Investorenpartnerschaft quer

Silver Zwei
Silver Zwei cruising
the magnificent fjords
of Oman with Guido
Krass, Espen Oeino
and friends onboard.
Silver
Lining
60 | ocean
The launch of Silver Zwei, (Silver “2” in German) from Western Australian
superyacht yard Hanseatic Marine was, like her sister ship Silver two
years previously, a very secretive and low-key affair. No press, no fanfare,
and within days of her final sea trial she commenced her maiden voyage,
crossing the Indian Ocean direct to Dubai in record time.
OCEAN talks one on one with Guido Krass, founder of Hanseatic Marine.
Words Hillary Buckman
Photography Mattieu Carlin (Interior & exterior), Rod Taylor (Helicopter),
Marina Espen Oeino (Oman & Yas), Maren Krass (Oman)
ocean | 61
Silver Zwei
Above left: Guido Krass; German industrialist, entrepreneur and founder of Hanseatic Marine. Top right: Silver Zwei berthed at the recently completed Yas Marina in Abu
Dhabi during the inaugural F1 Grand Prix late 2009. Right above: The top sundeck with alfresco dining area, together with sun lounges, spa pool and BBQ and bar area.
A
the energy efficiency in our day-to-day life.”
t 73.5-metres Silver Zwei surpasses her predecessor as the longest
“It is very important for me to do the right thing for the environment
all-aluminium yacht in the world. With a top speed of 27 knots,
and not follow a lot of the ‘green’ bullshit which is out there while not
she is also the fastest conventionally propelled motor yacht on
doing the right thing. It is up to the owners of large yachts to challenge the
the water, in terms of her speed-to-length ratio. Powered by twin MTU
industry in building a greener yacht, not the other way around,” he says.
V16 engines, her trip across the Indian could very possibly be the fastest
“The only truly green yacht is a sailing yacht.
non-stop voyage from Perth to Dubai by a motor
Everybody wants an eco-friendly boat but we
yacht. Taking just under 12 days and covering
“It is up to the owners of still have two MTU engines, though it is very
5,103 nautical miles, she averaged a remarkable
important to us to build a yacht where our hull is
18.26 knots cruise speed with a total fuel
large yachts to challenge
of the highest efficiency. The trend is lightweight,
consumption of 92,550 litres.
the industry in building
not beamy, sleek design and low resistance. Not
Silver Zwei made her international debut
a greener yacht, not the
high on water, but a low profile and with an
alongside her sistership, now owned by one of
aerodynamic superstructure design and efficient
the royal families of the United Arab Emirates,
other way around.”
hull we can get very good fuel figures.”
at the inaugural F1 Etihad Airways Grand Prix
This is certainly the case when you look at the
held at the recently completed Yas Marina in Abu
current performance figures of Silver Zwei’s ocean crossing to Dubai.
Dhabi. It was a very rewarding moment for Guido Krass, the founder of
After spending a few days onboard at the Abu Dhabi F1, Krass along
the Hanseatic yard and owner of Silver Zwei, to be there and have both his
with good friend and designer Espen Oeino and their families spent time
sleek yachting creations berthed alongside each other.
cruising throughout the breathtaking fjords of Oman. With a shallow draft
Krass, a successful German industrialist and entrepreneur, has founded
of just 2.35 metres Silver Zwei could easily pass close to the 2000-metre
over 20 companies within the renewable energies industry, focused
cliffs, cruising with the dolphins before travelling through the Gulf to
on creating and developing green technologies. This has allowed him
Qatar where they were the first superyacht to enter The Pearl, one of the
the freedom to create his dream yacht and follow his company vision
world’s newest and most beautiful marinas in Doha, Qatar.
incorporating it into the marine industry.
As OCEAN was going to print, Silver Zwei was heading back to Abu
According to Krass, “My aim in business is to be profitable while making
Dhabi to be on show at the Abu Dhabi Yacht Show. Next stop for the new
the world just that little bit cleaner and greener, so that our children can be
yacht is hopefully south to Asia, where Krass plans to cruise extensively
proud of our new technologies to produce renewable energy and improve
62 | ocean
This page from the top right: Silver Zwei berthed alongside the 5-star restaurants
and shopping area at the Porto Arabai marina The Pearl-Qatar. Silver Zwei’s
stunning sleek lines designed by Espen Oeino. Under the foredeck on each side
are the gullwing doors which when opened show the housed tenders and toys.
