Fairlight- the company which developed the first sampling synthesizer- named themselves after this vessel as they saw it as the pinnacle of tech in those days in Australia.
Not in my five years as deckhand. Vessels not fitted with radar either. Steered compass courses until we arrived at Circular Quay. If fog on start up at 0600 didn't leave until visibility improved
72 passenger Hitachi Zozen built Manly entered service 4 Jan 1965. Fairlight, first of the PT50 class to enter service in Australia 11 Nov 1966. Dee Why May 1970, Curl Curl March 1973.
And now, june 2021 this same boat, the Curl Curl, has been discovered in dry dock in the Mediterranean and has been saved from scrapping to hopefully be brought back to Sydney. Fingers crossed.
Look at the difference in the wakes between the two. It looks to me like brute force v finesse. I'd love to know what the differential fuel consumption between the two vessels for that run was.
My God those things were beautiful to see...... I realize that they were expensive and unreliable, but they were an icon and should have been left to operate regardless of the expense! Politicians are also expensive and unreliable, but they seem to keep on going!
Most of the reliability issues, particulary on the second generation RHS 160F's, were due to the very short 6nm distance between Circular Quay and Manly. These vessels were much better suited to longer trips. Engines highly stressed as a result, significant propeller electrolysis, 12 month life in Italy, 12 weeks in Sydney.
@@seapilot64 I understand.... but wouldn't a change of engine and prop design be an alternative option? I'm not a marine man nor am I an engineer by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think that we could have kept them if the powers that be put some effort into keeping them.
@@jimlord4970 yes, current model MTU M2000 series are state of the art, from memory, they were 10 to 15% more fuel efficient the the original MTU 12V493 engines, weighed around 800 kg less. Cost 5 years ago about $540,000 AUD. MTU spares and service very very expensive. Prop design, very coarse pitch props are needed, they haven't change much from the original, would think if there was room for improvement there would have been implemented by now. A hydrofoil will never be a toyota camry, it will always be a maserati with corresponding maintenance costs
and thanks to the nsw govt. we are getting new asian built ferries because gladys says we are too dumb to build our own happy 50th birthday bitch now go back to wherever you came from you wasted billions on shit
I remember going on this boat back in the 70s between Auckland and Pakatoa Island when it was used by the late Robert Kerridge who owned the island along with the Kerridge Odeon theaters at that time, I think I was around 6 years old.
I remember going on this boat back in the 70s between Auckland and Pakatoa Island when it was used by the late Robert Kerridge who owned the island at that time, I think I was around 6 years old at the time.
This footage is no doubt taken from the manly ferry which departed manly wharf 10 minutes before the hydrofoil departed..as a kid i use to think the ferry n hydrofoil were in a race to get to circular quay first..and the ferry always got a 10 minute head start..lol silly thoughts but great memories 😁😁😁
I was on the wharf in Auckland along with hundreds of others to see this fantastic new machine arrive. It was the first time most people had heard musical air horns as when she pulled in the captain let rip with them making a lot of people jump. The crew were turned out in white navy type uniforms which added to the effect Sadly lost to NZ due to excessive union crewing demands and the owner withdrawing the service. Sat on land for years before having foils removed and used as a launch (marine research I think) in the southern sounds, before eventually being restored and occasionally seen on the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland again before disappearing to Australia. She was always an impressive sight running down the harbour and sounded great with the original engine throbbing away effortlessly while on the foils.
Hello JRB Aero NZ. Thanks for your comments, there is nothing else quite like a hydrofoil. I am the current owner of Manu Wai having been associated with her since she came to Australia in 1995 where she was repaired and restored to Class after running aground in NZ in 1994. I am doing everything I can to save her and return to service in Australia but it would be much easier to do so in New Zealand due to less stringent survey and more places to operate. Came very close to going to Queenstown a few years ago to run in conjunction with the Kingston Flyer steam train ferrying passengers from Queenstown to Kingston but sadly it all fell through. Queenstown would have become a woking transport museum between the Kingston Flyer, the steamship Earnslaw and a 1960's hydrofoil, particularly one that has such strong links with NZ. Would love to take her to Queenstown if anyone showed some interest in making it a reality.
