COSMOS BY
HEESEN THE DESIGN ISSUE
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COSMOS BY
HEESEN
FOREWORD
COSMOS: A STORY OF EVOLUTION At Heesen, we build dreams. Our role comprises a careful balance of skilled engineering, craftsmanship and artistry. It is a complex and lengthy business that blends design and technique to produce something truly imaginative – a one of a kind. Creating a superyacht like Cosmos is the equivalent of painting Victory Boogie-Woogie by Dutch artist Piet Mondriaan. He always strived for perfection – the perfection of beauty – looking to improve on his last masterpiece with an evolution of the next. He endeavoured to push boundaries, to innovate, to go beyond what was expected. Cosmos is a defining yacht of its time, not just for Heesen but for the entire industry. In superyacht construction, we borrow from other industries and learn from other disciplines; from architecture, product design and automotive. Cosmos is the Bugatti Chiron of the seas. The Burj Khalifa of builds. By leveraging what we learn from each project, by underpinning our
knowledge with skill, expertise and smart technology, each yacht that we construct advances one step further along the path to perfection. It takes an inspired and experienced owner to conceive a life at sea on board a boat like Cosmos. At 80m, built in aluminium and requiring the now famed patented ‘backbone’ technology, Cosmos presented an exhilarating and challenging task for the entire team. But most of all it was a great privilege to be entrusted with such a vision, and to succeed where others are yet to venture. We took an owner’s demands, the weight of expectation, the risk and reward, and our brand pedigree and distilled it down to one single result; we made a dream a reality. We are proud to have been given the opportunity to build Cosmos. We are grateful to have the chance to showcase our capabilities. And we are delighted to let the story unfold on these pages.
ANJO JOLDERSMA Chairman Supervisory Board, Heesen Yachts
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INTRODUCTION
HISTORY IN THE MAKING It’s the one story everyone knows about us: the legend of Octopussy. More than 30 years ago our founder, Frans Heesen, bet the company on a phenomenal technical challenge, signing himself up to a contract that contained such punitive penalty clauses it might have sunk the shipyard. In doing so he laid the foundations of our reputation as one of the most high-tech and high-quality superyacht builders in existence. Today Heesen sets the global standard for performance megayachts. We no longer need to take risks to make headlines, but we do accept challenges – and Project Cosmos is our biggest challenge yet. Eighty metres long, with three decks, four engines and more than 19,000 horsepower, she will be a yacht like no other. Her design combines the world’s most
advanced naval architecture with Heesen’s unparalleled engineering know-how. She will be capable of close to 30 knots, and have an efficient cruising speed of 20-plus. A project on this scale is like a huge and complex puzzle. There isn’t another shipyard in the world with the experience to build such a yacht. As everybody knows, the story of Octopussy ended well. She achieved unheard-of speeds on her sea trials. Her owner got what he wanted: the fastest superyacht in the world, the like of which had never been seen before. The Heesen shipyard had secured its place in the history books. Now we are making history again. As the Project Cosmos concept comes to the end of its design and development phase, Heesen is ready to build a new legend.
ARTHUR BROUWER CEO,
Heesen Yachts
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CON TENTS 8
HISTORY OF CHALLENGE
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EXTERIOR DESIGN
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CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
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TANK TESTS
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PROPELLERS AND RUDDERS
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THE ENGINES
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INTERIOR DESIGN
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VOLUME TWO – THE BUILD
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CONTACTS
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OUTLOOK BY THE BOARD “Five years ago we started constructing a new large dry dock in Oss, to accommodate the growing demand for larger yachts. I am delighted to see that this decision has led to the exciting Project Cosmos. She will ensure a healthy financial future and provide company growth. I am very proud that we are able to build this stunning custom yacht and I am confident that everybody at Heesen takes extreme pride in contributing to this wonderful project.”
NIELS VAESSEN Director Finance, Heesen Yachts
“Following in the footsteps of challenging projects like Octopussy and Galactica Super Nova, Project Cosmos raises the bar once more for our designers, engineers and craftsmen. The shipyard operation is a well-oiled machine so we can confidently say that this exciting project is a natural step for us. As a leader in the yacht building industry, we can easily adapt to new challenges with out-of-the-box solutions that create the best results, with the highest standards and quality.”
RICK VAN DE WETERING Director Operations, Heesen Yachts
“Project Cosmos is a milestone in the history of Heesen, not only is she the largest yacht built, she is also one of the most technically challenging and advanced. Her lightweight aluminium hull and superstructure combined with unusually high powered engines required to achieve the top speeds is just the sort of thing we excel at, at Heesen. Project Cosmos will be a head-turner wherever she goes and will put Heesen in the top league of shipyards anywhere.”
