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Donald L. Blount and Associates 

Today's guest hardly needs an introduction: Donald Blount is renowned worldwide for his accomplishments and contributions in the fields of naval architecture and marine engineering. As a naval architect, he creates designs which combine years of testing and experience with cutting edge technologies while constantly setting new industry standards. We are very pleased to present some of his and his company's work on our website.

Donald began conducting individual research and directing engineering programs relating to emerging technologies in the field of hydrodynamics at the David Taylor Model Basin. Then for three decades, he honed his craft with the Department of the Navy, Combatant Craft Engineering Department, serving the last  nine years as department head.
From 1990 to the present, Donald L. Blount and Associates, Inc. (DLBA) has served as a naval architecture and marine engineering design firm offering state-of-the-art technical services for the development and construction of high-performance marine vehicles. The company specializes in the design, testing and construction management of motor yachts, sportfishing boats, commercial ferries, and military and para-military vessels using advanced technologies. 

DLBA’s technical achievements have been successfully demonstrated  with the Blue Riband Award for fastest transatlantic passage won by Bravo Romeo Ltd.’s Destriero, the 67m  gas turbine-powered vessel which averaged 53.1 knots during its non-refueled transatlantic passage (picture left, click on the thumbnail). The most recent DLBA design to hit the water is the latest Spanish Royal Yacht Fortuna, a 41.5m gas turbine-powered superyacht which has already reached 65 knots and is expected to exceed this. (Fortuna is featured in Volume 14 of The Superyachts book.)

These beautiful yachts were designed with the help of MultiSurf. Here is what DLBA designers have to say about the program: "The hull design is so critical to the overall performance of the vessel that only accurate calculations and analysis methodologies are used. With this in mind, MultiSurf is a wonderful tool. We have many important design criteria which must be considered on all our projects." Once these criteria are determined, and an outboard plan and profile of the vessel is agreed upon, the engineer or designer can immediately begin developing hull lines in MultiSurf. The large number of entities in the program and the excellent graphical user interface (GUI) allow for accurate 3D modeling of the hull lines to be achieved in a smart and efficient way. "Also, if the client has a change request, or requires design modification to an existing hull, the parametric nature of MultiSurf allows for specific changes to be made in a minimal amount of time, which is beneficial for both us and the client. Additionally, AeroHydro's Hydro program provides a simple and powerful tool in yielding hydrostatic analysis. MultiSurf allows for exact calculations of surface areas, weights, and center of gravity locations, which is integral in compiling detailed weight estimates. Many of our design criteria are based on weight estimate data."

DLBA's MultiSurf designs are directly compatible with computer-aided machining tooling and processes. A very productive working relationship exists between DLBA and Davis Boatworks of Wanchese, North Carolina. The latest project is a 70’ Sportfisherman. "Many Davis boats are offered with or without propeller tunnels, depending on their particular draft requirement. These propeller tunnels are a great application of the component feature in MultiSurf. Rather than developing the tunnel geometry from scratch each time they are required, a component can be imported and parametrically adjusted to suit the design requirements of the tunnels themselves and to ensure proper fit on the hull bottom."

The two other DLBA designed sportfishermen shown were built by Hines-Farley Offshore Yachts, Suffolk, Virginia, and by Rybovich, West Palm Beach, Florida, respectively.

In addition to MultiSurf, DLBA designers use the solid modeler SolidWorks together with its add-on surface modeler SurfaceWorks (another AeroHydro product), designing parts such as steering systems, propeller struts, helm units and consoles, sea chest inlets, machinery layouts, furniture, and complete deck design. SurfaceWorks helps as a go-between from MultiSurf to SolidWorks.

Robots at work
Complementing a highly successful naval architecture business, Donald L. Blount and Associates also runs a CNC robotic machining system with a working envelop of 82' in length, 15' in width, and 9.5' in height. Larger forms may be cut in sections and bonded together. A pair of ABB IRB 6400 robots move along the tracks milling composite male patterns or female molds.  
"We receive the design files directly from MultiSurf output, and begin developing our machining tool paths. We undercut the foam form, add a fiberglass shell, coat the form with a polyester resin, and then perform the final machining operation to the designed dimensions. A male form, or female mold of the design file can be delivered to the builder in two to six weeks depending on the complexity and size of the object."

The pictures (click on thumbnails for larger images) show undercutting the foam (rough cut), coating with polyester resin, final machining operations and a 70' single part hull plug loaded on barge for transport.

We at AeroHydro are very proud to count this successful company among our valued customers, and wish Donald L. Blount and his team the best of success in all their endeavors.

Donald L. Blount and Associates
1316 Yacht Drive, Suite 305
Chesapeake, VA USA
Phone: 757-545-3700
Fax: 757-545-8227
dlba@dlba-inc.com
http://www.dlba-inc.com/