New carbon fibre catamaran from Brodrene AA

With 18 vessels, Rodne Fjord Cruise is one of Norway’s largest high speed-ferry companies. It was founded in 1956 to provide school transport to and from the Sjernaroy islands, but today Rodne offers transportation, sightseeing and adventure trips on express boats. It also operates ambulance boats from Stavanger and Bergen.

With a top speed of 19.9 knots, the shipping company’s new catamaran Rygerdronningen is 37 meters long, 10 meters wide and has room for 297 passengers. The vessel has panoramic windows in the main and grand lounge and comfortable seating areas where tourists can enjoy food and drinks. The stunning view of Preikestolen, Fantahålå, Hengjandefossen and the other attractions in Lysefjorden can also be enjoyed from the deck.

To achieve her ultra-lightweight displacement, Rygerdronningen has been built using infusion carbon fibre sandwich technology. The sandwich panels are made using Divinycell products from H60 up to H200 in 30-60 mm thickness with vacuum infusion. Divinycell H range is closed-cell IPN structural foam. It is particularly suited for marine applications due to its high strength to weight ration and durability. Widely used, it has a proven track record in virtually every application area where sandwich composites are employed, including marine, transport, wind energy and civil engineering. It is compatible with most wet resin systems and its low thermal conductivity makes it especially suitable as insulation at low or cryogenic temperatures.

Rodne Fjord Cruise has bought 19 vessels from Brødrene Aa during the past 50 years and was a partner in the development project which led to the first commercial carbon fibre boat, Rygerdoktoren, in 2001.

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