All her toys on show with the garage door open to reveal the lower level beach
club lounge area.
throughout South-East Asia, then back to Australia to cruise the remote
Kimberley region and the Great Barrier Reef.
So, how did the Hanseatic Marine story start?
“A good combination of fun and friendship and a bit of hard work started
the creation of Hanseatic Marine,” says Krass in a feat of understatement.
Working in conjunction with his good friend and renowned architect
Espen Oeino, Krass decided that he wanted to design and build an ecofriendly, fast luxury yacht, the likes of which no one had seen before. That
was the start of a long journey, which brought him to Perth, one of the
most remote cities in the world, to build his dream yacht.
The Hanseatic story began over eight years ago when Krass sold Pari,
his beautiful 30-metre motor yacht he had owned for a decade, from 1991
to 2001.
“After owning the yacht for over 10 years and experiencing a lot of
different cruising activities, you get to know what you want in a new
build. From every build we have learnt something new; from Silver we had
ideas on how to improve Silver Zwei and now after using her a couple of
times we have even more ideas for the third build to come.”
There have been over 460 changes to the second hull, but the main
changes have been the removal of the bow seating and adding a touchdown
helicopter pad and different seating arrangements at the aft of the yacht.
The exterior paint scheme is beige instead of grey and he has chosen an
African theme for the interiors.
“I have a friend Michael Poliza, a widely acclaimed photographer, who
ocean | 63
Silver Zwei
The main saloon, VIP guest suites and entertaining areas all showcase the large
canvases photographed by Michael Poliza from his ‘Eyes over Africa’ series.
The owners suite and ensuite with the bold orange colours taken from the
African theme of the interior design.
with friend Stefan Breuer undertook a helicopter journey across Africa.
They flew over 19 countries capturing a birds eye view of the beauty from
that part of the world.”
From four photos Krass has decorated the interiors with rich oranges
and other bold colours to complement the large canvases displayed
throughout the yacht.
The interior fit-out was a collaboration between his Hanseatic yard
which undertook most of the crew and facility areas, with FMCA from
Brisbane and Robinson Interiors from New Zealand both undertaking the
rest of the luxury fit-out.
Like the first build, Silver Zwei is a masterpiece of European design
and technology blended with the expertise of Australia’s aluminium ship
building knowledge and skills. The yacht complies with the stringent
SOLAS safety standards, allowing 18 + passengers onboard rather than
the more typical 12. Interiors have been kept simple and comfortable;
room enough for large parties but also areas where you can relax and have
more intimate gatherings.
When starting out, Krass made enquiries with the major ferry builders in
the world but found quite early that the knowledge and skilled workforce
for fast aluminium ferry construction was in Australia. He discussed the
Silver project with several yards, but as they were mainly ferry builders
he was concerned to overload them with the complexities and detailed
requirements of building a luxury yacht, so he decided it was better to
purchase the platform from them and then send it over to Europe to fitout. That was the initial plan but in the end Krass was not able to reach
agreement with any of the shipyards considered for the project.
In the meantime Krass was travelling a lot to the Gold Coast in
Queensland where he had an investment in a software company and he
always passed back through Perth on his reurn to Europe. It was during this
time that he established a small office of engineers and naval architects to
turn Espen Oeino’s plans for the original Silver into Lloyds class approved
drawings which could then be tendered out.
“The more I did this and the more people I hired we found we all worked
well together. The design office grew rapidly and all of a sudden we started
thinking why should we tender it out to the world, let’s build it ourselves.
It was then I decided to approach the government for assistance to set
up the Hanseatic site and to build the shipyard at the AMC – Australian
Marine Complex in Henderson, W.A. In 2005 I employed a key senior
person David Woods from another shipyard who had the local knowledge
of the area and it was from there we started Hanseatic Marine and the first
part to my dream started to take shape,” says Krass.
In a global world, communications has become vital to geographically
isolated yards and yacht owners who do not have the time to regularly visit
during the build. Webcams make life easy but to Guido Krass being close
to the business in the early years to build the operation with his manager
was very important. So, he incorporated time at the yard with a week here
and there exploring the region with family and friends.
