What defines an Expedition Yacht?

As you can see on my listing, some variants have got more thinking on my / our side than others. Point 3 and 3.5 will convert me from a skipper / crewmember to a passenger. There is no need for me to reinvent the wheel. A well known yard will be given a comprehensive ownerbriefing and the naval architects and the internal and external designers will do their job. And the owner representative of my choice will supervise the build. Not to forget the christening of the yacht by the "Admiral"

Point 1

I have no personal experience with wavepiercers and LCS type hulls besides being a passenger on a wavepiercer type high speed ferry. But what I have seen, they behave differently in the waves. And I have sailed on larger catamarans and a trimaran (dragonfly) type sailboat.

You might believe me, when I say, I am an old saltneck and dont get easily seasick, neither on water nor in the air. But the first time I got seasick, was on a 58 ft Catamaran with 4 ft waves in the Med. That thing moved like a corkscrew. And my wife felt great during that cruise. As you say, monohull guys have to get used to it.

The only real disadvantage I do see with the sailing trimaran concept, is the smaller amount of living space inside of the hulls (compared with cat and monohull). The rest is only a matter of personal taste.

The design and the NA of large multihull sailboats is a very special science. And I have to admit, the french design and NA bureaus, at the moment, are the best. I am a greenhorn as far as constuction, hydronamics and rigg design of large cat are concerned. So I would have to give myself into the hands of one of those companies for a build. I could only try to implement some of my technical ideas.

But Point 2 is my turn.

The reason(s) for single prop and 2in1 gear with PTO/PTI gen/motor from my point of view are as follow: Given a hypothetical Explorer at around 200 ft in lengths, he would require a total propulsion power of app. 3000 KW. Staying below 3000 KW for crew requirement reasons. Taking a typical medium speed 3000 KW engine (MAN or MAC), it would require a engine room height of more than 15 to 17 feet. On a yacht, that means more than 2 decks. Taking two MTU 16V 4000 M53R or Cat 3516C at 1492 KW each would give the possibility for a 600 KWe shaft generator. With 2 additional app. 300 KWe diesel gensets, it would generate a true hybrid propulsion and the engineroom would stay within two decks.

Single variable pitch prop for efficieny and sturdiness. The prop can be protected by keel and the larger very efficient rudder (split asymmetrical rudder with costa bulb) supported by upper and lower bearing. In case of damage, single prop blades could be exchanged by divers without the need for drydock (if really necessary). The Prop could even be equipped with Cord or Rice nozzle for more bollard pull, prevention of cavitation and damage protection. Keel cooling, exhaust gas cleaning and dry exhaust stacks for enviromental reason. Strong, reinforced, anfaired hull made of carbon steel (stronger in very cold water)

The long range go everywhere Explorer / Expedition whatever purpose yacht.

An interesting question would be, why not a SWATH design with sails? Sounds crazy, because the principle of SWATH and sails maybe dont work together. The trimming issue is most likely a nightmare.

Below an example of a Wartsilä 2in1 gear with gen on gear in the size needed.

Brian:
I just "innovated" your invention by painting it "blue" and using "train" power/engine modules in converting it to my innovation!

The sad old story is:
Inventors that invent the technology end up poor in fleabag hotels nursing a bottle on skid row... or run off to the Legion and then old broke down end up in...
Lost Legion - France - YouTube

Innovators that take the inventions and do a few changes end up rich living splitting their time between lavish mansions in all the Tony spots and become princes on the Riviera looking for a yacht...
The Fendi Princess Yacht ft Prince Albert II at the Monaco Yacht Show 2011 | FashionTV - FTV - YouTube

The End

HTMO9:
I have been wondering "single prop" in a multi hull... only if the center hull is larger to keep things balanced? So you are thinking along the lines of a stabilized mono hull... with a single big hull SWATH... and one or more outriggers... ?

Well then an idea comes to mind... using everything you rejected... and turning it into ALMOST what you want...

