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Passerelles
and Gangplanks
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on all images
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Passerelle
Stowed In &
Rotation Joint |
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| Passerelle
Deployment Views |
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Passerelle
Deployment Views 2 |
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Passerelle
Fiber Optic Detail |
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| Nautical
Structures’ Passerelles
Our
design philosophy is that the passerelle is the yacht’s
grand entranceway, providing the owners and guests
their first experience with the yacht and the pending
yachting experience. The passerelle must be constructed
in a style and quality commensurate with that of the
yacht. The passerelle must be sturdy and steady while
boarding; a guest should not feel the passerelle deflecting
or moving under-feet while boarding. Once one boards
a Nautical Structures’ passerelle the feeling
should be as if one was already on the yacht’s
deck. We understand that for some persons, crossing
over ten to twelve feet of open water is an unnerving
experience, so the passerelle should provide an enhanced
level of security and well-being while boarding. Nautical
Structures passerelles always include rigid hoop-railing
systems that will support the weight of an individual
returning from an evening of libations!
Nautical
Structures does not manufacture the greatest number
of passerelles, but every year we do produce a few
of the industries’ finest passerelles. Nautical
Structures’ passerelles are manufactured to-order
and specific for each project, based on one of our
over twenty-four engineered designs. We offer single
and double-telescoping planks, fold-over and fold-under
designs, with and without additional telescoping plank
sections. We have developed a specialized swimplatform-integrated
design that also deploys as a tender-dock while the
vessel is moored offshore. We have built Passerelles
that double as small cranes (PassaCranes),
and have even built a specialized passerelle that
deployed from a box built into the cockpit bulwark
of a large cockpit-style motor yacht. Nautical Structures’
planks are available in three widths to facilitate
the available storage space and the grandeur of the
vessel. We will incorporate unique features such as
self-leveling boarding areas, wheelchair ramps, fiber-optic
lighting and custom-styled rails based on the desires
of the client.
Yacht
designers and naval architects should consider the
big-picture when specifying a passerelle with their
client. Storage space most dramatically affects the
design and cost of a passerelle. As a rule, the longer
the passerelle enclosure, the less complicated (read
less expensive) the passerelle becomes. As a yacht
becomes larger, there is a need for more distance
maintained between the stern of the yacht and the
dock when moored. This results in a longer deployed-length
plank requirement, which impacts the enclosure length
requirement. As the passerelle’s enclosure length
is reduced, additional features such as a folding
plank, or a telescoping plank is required. Sometimes
both folding and telescoping features are required
to fit a passerelle into a smaller available storage
space. Designers and architects should also pay attention
to the specific needs of the client. Will the yacht
travel the world and have to adapt to a large variety
of boarding situations? Will there ever need to be
wheelchair accessibility? Is the client elderly or
obese and require additional boarding width? Will
the vessel use the stern entry and thus use the passerelle
as the primary entry point of the yacht? Answering
these types of questions will ensure that the passerelle
is designed adequately for the intended use of the
yacht.
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Nautical
Structures’ passerelles are designed and built to
be “Plug and Play” type installations. All of
the critical assembly and adjustments are made in our factory
prior to delivery to the shipyard. The most critical element
of the installation is that of the enclosure. Ours are built
watertight, and often will incorporate the hydraulic transom
door-opening mechanism. Compliance with the Mega Yacht Code
for transom door openings is to be considered. Once the
shipyard has installed the enclosure, the passerelle may
be inserted into the opening, and the hydraulic lines routed
through the enclosure and onto the control manifold.
All
of the critical service and maintenance points are located
outside of the passerelle’s enclosure and mounted
adjacent to the enclosure in available engineering spaces.
A Nautical Structures passerelle drives itself in and out
of the enclosure without using cylinders, belts or chains.
This feature reduces operational noise and will allow the
passerelle to be pushed into the enclosure without damage
in the event the plank is pulled off of the dock by a tidal
surge and then pushed against the seawall. Typical routine
maintenance is liberal freshwater wash downs after each
deployment and periodic lubrication of the luff and slew
points. The teak walking surfaces should be maintained as
one maintains the yacht’s decks.
A brief
synopsis of Nautical Structures’ passerelles unique
and notable features include:
•
Defined deflection criteria, maintaining a minimal of
plank-end deflection when deployed without wheel support
from the dock. This eliminates the uncomfortable “Diving
Board” effect felt in the ones on other planks.
• Self-centering feature that positions the plank
for travel in and out of the enclosure, without the
use of electrical and undependable limit switches, proximity
sensors or PLCs. Our planks utilize a dual-hydraulic-cylinder
configuration that positions the passerelle hydraulically,
with total repeatable accuracy over the life of the
passerelle.
• Slew-lock safety feature, uses hydraulics to
eliminate plank-end motion, particularly when boarding
from the side of the passerelle. The plank will not
kick-out from under a person when boarding.
• Hydraulic safety circuits, which allow the plank
to relieve and move when making contact with any dock
structure. This allows the plank to luff up on an outgoing
tide, and the plank to retract into the enclosure in
the event of a plank-end impact with the dock with out
structural damage to the passerelle or the yacht.
• The self-propelled drive feature which allows
the passerelle to drive itself in and out of the enclosure,
quietly, reliably and without the use of toothed-belts
or chain-drives. The lack of a mechanical connection
between the passerelle and the enclosure ensures that
the passerelle will be easily serviced and will prevent
structural damage in the event of plank-end contact
with a fixed structure.
• Float-Feature that will allow the plank to roll
on the dock without hydraulic support. In the event
that the plank is pulled off the dock, the plank will
lower at a safe metered rate so as not to injure anyone
that may happen to be on the plank at the time.
• Rigid Hoop-Rail system, that provides real security
when boarding, not the perceived protection afforded
by lifelines that are provided with most of our competitor’s
passerelles. Our handrail system includes a variety
of individual stainless steel telescoping rail sections
on ball-joint mounts in varying lengths that allow for
a rigid rail section to be installed in-between the
passerelle’s car section and the rotating and
luffing sections.
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