MARK CAVENDISH Director of Sales and Marketing, Heesen Yachts
HISTORY OF CHALLENGE
You bring the
We’ll take 12
dream. it
It’s what we do. In our 40-year history Heesen has worked with the best designers and engineers in the world. But it’s our visionary clients, and their impossible dreams, who provide the inspiration.
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HISTORY OF CHALLENGE
SPEED 14
COSMOS
BORN TO RUN It didn’t start with Octopussy. It started with Frans Heesen and his unique, can-do spirit. Never one to shy away from a challenge, our founder was single-minded in his pursuit of the possible, even when all around him said it couldn’t be done. More than a dozen shipyards worldwide were invited to tender for the fantasy project of American automobile magnate John Staluppi: a triple-engine, 40-metre, 50-knot superyacht. One by one they backed out. If ever there was a vessel that couldn’t be built, it seemed Octopussy was it. Frans Heesen disagreed. He had loved speed since his days as a young motorcycle
racer. The first boat he built was a 28-metre aluminium motor yacht capable of 26 knots. By the time Staluppi threw down the gauntlet, Heesen had launched a 30-knot, 32-metre. These were significant yachts in their day. But it was the unparalleled Octopussy that caught the world’s attention.
It was the unparalleled Octopussy that caught the world’s attention Since then the shipyard’s reputation as a builder of dreams has gained with every new challenge.
RADAR GUN It was all or nothing for Frans Heesen, that day of the sea trials of Octopussy. Owner John Staluppi bought a radar gun to accurately measure the speed and at 53,17 knots Octopussy set a new speed record.
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HISTORY OF CHALLENGE
EFFICI TANK TEST MODEL This is the original tank test model engineer Frank Mulder used to optimise the hull form for Octopussy in order to break the speed record. Its shape was all about efficiency and reducing resistance in the water.
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IENCY A STATE OF FLOW It used to be that when naval architects talked about efficiency, they were thinking about speed. The words were virtually synonymous. Today the idea of efficiency encompasses all aspects of a yacht’s operation - at anchor, when cruising, and at maximum rpm.
Heesen’s yachts lead contemporary thinking in hull form and power management. The new all-aluminium 5000 Hybrid has two propulsion options, and no heavy batteries. She has a top speed of over 16 knots, while capable of completely silent running at up to nine knots. Galactica Star, a stunning 27-knot, 65-metre superyacht, introduced the game-changing Van Oossanen Fast Displacement Hull Form. The steel and aluminium 42-metre Alive, launched in 2014, was the first yacht to be fitted with
Van Oossanen’s innovative Hull Vane, a hydrofoil beneath the stern. At cruising speed she uses 30 per cent less fuel than a conventional displacement yacht.
Today the idea of efficiency encompasses all aspects of a yacht’s operation Then in 2016 the shipyard’s latest fast-displacement design, Galactica Super Nova – 70 metres, three engines, 30 knots – once again put Heesen in the headlines around the world.
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HISTORY OF CHALLENGE
CALIPER Despite the size, developing and building an 80-metre yacht is all about getting the details right. For accurate measurement the caliper is an indispensable tool at our shipyard.
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NEW RULES Project Cosmos presents the sternest challenge yet faced by the shipyard. She demands new approaches to propulsion systems, drag-cheating shapes, and engineering technologies. At 80 metres she will be the largest aluminium yacht ever built - so big that a totally new construction system has been designed, and patented, to ensure she has the requisite strength and stiffness.
At 80 metres she will be the largest aluminium yacht ever built Bigger, heavier and with nearly 50 per cent more volume than even the immense Galactica Super Nova, she will be almost as fast, thanks to a unique propulsion system. Four engines, two shafts and variable-pitch propellers will interact with revolutionary rudders - and, naturally, the latest iteration of Van Oossanen’s low-drag, fastdisplacement hull. “The client knew that we had already built two large high-speed yachts, and this was what he was looking for,” one of the shipyard’s directors recalls. “But at 80 metres, it had to be something very special indeed.” Which will surely turn out to be something of an understatement.
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EXTERIOR DESIGN Speed is the essence of the Cosmos spirit. 20
No wonder she looks so fast. A dynamic profile, bold forms and sculpted detailing come together in an eloquent expression of power, movement and personality. She is every inch a Heesen.
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JAMES RUSSELL Senior Yacht Designer, Winch Design
EXTERIOR DESIGN
Project Cosmos began life in the same way that all yachts do, with some exploratory sketches. Client input is key at every stage, and never more so than at the start. “The owner wanted the yacht to have a strong signature,” explains James Russell of Winch Design, the London-based studio responsible for Cosmos’ exterior styling and general arrangement. “But he also wanted the Heesen look, the shipyard DNA, to come through strongly. The emphasis was on elegance.” Any yacht of more than 80 metres overall is destined to be the largest vessel in most harbours it is likely to visit. An air of authority can be a desirable trait, but it ought not to be overbearing. The Project Cosmos profile does have a certain imperious quality. From the waterline at the stern, her
superstructure rises in a single unbroken arch that plants itself at the base of a long, probing foredeck. Immense physical power is expressed in the subtle latency of that shape. All visual movement is directed forward, and in the time-honoured phrase, she looks fast when she’s standing still. Even the diminutive hard top over the upper deck has a downward tilt - it points to the bow, in an invisible line suggestive of an arrowhead, or a supersonic shockwave.