Get one of those surplus 214 submarines... turn it into the underwater part of a big central SWATH with a large upper deck with all the enmities and add an underwater outrigger or two using horizontal fins sort of like very large bulb keels sticking out from the central hull but under water.

This means you can adjust the height of the upper deck above the waves by submerging or surfacing the sub component more or less. This would be perfect as in large waves you go up a little and when lounging in a cove somewhere you can sink down turn the upper living area into a beach like area.

An advantage is the crew area can be delegated to the sub and not disturb guests. And, when the Admiral gets sea sick she can hide out in the cabin in the subs bowels... for easier motion.

And, harbor masters would never suspect anything and you could get favored berths like everyone else... and have these kind of problems like at the snail boat race last year... at Porto Cervo... while everyone took shelter in port...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXXWHVFQshs

Sorry, it looks like you misunderstood my posting. The spec of the powertrain was only ment for the explorer, the monohull version 2 of my listing.

Oh, was confused as often happens.

I think the explorer yacht is an excellent idea for relaxing and enjoying the marine environment outside of the Tony areas.

The idea of using two engines drive one prop... really shows your commercial background. Very practical and the idea of the variable pitch prop very much improves handling aspects. I thought you might enjoy the storm video but don't show to the wife!
Porto Cervo's storm - YouTube

I have seen this Youtube before, here on yachtforums. It is scary, I hate the noise of exploding fenders. With this video, you can see the reason why ships sometimes leave harbour before a storm arrives, in order to reach the safety of open waters during a storm. I wonder, how much damage was caused during that storm in Porto Cervo.

Yes, but I would rather have the boat scuffed and scratched up then lose a crew member or the boat... not too noticeable on a Matterhorn White boat but Flag Blue or heaven forbid "metallic" in particular can be a repaint! And, make you wished you just been lucky not to get a berth and anchored out! And, this is a case for and "ice hardened hull" explorer yacht!

Quixotic dreaming....
Thinking on the conversion of the sub to a SWATH yacht... I think it would not need the side stabilization! For this outlandish project of my imagination you could just weld a long center vertical thick fin between the boat and the upper living deck/quarters... other than drawing a lot of draft it could look like a regular motor yacht ! Actually it could be a conversion of an existing motor yacht and sub... and think of all the extra space in the motor yacht after removing the machinery spaces and the extra volume for miscellaneous stuff in the attachment fin space. And, it would be incredibly stable in a sea... with that massive sub down there acting as a huge keel. Past my bed time!

Why 200', why Arctic Specific

I was trying to find some photos and some pstings on a yacht similar to this Turmoil that an old associate captained for an American gentleman who chose a vessel like this to go do some 'arctic' and sub-arctic' cruising. But my memory must be fading and I havn't found it yet.

Meanwhile I have a couple of questions for you, and a observation.

Please help me understand why a 'retired couple' need a poweryacht of 200 feet in length? It just seems oversized to me? That 40m Humphrey's vessel had 5 dbl staterooms. Do you need any more? (I'm not being sarcastic at all, just want some explaination why folks seek out such large yachts )

And if I were desiring to do some little bit of 'arctic cruising', but not full time, why would I build a vessel with that capability to satisfly a short period of the boat's life, and possibly a lot longer time in the tropics?. I would build to live aboard, and simply charter a special vessel for the 'arctic-specific cruise'.
(as we get older the warm tropics have an extra appeal,...wife also )

That is the big question.

Why did man kind left the trees and its caves, started to walk on two feet, learned to use the fire and ate cooked food.

The answer is easy: Because

"One day I had a dream.....", Martin Luther King

Brian I agree... who wants to got to the Arctic... I suppose it's the "Blue Nose" ceremony that gives me chills.

Size... I think 200' / 60m is huge. The Moonen Rene Van der Velden design "Beluga" ex MY ISSUE is for sale... at not a bad price and still fresh. Its 112' / 34 m and just about perfect size wise in my opinion...

Bon Voyage !

It is really quite simple, because they can.

