“Airex T92, the easy to process structural PET foam, was chosen due to its excellent compression strength, superior shear modulus, and outstanding fatigue resistance properties. Extra value for choosing Airex T92 was the PET core eco-friendliness, which fitted perfectly with our Taxi Catamaran sustainable concept,” said Mladen Peharda, owner and head of R&D, Agena Marin.
The prototype was built in “one-off” construction mainly from flat table molds to test the concept on a full size prototype. Since the main purpose of the Taxi Catamaran is professional use, the main goals on the concept design were robust construction with fatigue resistance, and sustainability. The single-skin under the water line and full sandwich construction above were chosen with these goals in mind.
An Ultrafine Displacement Hull-form (UDH) combines deep, ultrafine smart bows with a high bridge deck. This type of hull is designed to wave pierce and never “slam” – resulting in more comfortable ride for the crew and passengers. Engine power can be reduced to fraction with smart hull design and construction. The weight reduction improves various other aspects of the boat’s ride and leaves buoyancy available for payload.
Using vacuum resin infusion with hull and deck composite engineering allows a light, strong and tough boat. It provides maximum stability with industry-leading fuel efficiency. The Taxi Catamaran provides 18-20 knots with only approximately 40hp on each side, basically less than a third required by other designs.
All the bulkheads and deck components were structurally designed to give box construction elements throughout the entire boat.