Immense physical power is expressed in the subtle latency of that shape “We wanted her to look fast, since she will obviously be a very fast yacht,” confirms James. “The introduction of the wing shapes on the mast, as well as the large curving superstructure arch, give a sense of speed to the design.”
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The Old Fire Station, the inspiring home of Winch Design in London.
EXTERIOR DESIGN
“Cosmos is as exciting for us as it is for Heesen – she’s the fastest and most technologically advanced yacht we have worked on together” Andrew Winch
A bold curve emphasises the superstructure’s volume. A long, straight stripe, like a double-tipped katana blade, delineates the main deck. Mid-grey tones above and below help to reduce the yacht’s apparent height. The lower tier of windows is picked out with a subliminal echo of the old Nelson chequer, as if to underline the essential seriousness of this vast project. Certain features were specified by the owner at the outset. “The fully certified helipad was a requirement,”
says James. “And a full-beam bridge deck was another essential. These things helped determine the look of the yacht right from the start.” Faced with the need for a long, flat foredeck, the design team came up with ways of putting it to good use when not wanted for helicopter operations. Aft of the landing circle, a pair of concealed corner sofas rise out of the deck, to create a comfortable relaxation spot. Up at the bow, meanwhile, a cinema screen ascends to transform the area after dark.
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“The exterior furniture and lifestyle areas will be very special indeed,” says James. “They incorporate an intricate mix of materials, bringing Winch DNA and details into the design.” Between the foredeck and the yacht’s distinctive underwater bulb sits a slender bow with a steeply raked stem and a graceful sheer worthy of a destroyer. “The sections are very fine up forward,” James agrees. “It’s a technical as well as a styling requirement - in a design capable of these high speeds you have to create an incisive shape, while the bow wings and overhangs achieve the required width for the helipad.” It looks fantastic. The elegance of its sculpted form is heightened by careful rendering of contours and threedimensional detailing. “We worked to create some edgy surface details and sharp chamfering on the hull,” James
confirms. “Long, clean uninterrupted lines and undercut surfaces all add to the dynamic Cosmos silhouette.” Slender as her bow may be, it still manages to accommodate the main tender garage, revealed behind gull-wing hatch covers that open out of the topsides. “A custom limousine tender also penned by Winch, will share this forward stowage compartment with the crew RIB. This creates space in the stern for another of the client’s particular requirements: a full-service beach club, complete with sunken bar and bathing platforms that fold out from the stern and also from the port side. Overhead, there will be a nine-metre glass-bottomed pool, fitted with contra-jets for swimming. “Cosmos is as exciting for us as it is for Heesen – she’s the fastest and most technologically advanced yacht we
have worked on together,” says Andrew Winch. “Technical challenges inspire us as designers. Clean lines and a sporty silhouette are signatures of both Winch Design and Heesen. We have created a dynamic exterior profile which we believe will look as good in twenty years as it does at launch.”
“The owner wanted the yacht to have a strong signature” From her powerful, seaman-like bow to the spectacular luxury of her stern, Project Cosmos brings together Heesen’s traditions and Winch Design’s creativity in one beautiful yacht. With all the grace, character and athleticism of a thoroughbred racehorse, she is the first of a new generation of the Heesen bloodline.
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From her powerful, seaman-like bow to the spectacular luxury of her stern, Cosmos brings together Heesen’s traditions and Winch Design’s creativity in one beautiful yacht.
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The stern accommodates a full-service beach club, complete with sunken bar and bathing platforms that fold out from the stern and also from the port side.
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EXTERIOR DESIGN
“The exterior furniture and lifestyle areas will be very special indeed. They incorporate an intricate mix of materials, bringing Winch DNA and details into the design” James Russell
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Up at the bow a cinema screen ascends to transform the area after dark. 47
EXTERIOR DESIGN
Aft of the landing circle, a pair of concealed corner sofas rises out of the deck, to create a comfortable relaxation spot. 48
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EXTERIOR DESIGN
“Long, clean uninterrupted lines and undercut surfaces all add to the dynamic Cosmos silhouette” James Russell
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CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
Big yacht, bigger
engineering 54
challenge. Project Cosmos took Heesen’s engineers into uncharted waters. Their construction solution – elegant, effective and totally unique - was equally out there.
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CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
Aerial view of the state-of-the-art shipbuilding facilities of Heesen in Oss.
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Optimally designed docks at Heesen offer plenty of room for innovation.