Hi Gary, great to see manu wai is being looked after, but I'll bet it's fantastic but expensive proposition keeping a complicated machine like her up and running. Shame the Queenstown idea fell through (I saw an old article/ad on the subject yesterday mentioning the 3 transport modes) as it would be great re lack of corrosion worries, engine cooling etc compared to operating in salt. I never had the opportunity to ride in her as I was a bit young then - still at school for most of her short working time, but knew a few people who commuted to Waiheke occasionally who weren't that impressed with the ride on rough days, and complained that the windows were too high to see out of when sitting, (probably used to the old 112ft Fairmiles !) Other vessels were tried as well (such as the 'SeaFlyte' wave piercer-which I believe is still in Aust) but we ended up with cats for everything, (don't know if you have been on one of the big cats on a rough day in the Motuihe channel but talk about a bloody corkscrew,-can't stand up !. At least the Manu wai could fly straight through it! I have just dug out a couple of old news paper pics and scanned them along with a pic I took of her going past Devonport just after her rebuild in the Kiwi Lager scheme. If you have an email address I can shoot them through to you. BTW- I was wrong about the research bit it was for a movie platform and crew base. Best of luck with your endeavours.
Hi JRB, thanks for your comments. Unfortunately she has not been operational for many years despite my best efforts and needs considerably more care and money poured in than I can give, I don't have a Richard Branson budget. Queenstown remains the best possible place to operate her commercially should anyone desire to see her run again. As were the Sydney hydrofoils, I believe she would be a tourist attraction in her own right. Manu Wai is the last intact PT20 afloat, the PT20 being the world's first high speed ferry approved by Classification Societies for limited coastal use in 1956. If she cannot be saved and returned to some form of operation it will be a very sad day, will share more with you by email. However uncomfortable for some her pitching and rolling may have been it would always have been better than any other hull form of the same length and displacement travelling at 32 knots. The 8 seats in the belvedere cabin behind the pilot stand were the only ones that were low, all others in forard and aft cabins offered good viewing. Please contact me at hydrolastic1800@gmail.com and I can send you some photos also.
I love this video so much, thank you. I travelled on Condor 5 from Weymouth to Jersey in September 1990 when the new Wavepiercing catamaran Condor 9 was out of service with teething troubles. The crossing was not smooth by any means, the front lower lounge got hot and rather uncomfortable....rear lower lounge was better though! However this lovely old RHS160 hydrofoil romped along in fine style and took the English Channel swell in her stride, and I can still hear the throb from her twin 12-cylinder MTU 652 engines over a quarter of a century later.
As a young child I travelled many times on these vessels between Sweden and Denmark. It was quite a thrill when the foils emerged and the speed was also very exciting. Only drawback as I recall was that rough sea did not sit very well with these types of boats, it could get really bumpy ;) Many thanks for the upload, brings back my childhood!
@ Seapilot - I'm actually working on a quite interesting new, yet retro styled project, I'd be glad to let you have more info - feel free to shoot me an email with your contact info to Leopoldo @ Rodriquez Consulting (dot) com
@ Seapilo, My name is Leopoldo Rodriquez and that shipyard was actually founded and run by my grandfather, I didn't even know of the existence of this video, thanks a lot for sharing it, it brought to mind some childhood memories. Really Appreciated.
Hello Leopoldo, being the grandson of Leopoldo Rodriquez you have hydrofoil royalty flowing through your veins. I think it is real pity that Rodriquez didn't seem to do more to promote these vessels in other parts of the world, They should have produced and posted a promotional video such as this on their more recent hydrofoil and other fast ferry designs. Sorry for the delay in replying, was unaware until now that your comment was pending approval for so long. Unfortunately so many people on social media have nothing better to do than leave negative comments for no reason.
I went by hydrofoil only once in my life: 1996 from Tanger to Algeciras. Looked like the passenger version shown. But I don't know, if it really was a Rodriguez.
It does have soundtrack but for some strange reason not when viewed from my smartphone. Try to watch via computer. The yellow glassed structure you refer to was the hydrofoil pontoon moored alongside Manly Wharf to facilitate easy berthing. The yellow sides were made from perspex
Thanks for the vid. I lived in Manly as a little kid and was always memorised by the yellow glassed hydrofoil terminal. I could never understand why my Mum didn't take me on one - I guess they were expensive. I finally rode on one when older and was ironically a bit let down by just how quick the experience was.
I thought I replied to your comment a long time ago but it appears not to be the case! I loved your mini musical, fantastic!! I may have left a comment on your video inviting you out for a trip on the Manly Ferry that I work on? Offer still good if you want to take it up one day.
Sorry for delay in replying. MED1 will suffice on the harbour. Beyond harbour limits you need higher grade engineer's qualifications, can't recall exactly what it is at the moment.
Regrettably not that I am aware of. Visit the International Hydrofoil Society website for more information on US Navy hydrofoils and general commercial hydrofoil information.
Glad you enjoyed it. I think it is a real shame that Rodriquez seemed to do very little to promote these amazing vessels, at least that 's what it looked like from Australia. I requested this video from them many years ago but am unaware of any such promotional video on their later hydrofoil designs. Regards from Sydney.
