Navatek CAT-40 aft lifting body

Navatek first demonstrated the aft lifting body-integrated propulsion pod (ALB/IPP) concept in 2006, installing an ALB/IPP unit with a Navatek ARES adaptive ride enhancement system on a commercial, Don Aronow-designed, 40-foot, high-speed catamaran to validate the benefits of a podded propulsor shaped as a lifting body. In 2008 the boat was retrofitted with a second-generation retractable IPP featuring an improved hydrodynamic shape with redesigned ferrallium strut and outboard motor power head. In 2009 the power head was removed from the IPP to simplify retraction and to improve operational reliability.