The hovercraft was invented in 1956 when air was being tested as a lubricant to reduce friction
between the surface of the water and a boat's hull, and as a result, the world's most
environmentally friendly motorised vessel was created. Hovercraft ride about 25 cms above the
surface on a bubble or cushion of air, enabling our craft to operate even over environmentally
sensitive areas without disturbing the surface.
Hovercraft travel on a low-pressure cushion of air, well clear of the surface, hence
there is no bow wave or wash to damage the shoreline or disturb marine life.
Because there are no underwater protrusions in a hovercraft, the fatal strike to a
turtle or dugong (or any other marine creature) associated with a conventional
propeller driven craft is impossible, the below water thrashing noise signature does
not exist, and sea-bed erosion when operating in shallow waters is eliminated.
Hovercraft do not need any modification to the environment to be used.
i.e. concrete boat ramps, dredged channels, channel markers, jetties, piers etc.
Fuel systems on a hovercraft are fully contained within the hull structure and any
accidental discharges or leaks are contained within the craft and cannot enter the
water or contaminate the environment.
With no part of the hull in the water, toxic anti-fouling paints are not required to
keep the hovercraft hull clean of various marine growths.
The low-pressure air cushion below a hovercraft reduces drag to almost zero,
cutting fuel consumption to about half that required for a similar sized conventional
craft resulting in considerably less atmospheric pollution.
A unique charactistic of hovercraft that gives it the ability to make virtually no impact on sandy beaches
or intertidal flats is it’s extremely low “footprint pressure”.
i.e. an average human standing on a beach exerts a pressure of around 20 kPa under foot, rising to
172 kPa when walking. By comparison, a hovercraft exerts a pressure of around 2.2 kPa on the
surface regardless of the speed. This “footprint pressure” is lower than normal daily atmospheric
variations, or less than that of a seagull standing on one leg. Military hovercraft have discovered that
this low "footprint pressure" enables them to travel safely over mines without setting them off.
Hovercraft have been successfully used for weed control on many drinking water storage dams
throughout Australia.
The modern four stroke powered hovercraft has a very low atmospheric sound signature, approximately
the same as an average similar sized powerboat. Outboards, Jet ski’s, motorbikes and small aircraft
have all put a lot of effort into reducing noise in recent years, and hovercraft are no exception.