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Aluminium construction shed in Oss. Fast and lightweight yachts have been at the heart of Heesen’s DNA for over 40 years.
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PETER VAN DER ZANDEN General Manager Design, Development and Engineering, Heesen Yachts
CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
The solution implemented by Heesen’s engineers was unprecedented; the shipyard took the initiative to secure a patent. They call it the ‘backbone’
Light, long, fast and strong. Nothing about Project Cosmos was ever going to make life easy for the shipyard’s engineers – even if they had wanted it that way. “When our biggest assembly shed was completed in 2016, we set ourselves the challenge of coming up with design concepts in the 80-metre class,” recalls Erik van Mourik, Manager Cost and Accounting Design and Development.. The origins of Project Cosmos lie in a shipyard feasibility study for an 83-metre all-aluminium yacht. Steel would have been easier, but the shipyard didn’t want it easy: “We chose aluminium because it makes it much harder to achieve longitudinal strength. We knew that if we could make it work in aluminium, it would certainly work in steel.” In making that choice, Heesen also effectively undertook to make this a high-efficiency, high-performance yacht,
otherwise aluminium’s lightness would have been a wasted asset. “Weight reduction is the main advantage of using aluminium over steel,” explains Peter van der Zanden, General Manager Design, Development and Engineering at Heesen. “The structure accounts for about 50 per cent of the total weight of a steel yacht: for aluminium it’s about 33 per cent.” In a yacht the size of Project Cosmos that amounts to a saving of about 150 tonnes – the equivalent, according to Peter’s estimate, of six or seven knots of top speed. The shipyard had less control over other challenges it was forced to face. “Because we are limited in height by the bridges over the river Maas, and limited in beam by Macharen lock,” says Erik, “we came up with the concept of long, slender yachts with shallow hull depth.”
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“The structure accounts for about 50 per cent of the total weight of a steel yacht: for aluminium it’s about 33 per cent” Peter van der Zanden
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CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
This was the hard part. All yachts are designed to withstand the pressures that act on them in a seaway. A hull supported bow and stern by a wave of its own length will be subject to sagging forces; when buoyed up in the middle, it must resist the urge to hog. Some flexing is inevitable, and has to be allowed for in the calculations, but what the designers and engineers are really trying to achieve is stiffness. “This is the biggest structural challenge,” says Jos Verbruggen, Heesen’s manager of shipbuilding engineering. “Building strength into a big, fast aluminium hull.” Like all aspects of superyacht construction it requires total teamwork. Mechanical engineering is managed by Piet van der Linden, and interior engineering by Sjoerd Engelaer. Keeping all the plates spinning is project coordinator Rens Groenendaal, who got involved when
Heesen’s radical technical investigations sparked the interest of a client - and what had been a theoretical exercise became Project Cosmos. Structural concerns are relatively easily addressed in steel. Not so with aluminium. In conventional yacht design, the depth of the hull, from keel to gunwale, is usually increased in proportion to its length, to give it a shape that remains stiff enough not to bend in the middle. Heesen’s engineers, in conjunction with the naval architects at Van Oossanen, were working on a concept where that simple fix wasn’t an option. Some stiffness could be bought by deepening the draught along the centreline, and creating more of a wine-glass crosssection. But beyond that, new thinking was required – not lateral, but longitudinal.
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CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
150 TONNES
The weight saved by using aluminium instead of steel for the hull
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6/7 KNOTS
the equivalent of six or seven knots of top speed
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The great minds behind the engineering of Project Cosmos, from left to right: Sjoerd van Herk Sjoerd Engelaer Rens Groenendaal Peter van der Zanden Perry van Hirtum Erik van Mourik Piet van der Linden Jos Verbruggen
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The solution arrived at by Heesen’s engineers is so unlike anything that has gone before that the shipyard took the precaution of securing a patent. They call it the ‘backbone’. It’s more complicated than it sounds. “The design is based on the I-girder principle,” says Erik. The immense flex-resistance of the ubiquitous rolled steel joist is well enough known, but its core concept is perhaps less well understood: “For strength, the material should be concentrated at the outer vanes of the structure. This gives you the highest resistance to bending.” What this means in the case of Project Cosmos is, firstly, a longitudinal box construction, low down in the hull along the centreline. It runs almost the full length of the yacht and is composed of strong 15mm aluminium plate - in contrast with the 10mm plate used elsewhere. That seems straightforward enough.
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But the ‘outer vanes’ of this notional I-girder are not directly connected to the box. In fact they don’t at first appear to have much to do with it. Also fabricated in 15mm plate, they lie along the hull-deck joint, extending more than two metres down the topsides from the corner, and more than two metres across the deck - effectively forming a stiff, L-shaped beam on each side of the yacht that runs from stem to stern. Taken together, these three elements unite the sectional extremities of the hull, at the keel and along each gunwale, and in accordance with the I-girder principle, concentrate the heaviest material at the outer vanes of the structure. So the ‘backbone’ is not a set of separate fabrications welded in place to stiffen the hull. Rather, it is a unifying concept that brings the entire structure together, in effect creating one massive beam - long, light and immensely strong.
