When Wally announced its WallyCento series, yacht buyers who enjoy racing as much as cruising sat up and took notice. These buyers included Wally clients, who wanted to race against one another more competitively, yet still enjoy the luxury afforded by a cruising yacht. The all-composite Wally yacht Hamilton, the first delivery in the series, is the culmination of a complex set of requirements.
As you may recall, the “cento” part of WallyCento refers to the LOA, just shy of 100 feet. WallyCento adheres to the Wally box rule, with specific parameters for length, beam, displacement, and more for best performance. Wally determined that an LOA of 98’4” to 99’10” (30 meters to 30.48 meters) provides ideal creature comforts and racing maneuverability. As for beam, the range is 21’3” to 23’6” (6.5 to 7.2 meters). Furthermore, displacement is 45 to 50 tons, and draft remains about 15 to 20 feet (4.5 to 6.2 meters), depending on whether a fixed or lifting keel is aboard. All told, the WallyCento series lets owners compete in the Wally Class circuit and IRC-governed races, plus friendly regattas.
As for the yacht Hamilton, the owner tapped Germany-based Judel/Vrolijk & Co. for naval architecture. The studio has strong performance experience from the America’s Cup racer Alinghi plus many other racing and cruising yachts. For this project, Judel/Vrolijk & Co. collaborated with STRUCTeam, a composite specialist, for structural design and engineering. They determined that a lifting keel, maximum draft of 20 feet, and displacement of 50 tons would be best, particularly upwind. Judel/Vrolijk & Co. also decided on a hull shape similar to one of its previous designs, a 72-foot mini-maxi named Ran.
The dual focus on racing and cruising proved a welcome challenge for Design Unlimited, since the interior would remain in place during regattas. Hamilton’s owner wanted it to be simple for competitions yet welcoming for time with family and friends. Traditional staterooms (a master and two guest cabins, plus a crew cabin) and creature comforts (air conditioning, entertainment, and a professional galley) were necessities. Racing, of course, dictated that all of this needed to be incredibly lightweight. Plus, the Wally box rule required the interior to comprise a minimum of 54 percent of the hull’s overall interior volume. Weight control therefore largely comes from aluminum honeycomb panels backing the veneers. Some panels alternately employ Nomex coring with carbon fiber skins. The biggest challenge, however, came in having to go from contract to completion in just nine months. The owner of the yacht Hamilton committed to several regattas this year.
You’d never know any of these complex challenges, of course, to look at Hamilton. All you’ll see are black walnut paneling mixed with linen, velvet, leather, and suede. Furnishings similarly save weight. Their light tone and straight-grain textures are from senwood, a Japanese wood not often seen in Western applications. The owner personally selected it for its stronger visual interest than some other pale woods.
The construction of Hamilton took place at Green Marine, selected by the owner for its experience in composite racing yachts. A huge time saver came in the form of Green Marine’s side-by-side “build boxes.” These are curing ovens that further allow painting to occur inside, thanks to an air-management system extracting particles that would ruin the application.
So many details went into the design and execution of Hamilton that they could fill a book. Suffice it to say that the megayacht made her owner quite happy. Case in point: Hamilton raced in—and won—the Superyacht Cup Cowes this summer, one month after launch.
Leave a Reply