(Update 11/11/2024 Sorry if a few image thumbnails and galleries are a bit buggy, I'm updating the coding at the moment - James)
LDLines' Incat 112 Catamaran
I know it's not a hovercraft, but...
Catamarans saw the death of the SRN4 service between Dover and Calais. Hoverspeed (at the time) deemed them cheaper to run, with similar crossing times yet an improved level of passenger comfort. Initially, Hoverspeed ran several of Incat's (an Australian catamaran manufacturer based in Tasmania) 74m craft, later upgrading to two craft purchased from the then Stena Line's service to France, the Incat 86. SpeedFerries then took over these two craft upon Hoverspeed's demise, until their own cessation of service in 2008.
LDLines, the latest high-speed operator on the Dover to France routes operated the biggest high-speed catamaran of its kind at the time (2009), the Incat 112, the first of which to arrive was the Norman Arrow (LDLines.com, 2009). LDLines now operates from Portsmouth, its Dover to France route having ceased in 2010.
More information and technical specifications can be found within Incat's Incat 112 Specifications.
Brief specifications for Incat 112 catamaran
Source: LDLines.com, 2009 ; Incat, 2009
Feature
Specification
Length
112.60 m
Beam
30.50 m
Draft
3.93 m
Deadweight
~1380 Tonnes
Cruising speed
40kts (at 80% of maximum power)
Max. speed
47kts
Max. Power Output
36,000 kW
Main engines
4 x 9,000kW MAN 28/33D marine
diesel engines
Waterjets
4 x Wartsila LJX 1500SR waterjets configured for
steering and reverse