JOS VERBRUGGEN Manager Shipbuilding Engineering, Heesen Yachts
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CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
“This is the biggest structural challenge: building strength into a big, fast aluminium hull” Jos Verbruggen
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CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT
‘THE BACKBONE’
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This patented design is a unifying concept that brings the entire structure together, in effect creating one massive beam - long, light and immensely strong.
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TANK TESTS
Making the data Principles need to 78
deliver. Even the most advanced naval architecture underwrites its computer calculations with old-school empirical testing. But basically it’s a numbers game.
be proven. 79
PERRY VAN OOSSANEN Managing Director,
Van Oossanen Naval Architects
TANK TESTS
When William Froude built the world’s first test tank in his attic to investigate his theories of hydrodynamic efficiency, the British Admiralty took note. It funded a bigger tank, and commissioned him to test its hulls too. The world of ship design, for so long guided by precedent, habit and rule of thumb, moved onto a scientific footing. Today, with their computational fluid dynamics (CFD) programs, naval architects have access to calculating power that would have been beyond the wildest imaginings of the Victorian engineer. But they still talk about a hull’s ‘Froude number’, a coefficient of waterline length and speed. And they still use models to put their calculations to the test. “CFD is great for analysing and optimising a hull shape for a limited number of conditions,” says Perry van Oossanen, managing director of the eponymous
naval architects. “It allows for rapid changing of the geometry without having to build a physical model. But when the geometry is fixed, and you want to test it in different conditions, it is easier to build a model and test it in the tank.”
The Cosmos hull shape required new thinking to take into account its aluminium structure, its power, and its length The model of the Project Cosmos hull is an object of sculptural beauty. Close to four metres long and handcrafted in wood and resin, it is slender and understated, with an elegant bulb at the bow, a finely chiselled keel running down the centreline, subtle propeller tunnels and – reminding us that it was built as a tool, not a toy – accurate propeller shafts, A-brackets, and an adjustable interceptor along the transom.
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TANK TESTS
Tank testing facilities at the Wolfson Unit in Southampton.
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TESTED, OVER AND OVER AGAIN When the geometry of the hull is fixed, and you want to test it in different conditions, it is easier to build a model and test it in the tank. The test is performed many times to simulate every possible condition.
Hydrodynamically, Project Cosmos is a direct descendant of two previous Heesen yachts that use the Van Oossanen studio’s revolutionary Fast Displacement Hull Form (FDHF). The tank-test model of the 65-metre Galactica Star’s hull was, famously, the most efficient ever evaluated by Southampton University’s Wolfson Unit in England. In conventional naval architecture, Froude numbers greater than 0.5 are associated with semi-displacement designs. Galactica Star’s was far better than that – and unprecented for a fulldisplacement hull. Project Cosmos builds on that achievement. “These yachts’ hull designs are all part of the same family,” says Van Oossanen. “But of course we strive to improve efficiency for each project, within the boundaries set by the design brief.”
The Cosmos hull shape required new thinking to take into account its aluminium structure, its power, and its length – a combination that presented a unique set of challenges. “It has significantly more draught than the Galactica Super Nova hull,” Perry explains. “Both for efficiency reasons and for increased stiffness.”
The model of the Cosmos hull is an object of sculptural beauty The tank tests were done in two phases. Traditional towed tests measure resistance – the force required to move the hull through the water – and provide real data against which to check the naval architects’ calculations.
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In the second phase of testing the model was adapted for free-sailing radio control. Extreme sea states were simulated: “We needed to measure the bending moment acting on the hull,” says Perry. “We also used the second round of tank testing to assess manoeuvrability, speed, and the hull’s behaviour in waves.” Fine alterations were made to the centre of gravity. The interceptor plate was minutely adjusted to create different angles of running trim. With its size, structure and ambitious design, Project Cosmos breaks new ground in naval architecture. As the tank tests proved yet again the superiority of the FDHF concept, the hull’s speed was confirmed: 29 knots, resulting in a Froude number of 0.56. No other vessel of its size and type is more hydrodynamically advanced. In fact, Point Five Six might not be a bad name for a superyacht.
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Take the world’s
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Cutting edge naval architecture is just the start. The sterngear system of Project Cosmos is – quite literally – revolutionary.
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sophisticated superyacht hull.
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PROPELLERS AND RUDDERS
There is an engineering paradox at the heart of all yacht design. Propellers convert horsepower into thrust, but in the very act of speeding the hull up, they are trying to slow it down. For propellers are also a significant cause of drag. Rudders too. It’s an irony not lost on the engineers at Heesen. For hydrodynamic efficiency, Project Cosmos will be among the most advanced superyachts ever built, with an exceptionally refined low-drag hull shape. She deserves sterngear to match. But with four engines, two shafts, a half-load displacement of 1,100 tonnes and a design speed of 29 knots, she presents a uniquely demanding set of parameters.
