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^"(&uise LINE of the company were employed from around the world. Designers were given a space and the instructions to "create a fantasy space," said Mr. Rusten. Internally, Mr. Rusten and his team started to define the ele- ments that were inherent in the classic cruise ships of previous decades, elements that would be critical to set Disney Magic and Disney Wonder apart from the crowd. While creative freedom was granted to all, the final designs were taken to Deltamarin, Finland-based naval architect/marine engineering firm to ensure that the concepts were achievable on a ship. While this design work proceed- ed, towards the Autumn of 1994 Disney realized that a precious window of opportunity would be opening at several of the world's premiere cruise ship building ship- yards in the Spring of 1995. This ignited a push to fast-track the technical and conceptual design of the vessel by approximately three to four months to ensure that this opportunity was not lost. It is again relevant to note Disney's adherence to its own quality stan- dards here. It would have been a quicker and cheaper for Disney to accept one of the shipyard's cruise Pictured is a close-up of the Thordon COMPAC Bearing System. The need to run a clean ship, ensuring that all steps are taken to avoid costly and embar- rassing pollution incidents, was central to the planning of the new Disney Cruise ships. Key pieces of equipment utilized to ensure that these goals are met — throughout the life of the ship — are the Thordon's COMPAC water-lubricated bearing systems and the Thordon SXL rudder bearings. Utilized widely in naval applications, the selection of the COMPAC system by Disney is key into the development of the system as a suc- cessful commercial product. "The Disney order, in addition to being a significant piece of busi- ness for us, is a very important commercial ref- erence for our COMPAC system," said Don Cassidy, vice president, business development. Thordon COMPAC is an open water lubricat- ed propeller shaft bearing system utilizing Thordon, an elastomeric polymer alloy as the bearing wear surface. To reduce friction and improve low speed hydrodynamic performance, the lower half (loaded) portion of the COMPAC bearing design is smooth, and the upper half is designed with grooves for lubrication and cool- ing. The COMPAC systems offers numerous advantages to a cruise ship owner, perhaps none more important (aside from the environmental friendliness) than the lower acoustic signature, properties provided through COMPAC's low coef- ficient of friction, unique design and higher stiff- ness as compared to rubber. The Thordon SXL rudder bearings are proven worldwide in terms of value and performance, and for providing total freedom from water pollution concerns. Using an advanced polymer allows with a low coefficient of friction, Thordon SXL bearings offer freedom from the use of grease lubrication in all rudder bearing applications above and below the water line. Thordon walks the walk and talks the talk, backing it SXL system with a 10-year Wear Life Guarantee. Thordon Bearings Inc. is a member of the Thomson-Gordon Group of Ontario, Canada. The company designs and manufactures a complete range of high perfor- mance, environmentally friendly marine pro- peller shaft and rudder bearing systems Thordon SUPPUER March, 1998 INCORPORAJ E D Masters of Ship Interiors fSB I Circle 241 on Reader Service Card HOPEMAN BROTHERS ' • • ft • A^fif' • 435 Essex Aver, P^ Box 820 • Waynesboro, VA 22980 Tel: (540)949-9200 • Fax: (540)949^259^ E-mail: «0PEMAN@HBI-l\IET.com Our name has changed to: Hopeman Brothers Marine Interiors LLC
