“A vessel which goes beyond paying lip service to green technology.” This is how the team at DLBA Naval Architects describes the hybrid 45 explorer, which is anything but a look-alike expedition yacht. Rather, she is a true globetrotter meeting aggressive clean-air and clean-water regulations that don’t yet apply to pleasurecraft.
DLBA Naval Architects (formerly Donald L. Blount Naval Architects) is employing a proprietary hull form for the 148-foot-long (45-meter-long) concept. Therefore, expect the hybrid 45 explorer to make quick work of both day trips and long distances. For the former, the team says the yacht should see 25 knots. This makes port hopping in remote locations much easier. In terms of longer transits, the hybrid 45 explorer should cruise efficiently at 16 knots. This, the design studio says, is a higher rate of speed than normal particularly for a hybrid-powered craft of her LOA. To keep you comfortable regardless of speed, two different systems will be aboard. Veem gyrostabilizers will reduce low-speed motions, while Hymphree Active Ride Control interceptors will operate at high speeds.
The “hybrid” in “hybrid 45 explorer” means a proven diesel-electric system, offering better fuel consumption, lower emissions, and lower noise pollution. A further benefit: lower maintenance costs for slow-speed operations. Furthermore, and perhaps noteworthy, the hybrid 45 explorer will incorporate technology complying with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier IV standards. Tier IV requires technology that reduces particulate-matter emissions and nitrous-oxide emissions by about 90 percent over previous regulations. Compliance, therefore, would permit the megayacht to cruise all waters worldwide, since it is stricter than the upcoming Tier III implementation by the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations Agency regulating vessel-related marine and atmospheric pollution globally.
The DLBA Naval Architects team believes environmental mindedness must extend to the interior, too. Therefore, the hybrid 45 explorer will eschew old-growth hardwoods. Instead, bamboo is the material of choice. Furthermore, natural leathers will appear instead of manmade materials. LEDs will illuminate guest areas, and hot showers will result from a waste-heat-recovery system. This system will capture thermal energy from the gensets. Finally, flat-panel satellite antennas will beam in the entertainment of your choice, to a virtual-reality entertainment room, while keeping weight down aloft.
DLBA Naval Architects dlba-inc.com
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