Rhino History 2017 Rev1

Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd
41 Manhattan Street, Airport Industria 7490

P.O. Box 173, Cape Town International Airport, 7525
Company Registration - 2005/012752/07
Vat Registration – 4500221421
Factory: +27-(0)21-380-0068
Sales: +27-(0)82-960-0591
Accounts: +27-(0)82-325-3119
www.rhinomarineboats.com
BRIEF HISTORY OF RHINO CRAFT AND RHINO MARINE PRODUCTS – AUGUST 2017
1. Introduction – The first Wale Marine Rhino Craft 540’s – 2003 to 2005
Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd are a fabrication company that is closely linked to Wale Marine CC
who are a professional engineering management company undertaking engineering consultancy as
well as design and fabrication works. Rhino Marine specialise in the fabrication of HDPE (High
Density PolyEthylene) offshore work-craft and military patrol boats that are designed by Wale Marine
but also undertake structural and mechanical steel, aluminium and stainless steel fabrication works.
Rhino Craft were first built in 2003 when Wale Marine were commissioned by the Hydrodive Group
in Nigeria to design and supply them with three HDPE workboats fitted with pneumatic fenders for
use as offshore work boats compatible with offshore “Surfer type” oil and gas bow-catcher boat
landing structures. This contract was executed shortly after the advent of HDPE work boats which
were then being pioneered primarily by the Norwegians. Hydrodive had approached Wale Marine to
determine whether they could design a more cost effective HDPE workboat that could be shipped
inside a standard 6 metre container.
Photographs of the first prototype 5.4 metre long Rhino Craft 540 offshore workboat which had
vertical mounted pneumatic bow fenders are shown below:
On the sea trials of this first prototype at Hout Bay the craft generally performed well in large swells,
but had a tendency to ship water between the fender mounts.
Based on the sea-trial observations on the first prototype boat the fender mounting brackets were
modified to ameliorate this problem, but more significantly this led to a modification of the bow
Directors: B. BOUCHARD * MBA, Dipl. (Nav Arch); D.L. VAN DER MERWE N.D. (Mech. Eng.); A.W.WALE Pr.Eng.,M.Sc.(Eng.),B.Sc (Civ.Eng.) * Canadian
Title: Brief History of Rhino Craft and Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd – August 2017 Page 2 of 18
structure design to incorporate a forepeak which could mount the fenders horizontally to render the
craft more sea-worthy in heavy seas.
This design change with the elevated forepeak with horizontal fender mounts was implemented on the
2nd and 3rd prototype boats. Photographs of this modification during the sea trials of the second boat
are shown below:
This system worked very well and the separate forepeak has been incorporated into subsequent Rhino
Craft, especially those that are used with “Surfer Craft” bow-catcher boat landings on offshore oil and
gas structures.
The significant advantages of this forepeak design are:
 It allows for a fender mount structure that is independent of the hull such that if there is damage to
the forepeak from high impact on the bow then the hull integrity remains unimpaired;
 It effectively elevates the bow to enable operation in heavy swells and wind-waves without
shipping water; and
 It provides a good and safe platform for bow embarkation and disembarkation.
On the design of the initial hulls the design principle was to perform more as a displacement hull with
a bow ramp to effect lift by deflecting water beneath the boat more than by cleaving to displace water
sidewards. The hull itself is shown during the fabrication process below:
One of the advantages of these original flat keeled boat was that it allows for easy stowage without the
use of a cradle.

