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Perfect timing The owner of “Home” didn’t fancy waiting three years for a new yacht and found 50 modern metres built on spec at Heesen. He ordered an interior from Cristiano Gatto for his home on the ocean waves. Text Martin Hager
Photos Jeff Brown, David Churchill
Efficient lines: the aluminium displacer, “Home”, is based on an FDHF hull designed by Van Oossanen’s hydrodynamics experts. Her exterior profile, which is dominated by large windows, was styled by designer Frank Laupman from Omega Architects.
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Beefy bow: the superimposed wave-breakers on the bow reinforce that striking look and stop the spray when the bow pitches downwards.
Reason to buy: the huge amount of glass persuaded the owner straightaway. A wide stairway is all that leads from the swimming platform to the main deck (b.l.). The crew stows the tender in a bow-section bay using a crane (b.r.).
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o other builder focuses as successfully on building new yachts on spec as the Dutch firm, Heesen Yachts. A large number of the projects that are built in the state-of-theart facilities in Oss are pre-financed and only find owners during the course of the construction process. The builder’s management team headed up by Arthur Brouwer has transformed this inherently risky strategy into a by and large stable business model together with a series of brokerages. Almost half of the projects that are under construction in the various buildings still don’t have an owner, one of Heesen’s sales executives recently explained during a tour of the builder. And it has been doing so successfully for
many years. Anybody who follows the regular press releases issued from Oss closely, soon realizes that these numbers must be correct. About a year after any project presentation, a memorandum with a photo attached is issued: “Hull and superstructure have been successfully bonded.” And usually there is a notification soon afterwards that the new-build has found a buyer. “This is the right time for owners that want an interior that matches their tastes to sign on the dotted line“, Heesen‘s sales manager Robert Drontmann explains on board 49.90-metre “Home”. “If you linger too long, you will hardly be able to influence the interior layout anymore and will just have to
accept the interior arrangement as it is.” The advantage of on-speculation newbuilds is obvious – owners that opt to buy a spec-yacht save a lot of time and can go cruising a lot earlier. Designing and drafting the technical plans for a yacht take up around a year; this is followed by a further year for welding work on the hull and superstructure. Fitting out the hull and crafting the interior in line with the owner’s wishes are estimated at a further year. In addition to her styling, which appealed to him, a short delivery lead time also helped tip the scales for the experienced owner of “Home”, which had been marketed three years earlier as “Project Nova”.
Full-bodied cutwater section
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“The owner fell in love with her exterior design straightaway, it appealed to his tastes instantly”, said Drontmann. The
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Saloon with a view: floor-to-ceiling window frontages flood Cristiano Gatto’s interior with natural light. The owner reduced the choice of stand-alone furniture to a minimum. A chromed chaise longue that functions as a usable sculpture catches the eye to starboard.
marginally inverted and strikingly bulbous cutwater section in combination with the large window frontage in the superstructure already got the owner dreaming as soon as he viewed the project renderings. “Home’s” exterior styling was modelled on 50-metre “Sibelle”, launched by Heesen three years ago. The design vocabulary bears the unmistakable signature of Frank Laupman, who heads up the creative team at Omega Architects. “The full-bodied cutwater section not only serves as a stylistic device, but
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also has a positive impact on the interior layout and on buoyancy“, the designer explains as we tour the decks. “We thus managed to accommodate the crew’s quarters well forward in the bow.”
Displacer with efficient lines In order not to exceed the magic 500 GT threshold, which means complying with significantly more stringent regulations, the Omega team reduced interior volume by giving the main and upper decks spacious side decks. The hull lines on this aluminium-built triple-decker, which
displaces 315 tonnes, are based on the proven Fast Displacement Hull Form, FDHF for short, created by the Dutch firm of naval architects Van Oossanen, which has successfully partnered with Heesen for many years. “’Home‘ is the third enhancement of our proven hull design, which is up to 48 percent more efficient and provides a significantly more comfortable ride compared to conventional displacer hulls“, CEO Perry van Oossanen explains. To really go overboard on the concept of efficiency, “Home’s” owner ordered a
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Party deck: the bar, illuminated in preferred colours, attracts night owls to the sundeck. A heated Jacuzzi bubbles away forward of it.
a cosy and welcoming impression and benefits to the maximum from all those large windows. I want to catch as much of my natural surroundings as I can when I am on board.” And that will often be the case, according to Nigel Jenkins. The owner christened his yacht “Home” for a good reason. The three decks on board the displacer are to be his home for seven months of the year. Preferred patch – the Bahamas. To match these plans, Gatto also designed the owner’s suite, which extends across the yacht’s full beam, in the for-
White space: Cristiano Gatto trimmed the colour scheme. The owner can enjoy views of passing coastlines from his bed (top). Guests can reach their accommodation (above) via a floating staircase in the lobby (right).
