| Perini Navi | 88M | "Maltese Falcon" | 2006/23 |

Here she is!!

I came to know what is now "Maltese Falcon" in 2000 when I visite dthe Turkish yard Yildiz, associated with Perini, in Tuzla (Istambul - Turkey), where I was building my own little boat at that time.
The initial steel-alloy 89M hull+superstructure they built for Perini was afloat along the Yildiz breakwater, biggest hull ever built for Perini in 1989-1990 but abandoned due to Gulf War One (1991).
I even made a bid on the hull but Yildiz wanted to keep it "on their books".
So now, some 13-14 years later the project is revived.

I found back some photographs, enjoy ........... (my photograph is dated 28 March 2000)

Thanks for that picture TRY, thats one of the first I have come across.

I came across a website called Latitudes with some discussion on the Maltese Falcon and thought you guys might be interested...

Which Is Bigger? You Decide...

In the last several 'Lectronics, we've been talking about the world's largest privately-owned yachts - Jim Clark's 297-ft LOA clipper ship Athena, and Larry Ellison's 452-ft motoryacht Rising Sun - because they were both here in St. Barth and because they are both owned by Northern Californians.

In the course of reporting that, we mentioned that another Northern Californian, Tom Perkins of Belvedere, is building a yacht that depending on how you measure yachts, may become the largest privately-owned sailing yacht in the world.

Perkins was nice enough to write us and give us a graphic and numerical comparison of what might be considered the three largest sailing yachts in the world. On the left is Mirabella V, Joe Vittoria's new sloop, which clearly has the tallest mast in the world. The second is Athena, which is the longest if you include the bowsprit. On the right is Perkins' Maltese Falcon, due to launch next year, which is actually the largest in terms of on-deck length, as well as weight and volume.

Why she is build in steel? Is steel not too heavy? I had built in composite or aluminium. I think, more light = more speed...Am I wrong? Is it on a yacht in this size smooth?

Does anybody know her launching date?

Any idea or knowledge of her tender launching system?

The most compelling reason I've heard for using steel: Easily repaired virtually anywhere in the world. Both composite and alum require some pretty special equipment and facilities to fix any dmg that might happen, whereas steel can be welded more or less straight forward. If the owner is planning on going all over the world to remote areas then being able to effect a repair is likely a strong point to consider.

At the time of the beginning of the project, steel was the logical choice. Don't forget that the hull was built at the end of the Eighties. And few (maybe no one) hull for yacht of this size was built in aluminium in 1989... Isn't it?

At the end of the Eighties? OMG All the projekt so a long time? Design problems or fiancial trouble?

By the way, I've heard, that the rig design needed 4 years.

René, have a look on the message n.2.

A little information

Anybody interested should check out March edition of Yachting World or Issue 64 (feb/mar) of the Yacht Report
Jed White, Chief Engineer, Maltese Falcon!!

Launch Date?

I've been away for awhile visiting Panama, so haven't spent much time at a computer. Has anyone heard of the launch date for Maltese Falcon, or any delays? I thought she was to be launched by now?

Congrats fellow yachtforums member.

Launching

MALTESE FALCON LAUNCHED
The Dijkstra-designed Maltese Falcon was launched on Friday April 14th. The three 188-foot tall masts will be stepped next month, and the yacht will be sailing by mid-May.

The complex but simple to operate rig is the result of wind tunnel testing, finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics and 3d modeling.

View the first photos of the innovatively designed yacht at

http://www.infoasis.com/~latitude38/LectronicLat/2006/0406/Apr07/Apr7.html

The owner/builder of Maltese Falcon is Tom Perkins, the ex-GM of Hewlett Packard and the venture capitalist behind AOL, Amazon and Genentech. In addition to building a sailboat with wings, he's also into rotory wings... he flies r/c helicopters.

Intersting sail and mast setup. Look forward to seeing her full rigged.

What are all the wires for?

Thanks Ron! Good link.

I noticed the chief engineer is a member of YF.