Safehaven Marine just held the rough-water sea trials off the entrance to Cork Harbour in Ireland for its new 41-foot Barracuda Search and Rescue vessel. The Safehaven 12.5 Barracuda is fully self-righting; it can recover and keep going even if it capsizes, and it’s made to handle all weather conditions anywhere in the world. Safehaven has sold some to the U.S. government.
The 12.5 Barracuda has a deep-V hull, with a 24-degree deadrise at the transom, for performance in heavy seas. Power comes from twin 650-hp Cats working with two-speed ZF gearboxes and France Helices surface drives. Top speed is 43 knots; cruising speed is 32 knots, and the new Safehaven has a range of 600 nm.
You can see the Safehaven’s heavy-seas performance in the video at the end of this story. As part of its self-righting capability, the engine room vents close automatically. All the boat’s components are strong enough to withstand a complete inversion during a roll over.
The front windshield uses 25mm ballistic glass to withstand the forces from breaking seas over the bow. The side and upper windows use 12mm polycarbonate for light weight and strength.
To keep the crew safe, the boat has SHOXS shock-mitigation seats. There are two rows of two seats each, plus a bench seat aft. The boat has a 5kW genset and an 18,000-btu Dometic air conditioning system for climate control. The accommodations are forward, with berths for two, a head with a separate shower, a dinette, seating, and a cruising galley with a cooktop, microwave and fridge.
The helm has 15-inch and 12-inch Garmin MFD screens, while cameras cover the deck areas and the engine room. Humphree Interceptors keep the boat in trim, and reduce roll, even in terrible conditions.
The side decks are wide for alongside boarding, and the integral swim platform is large enough for dive operations. A polyurethane bonded fender surrounds the boat along the edge of the deck. Read more at http://safehavenmarine.com and see the sea trial video below:
