About one-third of Americans suffer from motion sickness, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Additionally, when you’re subjected to any kind of extreme motion, even the toughest among you may feel dizzy, queasy, or worse. A serial entrepreneur and avid boater has partnered with Shuttleworth Design to combat this. They’re behind Martini 7.0, a 165-foot (50.3-meter) catamaran that very well may be the most unusual thing you’ve ever seen. However, she’s based on proven technology.
In fact, a handful of catamaran prototypes—the largest of which is 45 feet (13.7 meters)—have plied the waters of the notoriously choppy San Francisco Bay for eight years. It’s to the point now where David Hall, who invented the technology behind them, felt confident a yachting proposal was warranted. Hall grew up boating with his grandfather, an engineer and scientist. In fact, his grandfather greatly influenced his own career as a mechanical and electrical engineer “to create solutions to problems we once thought were unsolvable,” he says. Among other things, Hall founded Velodyne Lidar, a developer of the technology behind autonomous cars and object-detection safety solutions. He established Servo Yachts to bring the yacht to the market. “With the Martini 7.0, I believe we have found a way to solve seasickness and significantly improve the sailing experience so that everyone can enjoy traveling on the ocean,” he explains.
Martini 7.0 relies on electric suspension technology, similar to the shocks in your car. The system reacts in real time to wave motion, allowing the hulls to absorb the resulting rolling, pitching, and heaving. The 165-footer features further design work by Shuttleworth Design, perhaps best known in yachting for the trimaran Adastra. Shuttleworth Design and Servo Yachts created a 45-meter version as well, which you can see in the video below.
Orion Shuttleworth, the studio’s managing director and owner, considers the technology “exciting.” The waves’ heights and angles only impact the two hulls, and only they react accordingly. Specifically, up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) of vertical travel can result in each hull. Shuttleworth Design and Servo Yachts further say the yacht can cruise at strong speeds even in swells. The suspended deck section, containing the relaxation and accommodation areas, therefore remains stable at all times. Not only do the owners and guests avoid feeling seasick, but also the crew is less taxed.
Martini 7.0 shouldn’t be a one-and-done project, interestingly. Hall says, “I am very excited for Servo Yachts to continue to push the boundaries of marine technology and transform ocean travel.”
Servo Yachts servo-yachts.com
Shuttleworth Design shuttleworthdesign.com
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