Today marks arguably the most anticipated megayacht delivery of the year. Sailing Yacht A is in her owner’s hands.
Since word started spreading widely in 2014, the mammoth megayacht has attracted significant interest. (It’s worth noting that construction started under Nobiskrug’s guidance two years prior.) It’s primarily due to her length. Initial reports had her LOA exceeding 459 feet (140 meters). The owner’s representatives revealed last year that the true length is 468’5” (142.81 meters). Combine that with a nearly 12,600 gross tonnage, and “mammoth” barely begins to describe her.
From a technical standpoint, Sailing Yacht A is fascinating. Of course, she meets the strict Passenger Yacht Code safety requirements. This governs yachts carrying 13 to 36 passengers. (In brief, the Code serves as a better framework for yachts than SOLAS does, since SOLAS wasn’t created for pleasure craft.) Sailing Yacht A features diesel-electric propulsion and is a sail-assisted vessel, too. This means she’s reliant on her engines more than sails.
Her sailing aspects, however, are no less technically significant. Dykstra Naval Architects designed her three carbon-composite masts. They’re the tallest freestanding structures made of these materials. The main mast rises more than 328 feet (100 meters), for example. All three rotate, too, and contain fiber optic sensors. These send real-time data to the crew regarding load factors. In combination with past data, the crew can adjust the sailing performance accordingly. That performance should include a cruise of 16 knots, with the diesel-electric propulsion system additionally engaged.
Imagine the views the owner and guests will enjoy from the underwater observation pod at speed or at anchor. The owner’s representatives are keeping quiet, for now, about other interior amenities. They do pledge to reveal more soon, however. Suffice it to say that the 81’6” (24.88-meter) beam boasts plenty of usable relaxation space.
Yet another noteworthy aspect about Sailing Yacht A involves her construction. Nobiskrug employed steel for both the hull and superstructure. It didn’t use aluminum, as we previously believed. Furthermore, Nobiskrug employed composite fashion plates in several areas. Developed with subcontractors, they give Sailing Yacht A her strikingly different angles and other shapes. The plates come in varying sizes, too. The profile, meanwhile, comes from Philippe Starck—and, of course, her owner.
As Holger Kahl, Nobiskrug’s managing director, says, Sailing Yacht A is “born from the desire of the owner to ‘push the boundaries of engineering and challenge the status quo of the industry.’” He adds that she’s “undoubtedly one of the most visionary projects” the shipyard has ever tackled.
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