Yacht styles?

200´/ 60 m Sleeper...

First, thank you for the kind words on my designs. As a designer I should not comment on what my fellow designers are doing, but as with everything, there will always be room and need for a change.

The propulsion issue on motor yachts will probably be of increased importance as diesel fuel is becoming more rare and expensive to get.

I can see other systems where power is generated for electric propulsion and we might get more easy driven hulls like cats or why not narrow beam classic hulls.

They can be futuristic in their styling or more nostalgic. I started to draw on the latter a couple of years ago and here are the conceptual lines for a 60 meter gentlemans yacht. I know other designers like Martin Francis have more futuristic ideas on the same theme.

/Lars

I agree with your comments about Lars Modin's designs. One of the reasons that we've featured his work on YachtForums is because his designs deserve recognition.

However, attractive or unique aesthetic designs alone do not necessarily make for sensible and practical yachts. The General Arrangements that Lars has included with his renderings are what make his designs compelling. They are well thought-out, based on his own hands-on experience as a broker, a captain and ultimately... a yacht designer.

This being said... I have to STRONGLY disagree with your comments about current designs (or lack there-of). Over the past decade, we have witnessed the greatest yacht-building boom in history. Along with this unprecedented growth, we have seen numerous advancements in a wide variety of technologies, including manufacturing processes, materials, electronics and hydrodynamics. In addition, the software and tools being used to create these works of art has allowed a designer’s dream to become an engineer’s reality.

The yachts being produced today are a culmination of many techniques and technologies, derived from the experience gained through years of research and successful launches. Builders must also strike a balance between design, application, cost and demand.

There have been so many notable launches in recent years that it’s difficult to list all of them. I don’t know how anyone can claim a lack of innovative designs, when we have seen such launches as…

Amel’s “Sarah”
Blohm & Voss’s “Eco” (former Katana)
Feadship’s “Ecstasea”
Lurssen’s “Pelorus”
Palmer Johnson’s “Cover Drive” (or the upcoming 123’)
Azimut’s new 116 Motor Yacht
Burger’s “Top Times”
Delta’s “Titan”
Heesen’s “Lady Ingborg”
Oceanco’s “Alpha IV” (or the new “Y701” project)
Oceanfast’s “Aussie Rules”
Lazzara’s 106’ covered flybidge
ISA’s 156’ “April Fool”
Millennium’s new 75 mph 140’ Superyacht
Trinity’s new “White Star”
Winter’s “Pacific Harmony” Cat
Vaudrey Miller’s WavePiercer

These are just some that randomly come to mind. There are MANY others and more on the way.

In addition to state of the art designs, whether they be retro or futuristic, advancements in power and propulsion technology has risen exponentially. Efficiency has followed a similar curve. We have yachts that can cruise at 20 plus knots and reach top speeds that are triple this amount. In each case, the structures this power is applied to has to withstand stresses greater than most other forms of transportation.

Let me say this, as an engineer who’s been in the trenches of developing propulsion systems and hull designs, there are a myriad of considerations for this aspect alone. This doesn’t even to begin to encompass the exterior design, deck layouts, interior accommodations, power requirements, navigation equipment, stowage, provisions, and thousands of other details that few people recognize when they behold a yacht.

I say… if you can do a better job, than submit your resume to the builder of your choice. But be prepared for an eye-opening experience, because there’s a lot more to it … than meets the eye.