Special Feature - Mike Kajan Yacht Design

Mike Kajan Yacht Design​

Is Good Design a Genetic Gift?​

Like anyone with a passion, Mike Kajan's interest in yacht design has evolved from his
experience on the water, manifesting itself in some extraordinary yacht design concepts,
with an unusual twist... Mike isn't a yacht designer. He's a banker! In his free time,
he uses Freehand to digitally sketch his imagination, which leaves us wondering...
is fine design a genetic predisposition or is it the evolution of an interest? ​

Mike's interest in boating began in the early 70's, when his father worked as a purser on a passenger ship, giving him the opportunity to tag along on a number of Finnish-built cruise ships. His interest in yachts began about 20 years ago, after a visit to the Monaco Yacht Show, where he became intrigued by the various yacht designs and has been an avid follower ever since. Mike joined YachtForums in late 2009, sharing a few sketches which were met with great enthusiasm, thus fueling more designs. Typically, yacht drawings evolve over a period of time, sometimes years. With Mike Kajan, most of his concepts were created in the last 6 months, once again begging the question... is it a genetic thing?

Each rendering includes Mike's impressions, thoughts and design direction...

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"200m Shangrila"​

’Shangrila’ is the result of me wondering if it would be possible to design a 200m yacht without it looking like a cruise ship or worse. The volume of a design this size allows for interior solutions not so common on a private yacht. If high ceilings are your thing, open up the deck above. Not high enough? Open up one more. Not to mention the possibilities to bring along almost any toys you can imagine. If you want to bring a 50 ft Turbine cat, a helicopter or two, a couple of your favorite cars, not a problem. The garage in the stern has plenty of room for a 60ft. + tender.

The solution for the helicopter incorporates a floating landing pad, deployable from the yacht. The platform is capable of leaving the harbor on its own allowing for safe helicopter activity which makes for little or no need for a shadow yacht. The platform is large enough for crew and guests to spend some time in comfort before heading back to the yacht.

The master bedroom is situated in the mast, 28m above the water level with a 360 view. The guest accommodations are behind the bridge with 4m head room, each cabin has its own balcony with a hot tub. Like on most of my designs, the windows are large, allowing closer contact with the sea. The different interior solutions shouldn’t be 2 to 3 times as many as of a 100m yacht but 2 to 3 times as roomy, at least.

"200m Moby"​

From a design perspective, the 200m ‘Moby’ is a combination of an arctic ice breaker and a North Sea supply ship with the superstructure taken from the ‘Shangrila’ concept, slightly condensed. Where other adventure expeditions stop, ‘Moby’ starts. The idea behind ‘Moby’ is to have an arctic platform, large and self sufficient enough to be able to stay in a region for a long time. The idea is to have 50-100 charter guests financing arctic research or some other arctic activity. There is plenty of room for the scientists and there laboratories and of course the guests are able to get a first hand view of things. The laboratories and equipment could easily be loaded in different modules depending on the nature of the expeditions.

All of the guest cabins have balconies with private hot tubs and all of the lounge, bar and dining areas have large windows to enhance the contact with the elements. After a long day out on a snowmobile or if you have been away heliskiing on a glacier, it’s nice to reflect upon the day’s adventure in one of the hot tubs on deck before dinner. In the evening, the guests and scientists will of course dine together, ensuring some interesting conversation.

The size of the flight deck allows for a complete heliport with hangar and service garagel. Other helicopter activities in the region could use ‘Moby’ to refuel or have the choppers serviced. The toys are of course snowmobiles and SUV’s with snow and ice capabilities.

"200m Variations"​

After the superstructure design was established for ‘Shangrila’, the hull shape could vary a lot. The superstructures on these 200m concepts are the same except for Moby at the bottom where the superstructure is somewhat compressed and one level is added in the hull.

"100m Dyna Rig Concept"​

After seeing the results of the DynaRig sail system on the Maltese Falcon, so powerful in fact, the side decks are submerged under full sail, I added the DynaRig sail plan to a larger version of my 70m sailboat concept that utilizes the hydrodynamics of a Volvo Ocean Race yacht. Should be fast. And dry too!

