The "Nevka" is a small shallow-draft hydrofoil vessel of Project 1432, developed by the Central Design Bureau for Hydrofoil Ships named after R. E. Alexeyev. From 1968 it was built in a large series — over one hundred and sixty boats, including export variants — at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard in Leningrad. [1]
A mass-produced machine
The "Nevka" is a rare case in the hydrofoil fleet of a genuinely mass-produced series: over the years of production the plant delivered more than one hundred and sixty boats. Its small size and shallow draft made the vessel suitable for utility, transport, and pleasure-cruise duties on rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. [1][2]
From 1968, the lead boats underwent trial service on the Black Sea, carrying holidaymakers on the pleasure-cruise lines Yalta–Alushta and Yalta–Sudak. The hull of the "Nevka" was made of fiberglass, and its main engine — a diesel, used here for the first time in Soviet practice for a small hydrofoil boat — marked a departure from earlier designs. [2]
Some of the boats were built in export configuration. The design was developed in Gorky and built in Leningrad — the usual arrangement for the hydrofoil fleet, in which the Alekseyev bureau designed the vessels while plants across the country carried out the series production. [1]
Sources
- spkfleet.ru — The "Nevka" vessel (archive)
- barque.ru — Marine hydrofoil boat "Nevka" ("Katera i Yakhty", 1970, No. 24) (archive)