For the initial boats Wale Marine sub-contracted the HDPE fabrication to Petzetakis in Pretoria where
they were supervised by the then workshop manager Dawie Fick.
On these initial boats the hull was designed using personal practical experience from propelled barges
and general boating experience (Anton Wale and Mike Spiers) and small scale models (1:10) were
built in PVC and tested being drawn through the water, see pictures below:
Although these tests were somewhat Heath-Robinson they displayed well how the hull performed. At
the prototype sea-trials Triton Naval Architects were commissioned to witness and furnish a report
which was issued to the client.
After the first three pneumatic fendered boats were developed Wale Marine changed the fenders to
rubber D fenders which are more resilient. The greatest testimony to the success of these initial Wale
Marine supplied Rhino Craft is the fact that simple as they might have been these initial craft are still
being used effectively as work craft in the Nigerian offshore oil and gas fields. Recent pictures of
some of these initial Rhino 540’s are shown below:
Further pertinent facts relating to these initial “Oil and Gas” prototypes and their design include the
following:
 Geometrically the Rhino Craft are designed around the principle of a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB)
with the rigid pipe sponsons (500 mm OD) replacing the inflatable sponsons of the RIB;
 As with RIB’s the deck level is at the bottom of the sponson with seating on top giving
comfortable leg room when sitting;
 The uplift of the hull is created by projecting the hull deep below the sponson level;
 Essentially this concept of 500 mm pipe sponsons with seating on the top and deck at the bottom
of sponson was maintained through till 2014 (see later in report);
 The boats are intended for use with outboard diesel engines which were then produced by Yanmar
because offshore Oil and Gas fields generally do not allow the use of petrol engines;
 The boats are designed for transport in a standard 6m container and two boats could be loaded into
a single container;
 Because of the pneumatic fenders the hull length was restricted to 5.4 metres;
 Though the cost of HDPE workboats is higher than equivalent designs in GRP or aluminium their
robustness and durability and consequent long life justifies the extra price;
 Though HDPE boats are heavier than equivalent GRP or aluminium boats, this gives them more
stability and manoeuvrability especially in rough seas; and
 Besides being extremely robust, with HDPE having the same SG as water coupled with the fact
that the pipe sponsons have sealed compartments, these Rhino Craft are virtually unsinkable.
Since the pioneering days in 2003 when Wale Marine developed, fabricated and sold the simple but
robust and effective initial 540 Rhino Craft there have been a wealth of improvements on both the
design and fabrication of the Rhino Craft which are now fabricated by Rhino Marine Products at our
factory in Airport Industria in Cape Town.
2. Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd – Early Developments 2005 to 2012
The original Wale Marine Rhino Craft were developed by Anton Wale in co-operation with Mike
Spiers as a joint venture using outside fabrication sub-contractors in Pretoria. As the viability of
fabrication and sale of these craft proved itself to be a potential self-standing business it was decided
to form a new company to undertake the fabrication and sale of the established Rhino Craft models.
After the success of the initial Rhino Craft, Rhino Marine Products was formed in 2005 to fabricate
established Rhino Craft models (paying a design commission to Wale Marine who retained the IP)
whilst Wale Marine continued to develop prototypes which would be covered by their PI insurance.
This continued till 2012 when a major cash injection was required in order to take the Rhino Craft
evolution to a new level. At this stage a 30% share of Rhino Marine Products was sold to Bert
Bouchard in return for a major cash injection into the company.
The essence of this sale was that the Rhino Craft intellectual property of existing designs transferred
from Wale Marine to Rhino Marine Products and in future Wale Marine would continue to develop
the designs and be paid a 5% design commission on all subsequent sales with the IP accordingly being
purchased by Rhino Marine and with the designs being covered by Wale Marine PI insurance.
A brief evolution of the Rhino Craft designs subsequent to the original Rhino 540 prototypes up until
the 2012 sale to Bert is given below:
 The pneumatic fenders on the forepeak were initially changed to large rubber D fenders and then
to parallel 100 mm x 100 mm D fenders to allow the hull length to be increased to 5.9 metres –
this base-boat became the Rhino 590 outboard;
 In 2006 a new 8.5 m high-speed outboard version was evolved for an alluvial diamond mining
client on the West Coast who wanted a combination personnel carrier as well as being able to
transport diamond gravel and other heavy cargo. This new Rhino 850 was fitted with twin 200 HP
outboards and besides being longer than the 590’s its beam was also widened. Pictures of the
Rhino 850 during its sea-trials at Saldanha Bay shown below:
 The Rhino 590 hull (for 6 metre container transport) was refined to incorporate a deeper V for
better performance in swells and large seas. For this design change we once again built a 1:10
PVC model and checked that it performed well before going into prototype fabrication. This hull
could still be stowed without a cradle, but certain offshore clients preferred to use cradles for
offshore handling. Pictures below:
 In 2006/2007 Rhino Marine were commissioned by the Cameroon branch of a French oil company
Perenco to design and fabricate an 8.5 m inboard diesel workboat/personnel-carrier to be powered
by inboard diesel. Perenco insisted that we commission a naval architect for the design of the
vessel, and the naval architect we commissioned changed our design radically claiming it would
vastly increase the performance of the boat. On testing the new design of hull which was powered
by a Alamarin Jet driven by a 140 HP Steyr Diesel, instead of achieving the 20 knots required we
could only achieve 7 knots and the vessel was extremely prone to rolling. Pictures of the original
Perenco 850 during the fabrication and at field trials in Cape Town are shown below:

 Consequent upon the initial “Perenco 850” design failure we designed a new Rhino 950 powered
by a Volvo Penta Z drive and successfully supplied Perenco with this in place of the 850.
 The 950 performed well and is shown in operation below. One observation that was made is that
on the high speed hulls the flat plated bows (as opposed to smooth curved bows) can project a
large amount of bow spray that resulted in a “wet-ride” for passengers – especially in adverse side
winds.
 In 2010 Wale Marine were commissioned to design a motorised composite HDPE structural steel
catamaran barge for use in the reconstruction of the Calshot Harbour in Tristan du Cunha. This
barge was used for the ferrying of the dolosse and other construction materials and equipment
from the supply ship (which ran from Cape Town to Tristan du Cunha) into the shallow harbour.
Pictures of the sea trials in Cape Town harbour are shown below:
 During the period from 2006 to 2010 various improvements were made to our 590 outboard hull
including raising the height of the forepeak and incorporating heavy duty pad-eyes and
working/surging bollards.
This process culminated in 2010 when Wale Marine were commissioned by PetroSA to design
and manage emergency repairs to their tethers on the EM control buoy using the limited diving
spread that they had on the AHT/Supply Vessel the Seacor Achiever.
One aspect fundamental to this work was the need for a good workboat like our Rhino 590 as
they had no suitable craft. We agreed to fabricate one that was fit for purpose relating to the
works which required the moving of heavy floating equipment, the handling of heavy equipment,
the need to surge loads over the side of the vessel with steel wire ropes, and the need to interact
with the EM buoy for personnel transfer – all to be done in the heavy winter seas south of our
coast.
This project offered us the chance to be directly involved in the operations as the engineers of
the repair works as well as functioning as the resident offshore manager for these works. This
enabled us to get good experiential exposure of Rhino Craft being used in extreme conditions as
well as providing good marketing footage. Pictures of this operation are shown below:
 After the successful completion of the EM job and owing to our direct involvement offshore we
were able to refine the design further as well as generate good video footage of our craft involved
in heavy offshore work conditions. Based on the EM experience we developed the new 590 EHD
(Extra Heavy Duty) prototype which has D fendering all around, a heavy stainless steel handrail
and stern bollards. A marketing collage of this craft generated at the time and a resultant boat that
was sold to SBM as a daughter craft for their construction vessel the “Dynamic Installer” is shown
below:
 In 2010 Wale Marine and Rhino Marine established a fabrication facility in Blackheath Industria
such that we could start to fabricate Rhino Craft ourselves in Cape Town instead of sub-
contracting the fabrication to Dawie Fick (Customised Plastic Products - CPP).

