If you’ve ever toured Christensen Shipyards’ facility in Washington State, no doubt you’ve been impressed. With a dozen construction and assembly bays, all within a climate-controlled, nearly 200,000-square-foot building, the craftsmen can concentrate on a handful of 100- to 165-footers at once. Add to this a seven-acre marina for in-water work and deliveries, plus a relatively new marble shop measuring 10,000 square feet, and the capabilities exceed those of some other yards both stateside and around the world.
But Christensen wanted to do more. In observing the changes going on in the megayacht market a few years ago, specifically the interest in yachts measuring 200 feet and larger, the yard’s management team decided to make a move. Literally: It decided to build a new facility in Tennessee for 60- to 80-meter (197- to 262-foot) yachts, such as the 225-footer pictured at top.
But merely erecting a building (above) on the shores of Tellico Lake – southwest of Knoxville, and across the waterway from notable names like Sea Ray and Yamaha – wasn’t enough. Christensen realized it faced two major challenges: constructing more technically complex yachts, and changing owners’ and captains’ perceptions that fiberglass yachts in this size range simply can’t compete with steel-hulled ones. The way it went about addressing both can teach many companies a lesson or two about proper planning and countering not just misperceptions but also misinformation.
At the recent American Superyacht Forum in Seattle, I listened intently as Brad Given, a naval architect with Christensen, explained its initial steps. Because the yachts would all exceed 500 gross tons and therefore need to comply with SOLAS regulations, the yard hired a dedicated engineer to come up with novel solutions to meet the commercial yacht code. It additionally approached the Cayman Islands Shipping Registry, the registration, survey, and certification agency many of its clients (and indeed other megayacht owners) use. Christensen also researched how fiberglass was used in industries and demanding applications other than the yacht business. “We needed to find the ‘equivalent of steel’ in the composite world,” he explained. This was particularly key, because there’s only one megayacht measuring more than 60 meters and exceeding 500 gross tons that employs all-composite construction: Mirabella V.
Even with Mirabella V being much-admired, and even with products ranging from Boeing airplanes to giant wind-energy blades being made of fiberglass, though, Christensen knew potential clients might still wonder whether it was wise to sign a contract. To gain an edge in the confidence battle, it turned to High Modulus, a New Zealand-based company with extensively experience in composite structure and design plus consultancy services. Not coincidentally, the firm also worked on Mirabella V, and it has additionally contributed composite parts to large-scale megayachts such as A (a.k.a. Project Sigma). As Michael Eaglen, the company’s chief technical officer of engineering, told those of us at the American Superyacht Forum, “The focus has been on promoting understanding, not blind faith.” Of course, he added, this doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it can be done, and it can be done properly.
Christensen and High Modulus together decided that there were a few key advantages to stress to owners and their captains. Besides the lower maintenance that has long been touted, fiberglass is a truly tough material. If it’s good enough for fighter jets, after all, shouldn’t it be able to stand up to the ocean? Even better, the combination of fiberglass and carbon fiber for additional stiffness in some areas make for a lighter-weight boat. Eaglen pointed to Ermis2, a 122-footer made of carbon fiber, Kevlar, and composites, explaining that the construction method saved 350 tons and two feet of draft in comparison to what they would have been if aluminum had been used instead.
Still on the subject of strength, Eaglen relayed an even more interesting development. It turns out that SOLAS doesn’t have rules for composite yachts exceeding 500 gross tons, simply because there’s never been a need, so its small-ships rule would serve as a substitute. Now, that wasn’t a problem, since the individual requirements for stiffness and strength could certainly be met. But more notable, the two companies realized that they could meet the stiffness obligation of metal yachts exceeding 500 gross tons and actually end up exceeding the strength stipulation of those very same yachts – by a factor of five. (Seems they didn’t have to work so hard to find something that was the “equivalent of steel” after all.)
The bottom line: “It’s just application of existing knowledge…it’s called engineering,” Eaglen said, with no arrogance.
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