"75m Sci-Fi"​

One of the YF members wanted something more futuristic so I came up with these 75m reverse bow concepts. The low drag, wave-piercing action of the reverse bow is a little wetter, but freeboard will be sufficient to keep the forward deck dry in most seas. Certainly there will be less pitching in big seas with these designs.

"74m Concept"
​

On this 74m concept, I wanted to stay with a low, sleek stern, but in combination with a modern destroyer like bow. Slender but yet powerful. A private deck area at the bow connects to the master state room. On a 74m yacht, I believe there should be a possibility to bring along a couple of cars with your favorite 40ft. tender. The tender garage is up front, leaving the aft part for a beach club with a gym and sauna.

"72m Firefox"​

The 72m ‘Firefox’ is aimed at the sportier segment and could be fitted with Gas Turbines.

"72m Classic"​

The 72m “classic” is a concept with some old school details such as smaller windows, forward mast position and supporting structures between the decks. Most of my design concepts will have a low and sleek profile with a significantly higher bow. Inside I had in mind a dining room with 6m head room, creating an ambiance of the golden age of ocean liners.

"70m Ketch Fly"​

In this 70m sailboat concept I wanted to combine the hydrodynamics of a Volvo Ocean Race yacht with the interior comforts of a large cruiser. Keel choices are canting or retractable depending on rig choice. The mast is 86m (sloop) high and the draft with the keel down is 9.5m (sloop). There are opening balconies on each side for the dining and lounge area and up front for the master cabin. I also wanted to incorporate a motor yacht's aft boat deck into the design, allowing for one or two 35ft. tenders along with some jet skies. With the tenders deployed the entire deck space becomes a large beach club in connection with a sauna and gym.

"70m Sloop Fly"​

The 70m Ketch above is also available with a Dyna rig or as a sloop (below).

"58m Classic Explorer"​

Exploring the earth’s corners by boat has been fascinating man since the beginning of time. On these concepts I was aiming for a modern look, not too futuristic, but with a healthy dose of go-get-the job-done attitude. An extendable landing platform allows for a twin engine helicopter to land safely behind the mast on these two aft house explorers, 59m and 53m.

"53m Classic Trawler"​

If you prefer the landing pad to be of a more permanent nature, that’s no problem on this 53m concept. The space below the landing pad could either be a hangar, saloon or a working area with full openings on each side with the possibility to have the entire area enclosed.

"53m Classic 2+"​

There are certain elements in yacht design, often length related, that dictate form and function. Some elements are mandatory, but they create the basis from which to further develop a concept. This 53m Classic became the foundation for other designs in the 48-meter range, shown later in this feature.

"52m Silhouette"​

Many designers have been influenced by the automobile design industries and on this 54m concept, I was influenced by the Jaguar E-type and the old 1936 Auburn Boat Tail Speedster. A long bonnet with a slanting aft. Ironic that I look at a car design where the designer got his inspiration from boats!

The slanting aft and long foredecks are to be found on many of my yacht designs. If I’d been designing cars, I guess many of them would look like the 1976 Aston Martin Lagonda or the concept Cadillac “16”. This 54m concept has a tender garage big enough for two 30ft. boats or one boat and one car besides the mandatory Jet skies. Aft is the beach club in connection to a sauna and gym area below.

"52m Canoe Stern"​

This design has its origin in the 53m classic concept, but with a canoe stern. The volume and layout is about the same. I think it’s interesting to see that with just some small changes, you can end up with a “new” look. If the superstructure design is neutral enough, it doesn’t matter if the hull shape varies.

"48m Classic Trideck"​

Again, slight variations on the same design yield dramatically different results.

"48m Canvas"​

And it all started with this original blank canvas...

"35m Sloop"​

Speaking of canvas, this is my 35m sloop. The blue concept is the same overall design as the 70m concept previously shown, but down scaled.

"30m Fly"​

Returning to reality, because not every banker can back a 200-meter build, this is my 30-meter Down-Easter. Thare are two versions, a 25m and a 30m with some “Lobster boat” touches. The Jacuzzi on the foredeck doubles as a sky light when under way and dry. The 30m comes with a fly bridge. Saloon and bar on the main deck. The master state room is mid ships, kitchen with dinette further front and in the bow, with 3 guest cabins. The 30m concept would preferably have water jet propulsion or 2 Volvo Penta D11 with IPS800.