Now five years later and with a lot of time spent in Perth, his passion for
building a world-class yacht building facility has come to fruition. Along
the way he has built up a close group of friends in the Australasian region
and has enjoyed the local cruising scene.
“The Med has always been my favourite cruising ground as the you
64 | ocean
ocean | 65
Silver Zwei
Artist’s impressions of their next project Hull #4, the crossover yacht. Designed
as a fast world cruiser with commercial applications.
cannot beat the cultural aspect of it anywhere in the world. But the
Australasian region offers so much when it comes to exceptional beauty
and being able to get away from civilisation,” he says with candour.
Looking to the future Krass has now upped the tempo by designing the
next series of Hanseatic yachts. “We are in full construction, even though
we consider ourselves as a boutique boat builder.”
Hull # 3, Smeralda or perhaps later Silver Drei (you guessed it, German
for 3) is another near-sistership to Silver and Silver Zwei with some
changes and also slightly longer again at around 77-metres, though this is
still another two years away from completion.
“I had always planned to build more boats, it was just a matter of what.
Our next project, hull #4 is what we are calling a ‘crossover yacht’. A mix
of yacht and supply vessel so it will have a very
large helicopter pad, large enough to be able
Clearly Guido Krass’ passion for building
to land a large helicopter, as well as having
“The crossover concept is a
yachts has also been a way to show off
owner and crew cabins. The crossover concept
trend of the times if you look to his creative skills to the world, while
is a trend of the times if you look to the luxury
car market – on one hand looking sporty and
the luxury car market – on one implementing some of his industrial and
experience into the design and
on the other hand a practical 4x4. Similar to
hand looking sporty and on the commercial
construction of some of the most innovative
the BMW X6, which is a typical cross over
other hand a practical 4x4.”
and efficient, and definitely the largest
design. We want to create something unique
Australian built superyachts.
so on one side as a fast world cruiser but with
“A good company and solid organisation is
commercial applications, though still for
a passion for me – the greatest possible freedom is to build a yacht. When
private use, with cranes and tenders, you could say similar to a shadow
you set out to build a house you have a lot of restrictions. With a boat
vessel but all in the one vessel and we think this will be a leap ahead of
you don’t, you just have to deal with certain regulations. It is the highest
ideas currently available.”
possible freedom for an entrepreneur to realise your own creativity. This
As for building boats for clients, Guido Krass is happy to build the
is how it started out as a passion, not taking it too seriously and having
first three and experience them himself so he can make improvements
fun doing it.”
to his build process and iron out any problems without having a third
Somehow, I think the tempo in the local boatbuilding industry has been
party involved.
turned up a notch by Hanseatic Marine, and this is just the start for a very
“As time goes by we will be prepared for clients but not yet. We want
forward-thinking yard with a future that glitters like silver in the sun.
to look at it as a long term plan; we have talked to potential clients on
the crossover projects and that will perhaps be the first project Hanseatic
For further information visit www.hanseaticmarine.eu
builds for a third party.”
O
66 | ocean
ocean | 67
Silver Zwei
maiden voyage fuel consumption
Technical specifications
loa
American Bow Thruster 150kW
67.5 m
lwl
C-Quip
passerelle & bathing ladder
10.0 m
beam (Max
C-Quip
cranes
2.35 m
draught (loaded)
Aluminum hull and superstructure
LR +100 A1 SSC Yacht (P) Mono G6 +UMS
545 tonnes
833
construction
class
displacement
gross tonnage
Espen Øeino & Hanseatic Marine
naval architect
Espen Øeino
exterior stylist
AWL Grip
exterior paint
30,000 l
water capacity
2 x Citor 18,000 litres per day
Hamann
3 x 155kWe Northern Lights
iShip
Autronica / Hein Larssen Flexifog
Danilo Silvestrin & Andreas Holnburger
interior designer
Plant: Trane Air Handlers. FCUs: Cruisair
Hanseatic Marine
project manager
Seatel 4004 TVRO & 4006 VSAT
2 x MTU 16V4000 M71 (2 x 2465 kW)
2 x ZF 7640
5 Blade fixed pitch Bruntons Propellers
2 x Stone Marine Singapore
Hanseatic Marine / Fremantle Hydraulics
Industrial Acoustics Company
27 kn max, 18 kn cruise
112,000 litres
4500 nautical miles
4 x Quantum Zero Speed
Windlass Muir
68 | ocean
thrusters
73.5 m
main engines
gearbox
propellers