 In 2011 Wale Marine were commissioned by SMIT Subsea to develop a 9.5 m scuba replacement
(SRP) boat with them. The design criteria included the need for an inboard diesel with jet drive
and a top speed exceeding 15 knots so that their excursion distance from the mother ship was
satisfactory to allow timeous emergency decompression of divers if necessary.
For this SRP boat we opted for the Ultra Jet (instead of the Alamirin Jet used on the initial 850
jet boat built for Perenco). The prototype was the first boat fabricated by Rhino Marine without
sub-contracting to CPP. The boat was SAMSA certified with SAMSA getting very involved with
our fabrication and welding processes. This craft was designed with curved bow plates such that
we would not have the same spray problems that we had experienced on the initial 950 that we
supplied Perenco.
On sea-trials in Simonstown the prototype 950 SRP performed very well achieving a top speed
of 22 knots without spray problems and with no leaking at the hull and transom interfaces with the
aluminium intake block and the jet respectively.
This craft has operated extensively in Equatorial Guinea and has been an extremely successful
financial success for SMIT/Boskalis. It is still owned and operated by Boskalis and is now in
Europe.
Pictures of the SRP boat are shown below - during Simonstown sea trials (above) and
operating on field off Malabo in Equatorial Guinea (below):
 During the fabrication of the SMIT 950 SRP we were visited by Workships Africa from Nigeria (a
Dutch owned company who Wale Marine knew from the pre-comissioning of the Bonga FPSO
gas pipeline that was performed from their vessel the Seaworker). During this meeting they saw
the Perenco 850 and purchased it from us provided that we would convert it into a SRP boat which
could be operated by their Nigerian hire company RIB Rentals.
We converted the hull to include extra stern sponsons so that the rolling problem could be
rectified, and in subsequent field trials the rectification works were well proven.
Prior to being despatched to Nigeria the boat was hired out to Titan Salvage for works in
Tristan da Cunha where the boat performed extremely well in fairly extreme conditions. Pictures
of the converted 850 SRP boat during operation in Tristan da Cunha are shown below:
 After the successful completion of the SRP boats and given that there was a developing need for
inboard diesel driven small craft for offshore oil and gas works because of the discontinuation of
the Yanmar diesel outboards Wale Marine decided to proceed with the development of a prototype
smaller inboard diesel and jet drive boat that could be transported inside a standard 12 metre
container. This type of boat would also be well suited for use as a small SRP boat or as general
daughter craft on supply vessels and construction vessels as well as being suited to conversion into
a fast rescue craft (FRC) for which we believe there is a significant market.
The prototype we developed was a 690 which initially employed a 160 horsepower Steyr
diesel and Ultra Jet without a gear box because the engine revs for maximum power were
compatible with the required jet drive speed.
During the field trials we established that we could not develop the full power available from
the engine because we could not get over the planing hump and hence the engine was running at a
lower speed than for its optimum power delivery.
This was then rectified by employing a gear-box and the craft performed well. Photographs of
the prototype 690 during fabrication are given below. Worth noticing in the fabrication
photographs is the down-stand hull projecting from the centre-line of the 500 mm diameter pipe
sponsons, this down-stand was to give sufficient payload capacity whilst maintaining the deck
above water-level in case of swamping to allow free egress of the water through the stern
scuppers.
 After development of the Rhino 690 IJ (inboard diesel and jet) the prototype was sold to Smit
Lamnalco as a small SRP boat and work craft.
This craft was so successful that it was then followed up by subsequent orders from Smit
Lamnalco for a further two Rhino 690 IJ’s plus a larger Rhino 950 IJ SRP craft. See pictures
below of the 690 IJ operating in Australia (top left and right) and the 950 IJ SRP on sea trials in
Hout Bay (below left) and operating in Dubai (below right).
3. Rhino Marine– 2012 to 2014
In 2011 we moved from our premises in Blackheath into the Concrete Units factory in Airport
Industria. Wale Marine has had a long-standing relationship with Concrete Units having performed
many joint venture contracts with them. Concrete Units were keen to have us move into their factory
as they would be able to assist us in large order fabrication.
As mentioned earlier, in 2012 a third share of Rhino Marine was sold to Bert Bouchard in order to
secure financing to develop Rhino Craft further as well as to build a new prototype twin inboard diesel
and jet drive high speed military patrol boat. This step was taken as there was a potential for
supplying such boats for patrolling the Amazon as well as being a demonstration boat for the SA
Navy.
The 9 metre MPB was powered by twin 440 HP diesels and jets and performed extremely well with a
top speed of just below 40 knots, photographs of this craft being demonstrated to the SA Navy in
Simonstown is shown below.

