Cheetahs go to Africa
[Posted : 15 Feb 2012]Free Spirit, the former Cheetah demonstrator has left the Isle of Wight en route to Sierra Leone to join another 11.2m Cheetah which began service at the end of 2011. The Cheetahs will be running a daily passenger ferry service between Lungi International airport and the capital Freetown which is a 15 mile stretch across the Estuary.
Free Spirit underwent some minor modifications before her voyage. Twin Honda 175hp outboards replaced the current 135hp used when Free Spirit was running powerboat and mackerel fishing trips along the south coast of the Isle of Wight. On sea trials, the total 350hp excelled with top speeds of 40+ knots with a good cruising speed of 30 knots. Full Hydrive hydraulic steering from Southern Cross is fitted and a side door gives easy passenger access.
In order to deal with the extreme heat and occasional tropical downpours modifications have been made to Free Spirit. To keep guests cool, a deck sized roof has been fitted to the extended windscreen with two inch stainless steel supports, to provide protection from the sun. All the necessary stainless steel work was carried out in Cheetah’s production facility in Ventnor. The central back to back seats provide comfortable seating for up to 12 passengers and a helm seat has been fitted to the central steering location. Side screens will be fitted in Freetown to protect passengers from the rain.
The initial contact for Cheetah Marine came at Seawork. The new owners visited the 11.2m “Lady P” on the pontoon, liked what they saw and after a visit to Cheetah’s Isle of Wight yard, went on to order both the 8.5m and 11.2m Cheetahs. Air conditioning was installed on the 11.2m to guarantee passenger comfort. Both Cheetahs were shipped to Freetown via Amsterdam.
Sean Strevens, Cheetah Designer said “We now have to fit in a new demonstrator trip boat into our production schedule. This means that we are very busy, not only with orders but also with building a new Cheetah 9.95m complete with a new wide wheelhouse from scratch. The plugs are almost finished so that soon we can start building the moulds. The order book is very healthy with fourteen boats either in build or not yet started. These include a dive support boat, two survey boats and two of the new 9.95m Cheetahs for which the hull mould is not yet laid up and just to add to the situation Seawork will sneak up on us before long”.
