Typically builders wait to update a design after several hulls are already on the water. Damen Yachting is taking a different approach, however, with its relatively recent SeaXplorer line. The new-look SeaXplorer 77 is the first refresh, with more to come.
The SeaXplorer is an expedition series, standing apart from other explorer yachts for a few reasons. For instance, and perhaps of primary interest, each yacht meets the IMO Polar Code. This special construction standard applies to vessels planning to operate in Arctic as well as Antarctic waters. The main purpose is to ensure safe navigation, but also to mitigate impact on the regions’ sensitive environments.
According to Enrique Tintore, Damen’s SeaXplorer design manager, the poles aren’t the only things on buyers’ bucket lists. “So are many tropical areas where the operational challenges shouldn’t be underestimated,” he asserts. “It’s about staying safe in isolation, but also about enjoying the yachting lifestyle to the maximum. In fact, you don’t need to go very far from the major superyacht hubs before the benefits of an explorer become clear.”
Therefore, feedback from clients helped guide the new-look SeaXplorer 77, which builds on the success of the first launch, La Datcha. https://megayachtnews.com/2020/11/la-datcha-starts-her-extraordinary-worldwide-journey-sunday-superyacht-video/ While remaining a 252-foot (77-meter) length, the design gains tropics-oriented areas like an upper-deck pool and spaces that suit indoor-outdoor living. Additionally, for entertainment-oriented owners, the design now has a substantial area for hosting 150 partygoers and a DJ.
Further new, with input from Azure Yacht Design and EYOS Expeditions, the yacht has a multi-purpose aft deck. It’s customizable, too, suitable as a seaplane-takeoff platform, for instance, or as a hangar for a personal submarine.
Inside, meanwhile, Damen Yachting approached two design studios for creative ideas. One new-look SeaXplorer 77 comes from Monaco Yacht Temptation. (The owners of the very first SeaXplorer, Anawa, https://megayachtnews.com/2020/08/anawa-first-seaxplorer-in-norway-on-maiden-voyage-video/ chose this team for their interior, in fact.) The warm, subdued tones above characterize its efforts. Winch Design envisioned the alternate interior, the more dramatic décor above. This is the studio’s first collaboration for the SeaXplorer range, notably.
“When we started our ambitious SeaXplorer program, we dreamed of something different,” says Rose Damen, the builder’s managing director. “Our clients have proved that there’s a growing market for true expedition yachting beyond limits,”
Azure Yacht Design & Naval Architects azure-na.com
Damen SeaXplorer damenyachting.com
EYOS Expeditions eyos-expeditions.com
Monaco Yacht Temptation myt-group.com
Winch Design winchdesign.com
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