Ultra-High-Tech Super-sailer to be delivered summer 2003
The signing of an important contract to build a 45-meter
(147-foot) sailing yacht has taken place, Baltic Yachts' largest ever.
Designed for a very experienced North American businessman, the
light-displacement, all carbon-fiber sloop will have naval architecture
by the San Diego team of Reichel/Pugh, internationally known for
high-performance racing and cruising designs. The deck design, interior
layout, and overall styling are by a cooperation between Reichel/Pugh,
the Baltic Yachts in-house team R&J Design and Design Unlimited.
The project was initiated in late 1999, when the client asked Baltic for a
large sailing yacht, to be designed and engineered specifically forcruising, but with the appearance and ultra-high performance of a modern
light-displacement racer. After preliminary studies, the design team developed a basic hull type and drew preliminary layouts. Velocity
Prediction Program (VPP) studies were then performed for several versions of
the design - with variable displacement, beam, and prismatic coefficient -
to fine-tune the hull form. VPP tests were also run to design the ideal sloop rig, as well as assess water ballasting, canting or lifting keels, and
maximum draft, all to optimize stability and performance.
Precise weight
calculations were performed at each stage to assure the design met the ideal
numbers the project demanded. The hull has a near-plumb bow, graceful reverse transom, and low freeboards.
It is 45 meters overall, with a design waterline of 37.7 meters, and a maximum beam of 8.6 meters; maximum draft with the lifting keel fully down
is 6.5 meters. The sailplan, set on a tall carbon-fiber mast with swept-back
spreaders, has conventional slab reefing combined with a special main boom
enabling sail storage on top/in the boom, and non-overlapping headsails.
Displacement will be 105,000 kg, of which 48,000 kg will be in a ballast
torpedo on the keel fin (water ballast was deemed unnecessary).
In order to minimize the displacement, Baltic Yachts is using the most
advanced construction techniques and materials available. Hull and deck will
be laminated of high-temperature cured, intermediate-modulus pre-preg carbon
with mostly Nomex honeycomb coring. Interior bulkheads and paneling will be
of the same construction, with thin cosmetic wood veneers on visible
surfaces. Fittings and many other details will also be laid up in pre-preg
carbon. The keel fin, with a very short cord to minimize wetted surface,
will be machined from high-strength stainless steel.
The deckhouse is low and sleek; the deck layout is very efficient, with
custom-made gear and winches. Initial plans called for some emphasis on
making record-breaking passages. But that would have required winches and
deck gear that operate manually (for record eligibility) and electro-hydraulically (for effortless cruising). As this duplication would
have added undesirable weight and complexity, the client abandoned the
record-breaking options. The main halyard, mainsheet, jib and staysail
sheets will now have hydraulic winches; the asymmetric spinnaker will have
coaming-mounted manual winches, which can be used as backups for the
hydraulic winches should the system break down.
The interior features a large midships saloon, a spacious owners' suite and
galley aft, and two large guest cabins forward. In addition to her 700-hp
main engine, the yacht will be equipped with a diesel generator,
air-conditioning, watermaker, and more amenities, giving her full cruising
comfort and self-supporting capability.
This high-tech, high-performance sloop is the third project that
Reichel/Pugh has designed with Baltic Yachts. R&J Design has cooperated
closely with Baltic Yachts for more than a decade, designing and styling
many of its projects since our early days.
This yacht is scheduled for delivery in 2003.
DESIGNER: Reichel/Pugh
LAYOUT AND STYLING: Reichel/Pugh and R & J Design/Baltic Yachts
