping according to the manufacturers in October 2021.