Sailing superyacht owners increasingly want their boats to both race and cruise. A client of Van Geest Design and Rob Doyle Design has just that in mind for this 169’3” (51.6-meter) performance sloop.
The owner (who’s yet to choose a builder) had a strong vision for the design brief. The performance sloop first needed to look distinctly different. Van Geest Design and Rob Doyle Design each contributed to her styling. Note the thoroughly modern profile, especially the glass deckhouse. Now, you might wonder whether that will require more air-conditioning (and more energy consumption). Not necessarily. Skyscraper and home architects are incorporating heat-reducing glass, which is also working its way into the yachting industry. Some glass panels can turn opaque via a switch, for example. Van Geest Design and Rob Doyle Design have researched a number of options for the owner.
Next, take a look at the hull stripe. Its undulating shape switches directions upon encountering large ports. The ports don’t necessarily look like ports, either, upon first glance, a deliberate design element. They’re at varying heights in keeping with the location and heights of interior relaxation spaces. Together, the stripe, ports, and glass house convey that this performance sloop means business.
Of course, the sailing superyacht will indulge her owner and guests in luxuries, too. A spa/wellness area, a beach club (accessible via the master suite), three guest suites, a library, and a sheltered cockpit are among her highlights. But the “performance” aspect of this performance sloop is the real story. Carrying the beam (34’4”, or 10.5 meters) far aft aids stability. The plumb bow allows a longer waterline, too: 150’9” (46 meters). The performance sloop further has a lifting keel. That means draft will be 14’8” (4.5 meters) when the keel is up and 24’6” (7.5 meters) when it’s down. Rob Doyle of Rob Doyle Design says she’ll be “spell-binding” off the wind. He shared some of his designer notes with us:
The foil package
The fin and bulb keel is designed to give the least drag and gain the maximum stability but to allow the draft of the yacht not to be prohibitive to gaining access to the best cruising grounds. This is achieved by means of a vertical lift keel using a fast-acting single hydraulic ram, with tried and tested technology that we have passed through the very best classification societies. The twin rudder system allows the best solution to keeping shallow draft cruising but still gives that total control of a high-performance yacht. The twin rudders allow the owner to push the yacht hard when others need to back off. Power is nothing without control, and this yacht will have an abundance of control.
Rig
The rig is a panamax sloop. Rob Doyle Design was involved in the first panamax rig on the 64m Perini Navi Felicita West. We have the experience to push the spar height to the limit and still remain under the air draft of the Bridge of Americas. Current Bucket racing has pushed the designer to seek maximum performance from performance cruising yachts. Rob Doyle Design can see great advantage in the rating rules regarding the mast/sail setup and how the boat is used in cruising and racing. There is a great performance gain in bucket racing in yachts that can complete maneuvers quickly and with total safety. We have developed a bucket rig after years of extensive bucket racing on the biggest yachts, and with these new rigs, performance gains are huge. The sail plan is to have fast, flush-deck furlers that are high speed and, coupled with 120m-per-minute captive winches, allow the yacht to perform sail maneuvers very quickly. The latest advances in the top-down furling for asymmetric spinnakers keep the crew safe and always allow the owner to drop the spinnakers at any time. Rob Doyle Design is involved in the largest top-down system on a 60m performance sloop which will be delivered early next year.
The performance sloop will be run by a six-person crew and captain. She’ll also be fitted with Code Zero sails.
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