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Minimising appendage drag was not the only challenge facing the Cosmos team.“The propellers will be under very high load at maximum speed,”says Heesen naval architect Sjoerd van Herk. Increasing their disc area is not an option: both the hull design and the waterways that lie between the shipyard and the sea mean propeller diameter cannot exceed 2.8 metres.
Promas is an extraordinary example of lateral – or perhaps rotational – thinking “High loading can mean cavitation,” explains Sjoerd. “That’s when pressure on the face of the blades gets so low that the water boils.” This popping mass of steam-filled bubbles causes noise, vibration and propeller damage.
“The high speed in combination with the high propeller loading, and the strict requirements for low noise and vibration, made Project Cosmos extra challenging,” says Göran Grunditz of Kongsberg. Heesen called in the Norwegian propulsion firm for its expertise in propeller design. The company also has a rather clever way with rudders. Promas has been in development at Kongsberg since 2004. “It is an integrated propulsion system,” explains Göran, manager of the company’s Hydrodynamic Research Centre. “The benefit comes from designing the rudder and propeller to suit each other.” It is certainly distinctive. The sculpted rudder bulb nestles inside the cup of the propeller boss like a ball-and-socket joint, but with no physical connection. This streamlined shape reduces drag, while cancelling cavitation caused by the hub vortex.
But the system’s main contribution to Project Cosmos’s extraordinary efficiency is the skewed aerofoil shape of the rudders themselves. As a propeller spins it creates a revolving column of water that trails astern: this rotation is wasted energy. By introducing a twist to the rudders’ aerofoil sections, the Promas design creates a pressure differential between the top and bottom of the rudder. This counters the rotation, reducing the drag it causes - in effect, converting the redundant swirl energy into forward thrust. Each Promas system is tailored to its particular hull. Heesen shared data from the Wolfson tank test results and Van Oossanen’s CFD simulations with Kongsberg. Says Sjoerd: “There was a strong collaboration between the three of us.”
Because of the unique performance requirements of Project Cosmos – a cruising speed of 22 knots on two engines and a maximum speed of 29-plus on four – variable-pitch propellers were essential. Two new propeller designs were evaluated in Kongsberg’s test tank before the blade shape was finalised. The results speak for themselves: “It’s almost cavitation free at 30 knots, and perfect at 20,” adds Sjoerd.. Promas is an extraordinary example of lateral – or perhaps rotational – thinking. A component which has for centuries been regarded as a passive participant in ship operation is now an active contributor to net efficiency - even in a vessel as optimised for as low drag as Project Cosmos. “The rudder alone will account for an extra half knot at top speed,” says Sjoerd. That’s the equivalent to a lot of horsepower. And it’s free.
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“The high speed in combination with the high propeller loading, and the strict requirements for low noise and vibration, made Project Cosmos extra challenging” Göran Grunditz
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Four into two The answer is more 98
does go. Faced with the need to deliver huge quantities of thrust in the most efficient way possible, Heesen engineers came up with the ultimate exercise in power sharing.
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THE ENGINES
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If a single 4000-series engine is impressive, engine room will be .
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of them lined up in the Project Cosmos an imposing sight
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THE ENGINES
Project Cosmos’s fast-displacement predecessor, the 30-knot Galactica Super Nova, was 70 metres long, displaced 645 tonnes, and packed more than 16,000 horsepower. She had three engines. The outer pair turned conventional shafts with fixed-pitch propellers, while the less powerful centre unit was connected to a waterjet drive. She remains one of the fastest and most advanced superyachts ever built. Heesen’s designers and engineers set themselves the task of going one better. It wasn’t just a matter of scaling up. Peter van der Zanden, general manager of design and development at Heesen, explains: “The 70 metre was on the limit of what could be achieved with fixed-pitch propellers. Increasing the power of the booster engine would have created propeller inefficiencies which would have cancelled out any advantage.” At 80 metres and 1,100 tonnes, Project Cosmos’s design speed of 29-plus knots requires significantly more power. Reducing appendage drag was also a priority: “We looked first at fitting two 1163-series MTUs, of
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8,000 horsepower each,” recalls Erik van Mourik. “But these are rather tall engines, and would have been difficult to accommodate in the Cosmos hull.” But there was another way of combining the necessary horsepower with the lower drag of just two propeller shafts: a solution that is as elegant as it is effective.
Heesen has moved the collaboration with MTU to the next level, with an intelligent propulsion system to complement the world’s most advanced superyacht hull: four engines, two shafts Heesen has worked closely with MTU since Octopussy. The 4000-series engine has been at the heart of many of the shipyard’s most famous highperformance yachts. In Project Cosmos, Heesen has moved this collaboration to the next level, with an intelligent propulsion system to complement the world’s most advanced superyacht hull: four engines, two shafts.