This 900 MPB was the first Rhino Craft built without pipe sponsons having a more conventional slab-
sided bulwark. After this boat was demonstrated it was purchased by a Nigerian company African
Diving Services (ADS) who operate the craft as a diving craft.
Another craft that was developed was an 8 metre long Rhino 800 IJ craft (effectively an increased
length of the 690) which could fit inside a 12 metre container. This increased deck space is very
useful for SRP craft and an example of the 800 IJ fitted out as an SRP craft is shown below:
Besides the 800 IJ craft we also developed an 800 broad beam outboard craft which performed
extremely well. This craft was a prototype that did not have a separate forepeak but still incorporated
the 500 mm diameter sponsons with a downstand hull projecting from the centre of the sponsons and
the deck level at the bottom of the sponsons. The bench seating was at the level of the top of the
sponsons giving 500 mm for comfortable leg room (bench- seat to deck level).
This craft was a differentiation from the EHD (Extra Heavy Duty) range designed for offshore “Surfer
type” bow-catchers in that the bow sponsons were kinked upwards without having a fore-peak. This
cost-effective alternative to the EHD we termed the HD (Heavy Duty) range.

4. Rhino Marine– 2014 to 2017 – The new range of Rhino Craft
In 2014 Concrete Units were awarded a massive contract to fabricate precast concrete modules for
towers for wind generators and hence needed all of their available factory space so Rhino Marine
moved to their new factory in Manhattan Street Airport Industria where we are now.
Also in 2014 we had a review of what HDPE craft were available elsewhere in the world and how we
could optimise the design. In performing this review we observed that some of our opposition were
using double smaller diameter pipe sponsons (one above the other) and letting the hull spring
tangentially of the lower sponson - unlike our down-stand hulls that sprung from the centre of the
sponson (see typically pictures of the 690 on page 9).
We then implemented a completely new design of hull. The essential changes made were as follows:
 We decreased the sponson diameter from 500 mm to 400 mm

 We sprung the hull tangentially down from the centre of the sponson (rather than having a
vertical downstand step (see pictures below – old hull shape on the left and new hull on the
right)
 We lifted the deck level to above the mid-level of the sponson;

 We introduced a bulwark module above the sponson to act as a seat module; and
 We adapted the bow to suit.
These changes had the following effects:
 The pay-load potential (which is determined by keeping the deck level above the outside water
level) was massively increased because of the elevated deck;
 The inside width of the boat is increased by 200 mm because of the reduced sponson size;
 With the elevated bulwark module the seat level for comfortable sitting could be maintained;
 Because of the continuity of the hull around the sponson the full width of the boat is effective
to prevent rolling so the boat is far more stable;
 Generally the aesthetics of the boat is greatly enhanced.
For convenience the range of narrow beam (fitting inside a container) was standardised at 600, 750,
850 and 950.
The first new generation Rhino 600 HD porotype was sea-trialed in Hout Bay and the boat performed
extremely well – see photographs below:
After the successful testing of the 600 HD prototype a 600 EHD prototype was built and these two
vessels were tested in Hout Bay – see photographs below:
This was followed by the fabrication of the new range 750’s (see 750 HD outboard Below Left and
750 EHD inboard below right):

In the various sea-trial tests performed on the new range Rhino we had the boats put through their
paces by Bert Bouchard who is an extremely experienced vessel captain and naval architect. Bert
affirms that the hulls are exceptional in their performance. Sequential photographs of Bert taking a
750 outboard through a tight high speed turn in sea trials at Hout Bay are shown below:
Another development of major significance is that Rhino Marine had developed a relationship with
Twiga Services and Logistics (see www.twiga-africa.com/ ) who are involved in the sale of military and
para-military equipment. We have an exclusive agreement with Twiga that they shall be the sole
distributors of any Military Rhino Craft.
In 2015 Twiga commissioned Rhino to fabricate a Rhino 850 HD military patrol boat (MPB) for them
to fit out as an armoured display craft such that they could take around Africa to display to potential
clients (see 2017 850 MPB VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J37udvARlrU ). This has now borne
fruit and they have been issued with an order for four more of these craft. A photograph of the Twiga
demonstration 850 MPB suring sea trials and inventor renditions of the four new MPB’s for their Central
African client are shown below.