Sperry Marine Vision Master
2 x 25kW Xband Sperry Marine Vision Master
GPS SAAB R4
water makers
sewerage system
electricity generation
control & monitoring systems
fire control systems
air conditioning
satellite communications
electronic charting system
radar
gps
shafts
Sperry Marine Navipilot 4000
autopilot
steering gear
Sperry Marine Navigat X MK1
gyrocompass
exhaust system
speed (max cruiser)
Hanseatic Marine, Robinson Interiors, FMCA
Skope Refrigeration, Rational/De. Dietrich/Mareno
interior furniture manufacturer
galley equipment
Windows Media centre
entertainment system
8 cabins/18 Guest berths
owner & guest berths
stabilisers
10 cabins with a total of 16 berths
crew cabins & berths
windlass
2 x 7.4m Hanseatic Marine Tenders
fuel capacity
range at cruising speed
tenders
4th October 2009
departure date
Fremantle, Western Australia
departure port
Dubai, UAE
destination port
279Hrs (11 Days,15 hrs)
steaming time
5103 nautical miles
total distance
92,550 litres
112,000 litres
19,450 litres
1340
18.26 knots
total fuel consumption
total fuel onboard at departure
reserve fuel on arrival
engine rpm average
speed average
331.72
fuel consumption average l/hr
17.83
fuel consumption average l/nm
Ocean Design
Espen
Øino
From his first major launch in the early
‘90s, Eco, down to the brand new
Hanseatic 70-metre Silver Zwei, the
name Espen Øino has been indelibly
linked with pushing boundaries. OCEAN
recently caught up with the maestro of
megayachts for this interview.
Words Matthew Henry
H
e’s the man behind some of the most extravagant superyachts
to ever grace the seas, yet his heroes are the humble Norwegian
designers of small sailing yachts and fishing boats. Perhaps
it’s because there are few forerunners in the line of Espen Øino, whose
business is bringing the wildest nautical imaginings of his uber-wealthy
clients into the realm of existence; a field in which there are merely a
handful who have enjoyed comparable success. Or maybe it’s his deep
sense of reverence for the five generations of boat building tradition in his
Norwegian family, and the memories he cherishes of a childhood spent
sailing the waters of his native Oslo. Either way, while Espen Øino spends
his days with eyes aloft to the blue sky projects of megayacht moguls, his
feet are still firmly planted on the ground. Down to earth and affable,
Øino speaks with a directness befitting his French boarding school
education and the good humour no doubt honed during university days
spent in Glasgow. Speaking over the phone from his Monaco office on a
brisk morning in the French Riviera, Øino was only too happy to chat
about his own work and his views on the future of yacht design.
by the previous boat we did for the same owner. It has forward inclined
windows and it is very fishing boat inspired because that particular client,
that’s his business, he’s a commercial fisherman and he loves the look of
traditional boats. It’s very different from Silver Zwei, a very streamlined
and timeless design. To discuss aesthetics is difficult, because our job is not
to impose a particular aesthetic or design, but to try to make the best out
of what the client has in his mind.
Firstly, what do you consider good yacht design?
One of the important aspects of yacht design – or design in general – is
knowing what you are trying to do. You identify the major issues and try
to address them in the most sensible way. For example, good design is not
a boat which has all internal spaces if your client is Northern European.
Of course, if your client is a Saudi, OK that’s probably what they are
looking for and that would probably be a good design for them. In terms
of aesthetics, that’s really secondary. In this office we have quite a variety of
boats looking very different and that’s really what it’s all about. One of our
most recent launches, Northern Star II, a 75-metre Lurssen, was inspired
Has the global financial crisis had any impact on what owners are
requesting of a superyacht design?
I don’t think we have seen any new projects in the last few months which
have taken a radically different approach. One of my major concerns when
the financial crisis started was that things would come to a complete stop
and that there would be permanent implications for how things resume
– either the same, or differently. And I don’t think we have an answer to
that yet, to be honest. Definitely there are still cash flow problems, there’s
no credit facilities in the market for building yachts. It’s not stopped, but
there is a slowdown more so for the smaller boats than the bigger boats.
104 | ocean
You must encounter a variety of owners, some who are perhaps very
clear about their vision and others who rely on you to create a design
for them?