hybrid propulsion package, which consists of twin Zenoro generators, twin MTU diesel engines and twin electric motors and provides her skipper with a choice of four different propulsion modes. In economical Hybrid mode the generators in combination with the electric motors deliver a comfortable cruising speed of nine knots at a remarkable noise level of just 46 decibels in the owner’s suite. “Fuel consumption is then just 70 litres of diesel per hour“; “Home’s” skipper Nigel Jenkins, who was already involved in the technical planning of this efficient propulsion system during the yacht’s construction phase, explains. In
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Eco mode this 49.80-metre aluminium displacer travels at up to 15 knots and that’s just powered by the 600-kilowatt MTU units, while the hospitality facilities are powered by the electric motors. In cruising mode the generators and the main engines combine to deliver a top speed of 16.3 knots, while the electric motors are switched off. “Home” is able to travel fastest in Boost mode at 16.8 knots and that’s when all diesel and electric units operate hand in hand
ward third of the main deck. Since the owner has to meet his occupational obligations during these long cruises, owner and designer agreed on two offices: an inner office with a direct link to the master suite, and a separate office where two employees can work if required.
Bar workout at the dance pole Once the day’s work has been completed, “Home” provides a wide range of opportunities to enjoy passing the time. The open-design sundeck, featuring a permanently installed bar, the Jacuzzi
and several Paola Lenti loungers and chairs, is one of the owner’s favourite spots on board. The crew stows the yoga mats after a training session under the sunloungers, while a screen extending from the ceiling and a projector transform the breezy top deck at the touch of a button into an open-air cinema in the evenings. Guests craving more action can let off steam at a dance pole, which can be installed close to the bar. The upper deck lounge, located aft of the bridge and the captain’s cabin, serves as the main place to party. The
to deliver maximum propulsion. “The owner’s favourite mode of travel is Eco mode“, Captain Nigel Jenkins reveals pretty unsurprisingly. The owner left interior styling in the very capable hands of Italian designer, Cristiano Gatto. “During our very first meeting, he admitted to me that he had ordered the yacht because she features huge window areas”, Cristiano Gatto recounts. “He commissioned me to design a modern interior that conveys
Hybrid mode delivers nine knots and only requires seventy litres of diesel per hour BOAT EXCLUSIVE 2/18
Meeting places: lounge furniture and sunloungers from Paola Lenti’s Outdoor Collection feature on the to some extent roofed-over sundeck (left). The upper deck saloon, featuring a synthetic teak floor, can be converted to become a dedicated party room.
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BONUS MATERIAL BOAT EXCLUSIVE APP
SPECIFICATION LOA:
49.80 m
Range:
Beam:
9.10 m
Generators:
Draught:
2.15 m
3750 nm @ 12 kn 2 x Zenoro, 184 and 159 ekW
Displacement (semi-laden): 315 t
Navigation:
Gross tonnage:
Bow thrusters:
499
Raymarine, Böning HRP 90 kW
Material: aluminium
Stabilisers:
Engines: 2 x MTU 12V 2000 M61
Naval architect:
Engine performance: 2 x 600 kW
Heesen
Speed (max.):
Exterior styling: Omega Architects
Speed (hybrid): Speed (cruising): Fuel tank:
16.3 kn
Naiad Dynamics
9 kn
Interior design:
12 kn
Classification:
45 000 l
Builder:
Van Oossanen,
Cristiano Gatto ABS, LY3
Heesen Yachts, 2017
I read BOOTE EXCLUSIV because it delivers a reliable insight into what‘s happening in the international yachting scene to my doorstep. Owner of the »Belle de Jour«
Eyecatcher: at night “Home” seems more imposing than during the day. The aftwardextended bulwarks provide privacy for the sunloungers on the swimming platform.
saloon, which is fitted with a synthetic teak floor, is flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows, which provide guests during the day with a wonderful view of the passing ocean and coastlines. Here too the owner opted for few items of furniture, also from Paola Lenti’s Outdoor Collection. “If the owner or his guests get into a partying mood on the spur of the moment, we clear the furniture onto the aft deck and switch the smoke machine on”, the captain reveals. Anybody yearning for a spot of exercise the next morning, can visit the gym, which is accommodated forward of the engine room and where a choice of cardio fitness and power sports equipment awaits users. Forward of the gym are four guest cabins and a VIP suite, which extends across the yacht’s full
Volume aplenty: the full-bodied bow section is home to the crew of nine. Ten guests sleep aft of the crew. The owner resides on the main deck.
beam. The crew of nine is accommodated in the bow section and thanks to LY3 certification enjoys plenty of space in the cabins and a spacious mess. The galley and a pantry that adjoins aft of it are located one deck up forward of the saloon, meaning the distances that the
The owner wants to call his yacht his home for seven months of the year 38
stewardesses have to cover are minimal. White, black, grey and chestnut are the colours that Cristiano Gatto relied on to create “Home’s” stylish ambiance. Compared to other yachts of this size, there are few works of art on board. There is a good reason for that as the designer reveals. “The owner wants to appreciate the natural environment in which he is traveling to the max, without being distracted by an art collection.”
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