Quadrimaran ferries - High speed with shallow draft

The ideal marine vessel would be fast, reliable, comfortable, safe, economical, environmentally friendly, and operable even in shallow water. However, some of these characteristics conflict with each other; this conflict makes it almost impossible to obtain them all to a satisfactory degree in a single package. The Quadrimaran is a new vessel design that appears to combine more of these characteristics than any other design now available. It achieves this level of functionality by violating some long-held ideas about how vessels should be designed. Although the design may be suitable for large freight carriers, for now it makes sense to focus on smaller sizes; ferries are an excellent application. Several related applications (e.g., emergency relief) can benefit greatly from the Quadrimaran's particular characteristics.