Yes and no, I think they often have clear ideas about what they don’t want,
but not necessarily clear ideas about what they want. It’s more easy to say
“I don’t like that,” than “I like that”. When they see it and it’s right, they
know it. And that’s where my job comes into play; you need to come up
with the design that, when they see it, they say “that’s it”. If they could
draw it themselves, they probably wouldn’t need me! (laughs)
economical yacht and therefore a very green yacht.
Will the design change? One could think that it would be politically
If you want to take it to more extremes, I would say that there are a number
incorrect to build a large yacht in the present climate, but that doesn’t
of designers and suppliers who have claimed that they have designed the
seem to have happened too much because there have been a couple of very
“ultimate green yacht” – solar panels, photovoltaic cells, diesel electric is
large yachts signed up recently.
talked about as being extremely ecological, and so on and so on. None
With Hanseatic Marine, we have developed something of an “island
of these advances in technology are
concept”, which I guess could be seen
close to beating the old sailing boat,
as a response to a time when there is
“(I find satisfaction) starting off from a
which to me is the ultimate green
less money around. It’s kind of a low
blank sheet of paper, drawing a concept boat. Of course, most yachts today
budget, floating house which would
comply with very stringent regulations
offer many of the amenities seen on
sketch and then eventually seeing it
in terms of treatment of black water,
a yacht but it would be built like a
through to being built. All along the
treatment of grey water and so on,
houseboat, if you like. And obviously
and their emissions are very low. We
with the idea being that the budget
process you have these little moments
have filters on generators and even
would be much less than with a fully
when you think, yeah that was
on main engines, which are capable
fledged yacht, but we haven’t really
the right thing to do.”
of dealing with power over 1000kW.
taken to testing the market as yet.
I think in terms of the impact on
the environment, large yachts are actually much better off than small
What about the current boom in “eco yacht” concepts? It’s a real
production boats.
buzzword. Are you getting many owners requesting environmentally
We’ve been looking at fitting out the 70-metre SKAT with solar panels,
friendly design?
but we figured out with the maximum use of solar power, we could
It’s on the agenda, and I think in this respect the Silver series of yachts we
produce about 40kW. On a yacht the size of SKAT, the smallest generator
have designed at Hanseatic is very interesting because it is extremely fuel
is 200kW. It doesn’t take you very far. At the end of the day, Guido Krass,
efficient. People tend to think the opposite – big fast boat, it must be a gas
the owner of Hanseatic, one of his many businesses is in solar power,
guzzler. But the trip from Perth up to Abu Dhabi was done in 12 days,
and he told me that it is like Moore’s Law in computing (which says the
burning less than 400 litres per hour doing speeds up to 20 knots. It’s
technology is doubling every 18 months and the price is halving) - but
quite amazing. And that’s all got to do with the lightweight construction
with solar power the timespan is different, it’s more like five or six years.
of the yacht, the hull form and of course the main dimensions, the lengthSo we’re not there yet.
to-beam ratio. These are all design paramaters which make it a very
ocean | 105
Ocean Design
Lately we’ve been looking at some systems with a Norweigian scientist
about biomasses. You can generate energy basically from the fermentation
of biological ingredients – it could be seaweed, potatoes, food surpluses and
so on. The technology is not particularly complicated, and it is being used
already in remote places in Norway for fish farms to generate electricity
on these remote islands. The problem is, the share of volume needed to
produce a meaningful amount of energy means you fill up the hull, so it
doesn’t really makes sense anymore. So my answer is – go sailing!
Have you designed any sailing boats?
No.
Do you have any interest in designing sailing boats?
Sure, well I started off as a young yacht designer wanting to design sailing
yachts, but I started working for Martin Francis who up to that time had
designed only sailing boats, but he got his first commission to design a
motor yacht just when I had spent a summer of an internship. He asked
me to come back once I had graduated to help him with that, and that
became my calling after that. So I am very much into sailing, I used to
sail Solings back in Oslo, which are a 27-foot, three-man boat designed by
one of my heroes, Jan Linge.
“I’ve driven most of my big boats,
except Octopus and Al Said, but
it’s lovely being able to feel them.
Like Silver – she’s amazing.”
Silver is surely an amazing yacht to look at too, but is there a design which
stands out among the boats you’ve designed which is the polar opposite?
