THE BIZARRE ACCOUNT OF HOW RCR SAVED 49 BOATS ON THE RIVER AVON IN AN 18 HOUR SHIFT
The River Canal Rescue (RCR) team managed to pull off a huge logistical feat to save 49 canal boats in one 18 hour shift in Bath. Disaster struck on the Kennet and Avon Canal when a sluice gate broke at Twerton. Water rapidly drained from the canal and in the space of an hour no more than a trickle was left.
Several boats were capsized completely when their tight moorings pulled them in the wrong direction as the water disappeared. In total 49 canal boats became stranded in thick silt for several days, with boats perched precariously on concrete slabs, on their sides or submerged in filthy water.
RCR is regularly called in to attend incidents with canal boats often involving flooding, but RCRs Ms Horton admitted that the emergency in Bath was of a “huge scale” and something they had not done before. By the end of Friday (September 18), 12 members of the RCR along with help from Canal and River Trust employees, Environment Agency and Bath and North East Somerset Council, managed to get every boat rescued.
the thick slit, so engineers needed to be on hand with winches and pullies to help the boats righten themselves correctly.
Ms Horton explained: “The problem is that many of them were underwater for a very long time and the water is full of debris. At least four of them will need a complete rework and need to be craned out of the canal and taken away.”
MAMBO: WORLD’S FIRST 3D PRINTED FIBERGLASS BOAT USING A THERMOSET CONTINUOUS FIBRE COMPOSITE MATERIAL
Italian start-up, Moi Composites, has unveiled its MAMBO (Motor Additive Manufacturing Boat). The MAMBO is the world’s first real 3D printed fiberglass boat using a thermoset continuous fibre composite material, demonstrating a new, unique shaped boat that cannot be achieved with traditional manufacturing.
At 6.5 metres long by 2.5 metres wide, MAMBO has a dry weight of approximately 800kg, and is equipped with a real navigation system, cork flooring, white leather seats, and a 115 cv engine. The hull is an inverted tricycle inspired by the famous Arcidiavolo by Sonny Levi.
Ms Horton explained: “We came up with a simple but effective plan to work down the river with our team controlling one section, the environment agency guys at another and the Canal and River Trust employees at another.”
Despite supply issues created by coronavirus the rescue team managed to get all the extra equipment it had suddenly needed in less than 12 hours including, 20 bilge pumps and batteries, six Tirfor lifting and pulling machines, 100 meters of rope and 60 meters of hose.
What followed in the afternoon was a herculean effort to refloat the boats as the water was gradually re-introduced into the canal after it had been held back further up the river. This is again a technical job as many of the boats were sitting in
The 3D printed fiberglass boat was digitally crafted in patented 3D printing technology, Continuous Fibre Manufacturing (CFM), developed by Moi Composites.
CFM technology involves the use of robotic machines, capable of depositing continuous fibres impregnated with thermosetting resin in order to create products with optimised performance, starting from a three-dimensional model of the object. According to 3D Printing Media Network, this allows the creation of fibre-reinforced products with mechanical characteristics comparable to those of unidirectional fiberglass, without the aid of models, moulds and other tooling equipment. It is, therefore, possible to obtain not only prototypes but real products in small lots or unique pieces, efficiently and cost-effectively.
14 | The Report • December 2020 • Issue 94
Marine News
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