At 223 feet (68 meters) LOA and with a beam of 46 feet (14 meters), Wayfinder is not your typical shadow yacht. She’s a ShadowCat, the line of support yachts from catamaran-design studio Incat Crowther and consultation company YCTS.
While each ShadowCat can see construction at whatever yard owners want, Wayfinder comes from Astilleros Armón in Spain. The same builder handed over the first ShadowCat, Hodor, last year. Normally, it focuses on fast ferries and other commercial craft.
The owners of this new catamaran cruiser had a few specifics in mind when signing the contract. Besides taking advantage of the cat hull form’s beaminess, they wanted to benefit from its stability compared to traditional single-hull designs. “The hull provides a 70-percent increase in stability for loading and offloading its equipment and tenders,” according to Dan Mace, Incat Crowther’s technical manager. Of course, transferring guests from a helicopter on the large certified helipad becomes safer, too.
Furthermore, the owners saw an opportunity for holding all sorts of toys. While guests won’t stay aboard, they can use Wayfinder to board any of five large tenders, PWCs, and more. And, the helicopter stows in an onboard hangar when not needed. Eighteen crew and up to 14 additional crew or service-oriented staff have staterooms onboard and therefore are on hand readily to assist.
Overall, the four-deck Wayfinder has 60 percent more deck space and 40 percent more volume compared to monohulls of the same length. Despite what you might assume for her dimensions, though, she has a relatively shallow draft. Specifically, it’s 7’9” (2.4 meters), ideal for close-to-the-coast cruising. Those cruises will be more environmentally minded as well. For example, onboard treatment plant ensures wastewater discharges to drinkable standards. Additionally, dry and wet waste gets treated by another system. And, she complies with IMO Tier III emission regulations.
Astilleros Armón astillerosarmon.com
Incat Crowther incatcrowther.com
YCTS yctsltd.com
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