Lets face it, none of us "need" a poweryacht.

For me I just love the feeling of being on the water, moving through the water, and seeing all the world has to offer from the water.

As far as the size boat I "need", I need a boat between 120' and 180' to feel safe and have the amount of space I need not feel cramped.

For those who choose to go beyond what others think they may need I congratulate them because of all the jobs they create and money they put into economies around the world.

If I had enough money to comfortably go gargantuan that is how I would justify it.

How others do it is of course up to them but God bless 'em if they can and do share their wealth in such a fabulous fashion!

Multiple Vessels, Multiple Locations

.....forgot 'my observation'

Why not have several smaller vessels at different locations around the world? That could present itself as a 'exploration situation' without moving only one vessel across oceans around the world.

I presented my case for this scenario HERE:
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/yachtforums-yacht-club/18431-what-would-you-build-%24600-million-lotto-ticket-4.html
(CONCLUSION: So there you have it, travel and living on a variety of motor/sailing craft around the world, promoting new boating ideas, and helping kids become better citizens of the world. That would be my ultimate dream.)


Now perhaps you could substitute for my yachts with sails on them with some CLASSIC designs to be located in 'interesting environments', but I would still hold onto that canal boat idea for European waterways.


Here is a nice 36m single engine design, ice class....
New Build: 36M Classic Gentleman's Motoryacht - YachtForums.Com

Here's a classic I just posted:
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/vintage-classic-yachts/297-classic-yachts-cruiser-resurrection.html#post171977

....WOW, just noticed that the older yacht is named Fifer, and the builder of the newer yacht (somewhat lookalike) is in Fife Scotland

"Where's the blue, Lola?"

Let GOOGLE be your friend.

I think, I have posted this before. If I / we ever decide to scale down, we would scale down to below 80 ft / 24 meters in length, in order to stay within the European pleasure boat regulation (CE). And then we would buy this:

Horizon Yachts EP 77, full displacement, long range (4000 NM), owner plus 4 guests, 2 crew, twin engine (2 x 560 HP MAN), sturdy, seaworthy, bridge equipped like a big ship, a little home on the seven seas. Not a beauty, but when I am on it, I cant see that and I dont care. The only thing we would have to do: Stay away from the ice, its made of GRP.

Wordless definition of an Exploration Yacht

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and then, some.

motor yacht lone ranger - Google Search

I disagree.

She seems to be moored in the second pic with her head held high, as if she knows she's the Queen of the Ball.

P.S.- The rest of that sentence (one of Life's little Truths) made me laugh.

Lone Ranger

That Giant started its life as an ocean going salvage tug at the Schichau Yard at the Weser river in the early 70. I was on her once on a open day in Bremerhaven, when she still was on active duty as a tug. You should have felt her sheer power and the vibrations of the whole ship when her big props started to cavitate. But using her as a yacht.

Sorry for that second meaning. I did not mean to.

Brian, you need a big boat to hold big toys. There is also something nice about having one boat/home full time rather than boat hopping. One closet full of clothes, one cabin full of effects, one crew to build a relationship with.

She does have a nice helipad and room for a sailboat.

LONE RANGER - Luxury Exploration Yacht | Y.CO

P.S.- She sold at auction (Antibes Yacht Show - Prestige Yacht Auction), this weekend for a reported €750,000. A very serious bargain, as she recently received a price reduction from $20 mm to $14 mm.

If you care for big engines with big noise and belching black smoke, thats your choice. And if you put the big hook back on, you can pull large oil tankers for living. Fascinating big boat, but as a yacht, THE anachronism per excellence!!! Maybe thats why nobody wanted it.

At its time, "Simson" was one of the strongest tugs in Europe, as far as bollard pull (135 metric tons) was concerned.

Is it possible that they changed the engine and exhaust in the refit? It seems to me like all that extra HP (that really just makes the ride uncomfortable, eats fuel, and wears out the ship) would be unneeded in a yacht that never drags around oil platforms.