The 4000 M73L version of MTU’s famous engine weighs just under 13 tonnes in its V20 configuration, and produces more than 4,800 horsepower at maximum continuous rating. A sturdy marriage of trusted principles with advanced new technologies, it is a secondgeneration common-rail design with four sequential turbochargers, and burns fuel at a remarkably economical 210 grammes per kilowatt-hour at full revolutions.
Hitching two engines up to one propeller shaft is a system more commonly seen in fast naval vessels, which need high performance If a single 4000-series engine is impressive, four of them lined up in the Project Cosmos engine room will be an imposing sight. The gearboxes that make all this possible will rival the engines as a spectacle. Reintjes DLG 1525 P ‘two-into-one’ transmissions sit more than three metres high and almost as wide, and weigh in at 13.8 tonnes apiece. A power train comprising four input shafts, four clutches and two output shafts will allow the yacht to operate with total flexibility, using propulsion from any combination of engines, from one to four, at the flick of a switch.
Hitching two engines up to one propeller shaft is a system more commonly seen in fast naval vessels, which need high performance, but also quiet and economical long-range cruising. Project Cosmos’s requirements are remarkably similar. The flexibility of this innovative powertrain is key to the way the yacht will be used. All four engines will combine to produce the maximum design speed of 29-plus knots, as the low-drag hull and state-of-the-art sterngear come into their own. For cruising, the inner two engines will be used – which, crucially, comply with the latest IMO Tier III environmental certification. Both engines are fitted with MTU’s ‘selective catalytic reduction’ (SCR) exhaust-cleaning system. This will mean that nowhere is off-limits to Project Cosmos. The yacht will be able to operate at her designed fast cruise of 22 knots throughout the world’s Emissions Control Areas - including those in the Baltic and Caribbean. For a yacht of Cosmos’s calibre and cruising range this is clearly a vital point. Wherever she goes, she won’t be upstaged.
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Heesen has a long and successful partnership with MTU, and for good reason. What makes an MTU engine so special is its impressive power-to-weight ratio, durability and high safety standards.
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A calm interior of subtlety and elegance, taking inspiration from the tones, textures and organic intricacies of the natural world.
quality living spaces. COSMOS
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Behind-the-scenes at the award-winning Dutch design studios of Sinot.
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PERRY VAN HIRTUM Interior Design Manager, Heesen Yachts
INTERIOR DESIGN
For sheer complexity, few human endeavours compare to the design and construction of a custom megayacht. Millions of components, thousands of hours and hundreds of people all come together in a choreographed collaboration. It is like magic - a vast puzzle that can only be solved by the shipyard. A common thread runs through the process, from the first sketches to the last coats of varnish. Not only does every individual task have to be performed to a strict schedule, but every decision needs to be referred to the yacht’s owner. And there is no aspect of the yacht in which the owner is more intimately involved, of course, than the design and fit-out of the interior. “I am the connection between the designers and the shipyard, and between the designers and the owner,” says Perry van Hirtum, interior design manager at Heesen. “I spend a lot of time managing deadlines – on both sides.”
Heesen recommended the Sinot studio to the owner of Project Cosmos. The Dutch Design House was well known to the shipyard, having worked on previous Heesen yachts, but also well known to the owner.
It is an interior inspired by nature, demonstrated in tones, textures and materials “The first step is always to study the general arrangement and see if we can find ways to optimise guest flow,” says Paul Costerus, Lead Designer/ Partner at Sinot. “We’re experienced at this, and good at visualising 3-D spaces, to figure out how people will actually interact with them – moving from bedroom to bathroom to dressing room, for example. The idea is to find the most logical way the spaces will be used.”
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BEACH CLUB: Woodwork, marbles, glasswork, a hint of aqua blue, which obviously connects to the water.
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OWNER’S STATEROOM: There are soft tones of blue being used in the owner’s stateroom, almost a pastel colour. The hues provide a soothing and comfortable space for the owner and guests to relax.
Meetings between Paul’s team and Perry’s take place at least once a week as the interior design takes shape, and more often if a presentation to the owner’s representatives is coming up. “They work cabin-by-cabin,” says Perry – no straightforward task on a yacht with 580 square metres of guest areas on three decks, not to mention another 257 square metres of crew accommodation. “It’s an exhaustive process, starting with the areas which are of most importance to the client, such as the main saloon and the master suite - which in Cosmos is like a private apartment.” The beach club and helideck were also high on the list, being particular requirements of the owner. The cool, ‘classic contemporary’ look created by Sinot will be underpinned by an in-depth visual and tactile
quality. “It’s not minimalist – it will be modest and subtle, yet highly detailed,” says Paul. “The best yachts have a higher level of interior design than the best houses. In the detailing there is always more to discover.” It is an interior inspired by nature. Tones, textures and materials from the natural world - the scalloped forms in the crystal lighting panels, straw marquetry, backlit onyx – reveal themselves throughout the yacht. Leather, hardwood, stone and polished metals are deployed discreetly, sensed as much as seen. Myriad tones of blue manage the moods of the yacht’s numerous relaxation zones, from the aquamarine of the waterside beach club, to the formal navy in the main saloon, and the relaxing pastel hues of the owner’s stateroom.
