ibinews.com International Boat Industry | AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2019 77
and offers superb handling,” she said.
“A Seatorque is a whole package, from
transmission to propeller and can include
optional engine mounts. We are finding a
strong market in larger yachts, especially
superyachts and the explorer types,
mainly due to the low noise, better fuel
consumption and total reliability.”
Another company with a foot in both
the traditional and advanced transmission
camps is Italy-based Transfluid.
“At the core of what we produce are
highly dependable transmissions,” said
CEO Ugo Pavesi. “For example, we supply
fluid couplings to the tourist boats in
Venice. These have to be very robust and
they mechanically engage and disengage
in both forward and reverse hundreds of
times a day. We also have a lot of expertise
from the wind energy market, where fluid
couplings are used to dampen the sudden
acceleration from wind gusts.”
Pavesi is convinced that solutions
needed in other industries, especially those
where failure is not an option, such a deep
core mining, can greatly benefit the marine
industry.
“Because we also supply heavy industry,
we are able to easily adapt other types
of electro, hydraulic and mechanical
machinery. The marine sector accounts
for no more than 15% of our total sales
but is relatively easy for us to address. The
mechanics needed to drive a propeller are
far more straight forward than a complex
set of conveyor belts, articulating arms and
caterpillar tracks. However, we are also able
to pass on the same level of reliability to
our marine customers that is demanded by
operators using our machinery in a hard-
to-access working environment, such as
deep underground. This is why we supply
drive systems to top brands such as Royal
Huisman.”ELECTRIC STEERING FOR OUTBOARDS
There has been something of a blurring of
the lines between propulsion and steering
as some pods are now able to turn through
a full 360 degrees. In addition, ruddersXItaly-based Transfluid leverages its
expertise in complex mining and commercial
installations to provide highly-dependable
transmission system. It recently acquired
Bellmarine to supply ultra-silent electric
propulsion systems to the tripping boats of
Amsterdam, where marine combustion engines
are banned