Besides the narrow beam craft designed for container shipment shown above we have also developed
our broad beam inboard jet 950 for use as an SRP craft. In 2016 we supplied such a craft to Stapem in
Angola. Photographs of this vessel during sea trials and in Angola are shown below:
As offshore lifting has become rigorously controlled, this craft has specially developed composite
duplex (stainless steel) and HDPE lifting pad-eyes. The single bow pad-eye has a 7.5 Te SWL (Safe
Working Load) and two 5 Te SWL pad-eyes in the stern. These padeyes are each proof load tested to
twice the SWL which is witnessed by Bureau Veritas. The lifting spreader and rigging is DNV
certified.
5. 2017 - Rhino Craft – FF Range
Over the years we have been asked on a few occasions whether we cannot develop a more cost-
effective and simpler craft. This is almost like asking us to revert to our first designs with the more
displacement type hulls with the inclined bow-ramp and wide keel strip to deflect the water beneath
the boat (see first photographs).
In 2017 this notion was brought to fruition when we were approached by a local aquaculture company
to design a few self-propelled (outboard motor driven) mini-barges for them to transport fish feed to
their cages. The initial brief was to design a mini-barge capable of transporting 200 kg of fish feed
together with a helmsman and a helper.
To achieve this we designed a Rhino 350 FF (a 3.5 metre long mini-barge with a planning shaped hull
cross-section but with a 45 degree Flat Fronted inclined bow ramp). With this design one could act as
a displacement hull while moving with heavy load and with light load one could rise above the FF
bow and perform like a planing hull.
This simple and rugged craft could be an ideal tender boat for yachts or daughter craft for larger work
boats. A front view and isometric view of the 350 FF design we offered is shown below:
After transmitting the offer for these mini-barges we were informed that the mass they needed to carry
was 2000 kg (as opposed to 200). So we designed an up-scaled version of 5.5 metres length 550 FF
which would conveniently fit inside a container. When we were given the order for the 2 Tonne
payload 550 FF we decided to build the 350 FF as well as a prototype.
Pictures of the 550 FF with 22 HP outboard during its field trials in Franschhoek with no load (top) I
Te (bottom left) and 2 Te (bottom right) are shown below:

After the Franschhoek trials the 550 FF was converted to receive jockey seats and twin 55 HP motors
to test the performance as a planing hull and the craft was tested together with the prototype 350 FF
powered with a 5 HP outboard at Hout Bay. Pictures of these sea-trials are shown below:
6. Rhino Marine – Future Visions
As Rhino Marine now moves out of its developmental phase into a new production phase we would
like to present a few of the concepts that have been developed which we are hoping to turn into reality
in the near future:
Modular 10 metre long catamaran (11 tonne payload) or trimaran (20 tonne payload) modular barge
designed to be transported in 12 metre containers:

Broad beam 850 as a large capacity daughter craft work boat on a mother craft with limited storage
space (Below left): 1050 SRP Boat with enclosed cabin and single point lifting point for quick release
deployment: (Below Right)
12 metre catamaran high speed work platform (Below left); 1150 FF with 10 Tonne payload capacity
(Below centre): 20 tonne payload capacity knuckle boom crane barge with moon-pool for salvage
works (Below right):
950 narrow beam (for container transport) 18 man water taxi (below left); and general purpose
combination cabin-craft and work boat (below right).
Report prepared for Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd by Anton Wale – 15th August 2017

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Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd

41 Manhattan Street, Airport Industria 7490

The significant advantages of this forepeak design are:

Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd

2. Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd – Early Developments 2005 to 2012

Rhino 850 during its sea-trials at Saldanha Bay shown below:

Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd

contracting the fabrication to Dawie Fick (Customised Plastic Products - CPP).

3. Rhino Marine– 2012 to 2014

Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd

Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd

4. Rhino Marine– 2014 to 2017 – The new range of Rhino Craft

 We decreased the sponson diameter from 500 mm to 400 mm

 We lifted the deck level to above the mid-level of the sponson;

These changes had the following effects:

Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd

Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd

5. 2017 - Rhino Craft – FF Range

Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd

6. Rhino Marine – Future Visions

Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd

Rhino Marine Products (Pty) Ltd

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