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SPA AREA: A combination of white onyxes, white and blue marbles, together with stainless steel and hints of woods, which refer to the woodwork in the rest of the yacht’s interior.
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“It’s not minimalist – it will be modest and subtle, but it’s highly detailed. In the detailing there is always more to discover” Paul Costerus
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NATURAL MATERIALS: Leathers, woods, natural stone and also metals. Paul Costerus: “We tried to display the materials in the most natural way to ensure they stand out in the design and speak for themselves.”
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MAIN DECK LOUNGE: Additional blue tones are incorporated, such as navy, making it slightly more formal.
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And there’s a twist – literally. The spiral form of the main staircase echoes the timeless regularity of Fibonacci numbers, the mathematical sequence found everywhere in nature from the petals of a daisy to the unfurling of a fern and, most famously, in the elegant shell of the nautilus. Such an intense level of detailing needs to be carefully handled, as Paul acknowledges. “The base architecture – such as the wall panels, door frames, and floorboards – are always consistent, so that wherever you are on board you will always know you’re on this yacht,” he says. “Then we theme the different environments by using detailing, colours and materials.” Where different zones of the yacht come together, for example at the central stairwell, the details obviously have to match. “But in discreet spaces, such as the bathrooms, you can use detailing to elevate luxury, or emphasise function, to make it unique and personal.”
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Sinot’s creativity is backed by powerful computer software to assist with every aspect of design, from the drafted ‘bounding boxes’ that delineate each area’s three-dimensional space, to the detailed CAD drawings and material specifications that accompany every cabinet, locker and panel. But then pixels will make way for people. In Heesen’s 7,000-square-metre interior workshop, supremely skilled joiners, carpenters, furniture makers and other artisans will get to work and bring dreams to reality. Like everything about the design and conception of Project Cosmos, it is a collaborative process. The finest talents in the world have gathered together at the Heesen shipyard to create a unique and beautiful yacht. Working together, they are totally focused, as if under the influence of some powerful magic spell – with the wand wielded by Heesen.
PAUL COSTERUS Lead Designer/Partner, Sinot
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Main deck lounge
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Main deck lounge
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Main deck dining
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Owner’s stateroom dressing
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Owner’s library
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Owner’s bathroom
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Owner’s stateroom office
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Staircase and elevator
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Beach club
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Hammam spa
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Wheelhouse deck lounge
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VOLUME TWO
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Turning Cosmos into reality at the Heesen shipyard.
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VOLUME TWO – THE BUILD NEXT: BEAUTIFUL DESIGN, EXEMPLARY CRAFTSMANSHIP AND INTELLIGENT ENGINEERING COME TOGETHER IN THE GIANT ASSEMBLY SHEDS, AS THE WORLD’S LARGEST ALL-ALUMINIUM MEGAYACHT TAKES SHAPE
GOOD LUCK COIN This rare Swiss 1957 ‘20 Rappen’ coin welded to the keel, will safeguard Cosmos on all of her journeys. The coin ceremony takes place during the keel laying of the yacht and is a long standing shipbuilding tradition.
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CREDITS
HEESEN YACHTS
www.heesenyachts.com
WINCH DESIGN
www.winchdesign.com
MTU BENELUX
www.mtu-online.com
SINOT YACHT ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
www.sinot.com
KONGSBERG MARITIME
www.kongsberg.com
VAN OOSSANEN NAVAL ARCHITECTS BV
www.oossanen.nl
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COLOPHON
COSMOS BY HEESEN – THE DESIGN ISSUE CONCEPT & DESIGN: Rob van Hazendonk Han Thoma COPY: Alan Harper PHOTOGRAPHY: Georges van Wensveen CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Cavendish, Sara Gioanola, Dick Holthuis, Johan Kaasjager, André Luijpen, John Persson, Olga Popova, Natalia Vorobyeva, Julia Zaltzman. Heesen Yachts wishes to thank all who contributed to this book.
© HEESEN YACHTS 2019
LIMITED EDITION – 80 COPIES A UNIQUE COVER DESIGN The story of Cosmos unfolds in three unique and very limited books: the Design issue, The Build issue and, finally The Lifestyle issue. Each volume is limited to 80 copies, each with its own exclusive cover design, taken from the original construction drawings of Project Cosmos. A true collector’s item.
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