Some time ago I received an order to model and fairing the surface of an electric catamaran (Looker 1100H). Usually, we limit ourselves to modeling and smoothing only the surface of the hull, but in this project everything had to be modeled. The catamaran's hull and superstructure were almost entirely built curved. A three-dimensional model created by the designer was used as the initial data for modeling this hull.
The model looked elegant and very unusual. As is often the case, the surface model from the designer was created to visually represent the future ship and did not take into account many technological details.
Quite a lot of time had to be spent coordinating model changes with the designer’s and technological point of view. The design company wanted to maintain the superiority of the style and shape of the vessel through individual designs, so simplification of models to improve technological designs was not allowed.
The surface of the catamaran was more like a hull made of plastic. The abundance of small parts and the presence of highly curved surfaces, as well as a surface with double curvature, complicated the task.
The complex geometry in the area where the catamaran side hulls intersect with the bridge superstructure also required non-standard solutions. Sometimes it was more difficult to imagine what it should look like than the modeling process itself. As a result, it was even possible to use a deployable surface on “legs” between the buildings and the connecting bridge.
Since it was originally designed for battery-powered electric propulsion, it was important to try to achive a low water resistance. For this purpose, CFD calculations of the vessel's water movement resistance was carried out.
The designer of the ship's exterior and interiors, Alexey Lukyanov, is a co-fouder of the Paritet-Center company, which built the ship.
The Sea Tech company, which carried out the design and all the production documentation for the construction of the vessel, produced all sheet developments based on a smooth surface and without allowances. It is pleasant that the shipyard-builder noted the high quality of the development of the shell plates. Shell plates were installed on the hull with virtually no gaps and perfectly fit to each other. Due to the quality of the faired hull shape and our software for shell plates folding, a minimal amount of hull primer was required before painting.
Photos credit to Alexey Lukyanov & Sea Tech.