UPDATE, JUNE 30, 3016: Heesen has sold project Nova, via its U.S. sales office. The yard describes the owner as being a “yacht connoisseur.”
Read on for our original article.
Following its pioneering use of the fast-displacement hull form, Heesen Yachts is breaking ground again. This time it’s doing so with a ready-to-build project called Nova. Nova employs diesel-electric propulsion and promises onboard sound levels about as quiet as those of a library.
Via four megayachts featuring the fast-displacement hull form since 2013, Heesen and Van Oossanen Naval Architects have proven the design’s far better fuel-consumption claims throughout the speed range. The 163’4” (49.8-meter), 499-gross-ton Nova should burn just 26 gph (98 lph) at 12 knots without her gensets running. Most comparable megayachts would burn about 30 percent more fuel at that pace. At 10 knots, Heesen expects Nova to burn just 15 gph (57.5 lph). She’ll do this with a pair of 805-hp MTU 12V 2000 M61s, a lower power output compared to most comparable megayachts, too. Nova should still see a 16-knot top speed and range of 3,750 miles at 12 knots, both figures in line with what today’s buyers of displacement yachts expect.
The hybrid propulsion system for Nova, while potentially unexpected, addresses the performance and comfort conditions that today’s buyers anticipate, too. Diesel-electric is long proven to be more fuel efficient. Heesen says Nova will cruise up to 9 knots while using just her two gensets, coupled to two water-cooled D.C. electric shaft motors. That should drop fuel burn to 12 gph (45 lph). In terms of comfort, at 9 knots in electric mode, Nova should have sound levels in the main-deck master of just 46 decibels. That’s about the same as bird calls or a library. For comparison, the same room’s sound levels should be 50 decibels even with “normal” diesel mode. For further comparison, normal conversation levels are 60 decibels.
Heesen undertook extensive research into bothersome and pleasant sound levels in creating Nova. It says her main saloon’s decibels should be 62 in diesel mode and 50 in electric mode. In the dining area: 60 vs. 48. In the guest staterooms: 58 vs. 46. Mark Cavendish, Heesen’s sales director, puts it this way: “Imagine for a moment leaving harbor early in the morning without waking the guests with the main engines switched off, or cruising at night, almost as quietly as if you were at anchor.”
With accommodations for 12 in the owners’ party and 9 crew, Nova will underscore comfort through her interior design, too. Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design is employing natural fabrics throughout. Full-height glass and a beam of 29’9” (9.1 meters) will add to the light, airy feel. The guest staterooms, on the lower deck, will have direct access to a gym and hammam. The buyers can still put their imprint on the layout, of course.
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