Well, Silver is a 70-metre, fast and sleek motor yacht which, because of
her SOLAS rating, can carry up to 18 passengers. At the other end of the
spectrum, there was a very large yacht which was delivered last year – 155
metres. She’s got just one owner’s cabin – I would call it an apartment –
and two VIP suites; that’s it.
What’s in the rest of the boat?
Well, there’s space for about 260 crew members, there’s space for an
orchestra of about 50 people – this is not a joke! (laughs) It’s a great yacht;
it’s just the opposite, but it does fit the requirements of that owner.
Is there something you’ve been asked to design which you’ve thought
was particularly crazy?
Yeah, I am working on something a bit crazy at the moment, but I can’t
talk about it – it’s a bit confidential. But recently, we had an enquiry about
a “sailing boat”, which was to look like a sailing boat but really wouldn’t be
a sailing boat, which I honestly didn’t quite... I couldn’t motivate myself
to do that. I found it an idea which was quite contrary to my own beliefs.
A “look-alike sailing boat”.
So you do from time to time have to say, “this is not the project for me”?
Yes, you have to be able to relate to it if you want to do a good job. You’ve
got to be enthused by it, and excited by it.
Do you have a family history in yachting, or at least yacht design?
Not so much yachting… but in boats and boat engines (laughs). Norway
is a bit like New Zealand – boats are part of the infrastructure. People
use boats for transportation. Of course, because of the topography of the
country, there are so many islands and so many fjords that if you were to
drive around it might take you two hours, but you could cross it in a boat
in half an hour. Some of the fjords are more than 200km long, so obviously
there are ferries everywhere, people have their own boats, doctors travel
in boats and seaplanes. So yeah, on my mother’s side, they had a factory
building diesel engines for fishing boats and my great grandfather was
the guy who built the first diesel engine in Norway. There’s about five
generations of boat building in my family.
Was it therefore a foregone conclusion then that
you would end up in this field?
No, for me it was something I always wanted to do. I
saw something I wanted to do myself, I was very, very
keen on designing and drawing, and in particular
boats. Probably from the age four or five – as long as
I can remember, this is what I wanted to do.
Is the excitement you derive from boats more from
the appreciation of their shapes and designs, or do
you enjoy being out on the water as well?
Oh yes I love to drive them! I love to maneuver them.
I used to drive my father nuts at our summerhouse
because I would just mess around with the boat all the
time, driving in and out. I would simulate and play;
a captain on a ferry: in and out, and maneuvering,
and coming alongside, and idling and... (laughs). So
yes, I love being on them, but I love to drive them.
I’ve driven most of my big boats, except Octopus and
Al Said, but it’s lovely being able to feel them. Like
Silver – she’s amazing. Her slenderness and her angle
of entrance in the bow, and she’s so light, once you engage the engines
you’re up to eight knots in no time at all with the engines in idle speed. It’s
just amazing, it’s so maneuverable and so responsive to throttle.
106 | ocean
Above left: The cavernous wet dock
garage onboard Øino’s Octopus.
This page: One of Øino’s latest
designs to hit the water, the
Hanseatic Marine-built Silver Zwei.
Left: Angles and intersecting lines
characterise the unique SKAT,
reminiscent of a military vessel.
ocean | 107
Ocean Design
of the biggest classes today. The design is very old but it is still a very active
class today.
In motor yachts, Jon Bannenberg. He’s an amazing character and has
probably had the biggest influence on the industry and was a pioneer
of independant designers as we have today. Before him, it would be the
shipyard doing the designs. He came in from nowhere – I shouldn’t say
that, he was Australian! But I mean, as an outsider from the industry, he
came in with some really great ideas. A design like Carinthia VI is still so
beautiful – I think it was voted the best looking yacht ever built.
Above: The Moon Goddess “tender” alongside her mothership, the 78-metre Princess Mariana. Below: Balance and style characterises outdoor spaces, even on the
126-metre Octopus. Opposite page: Madsummer, a 78-metre Øino design launched by Lurssen in 2009, bathed in the cool glow of her in-hull lighting.
Is Silver a blueprint for future yachts and could it start a new trend?
Well, I’ve got a crystal ball on my desk here... (laughs) I wish I knew.
Personally, I think so. If you are looking for volume, you can create the same
volume going in the longitudinal direction rather than the athwartships
direction. If you go high, you need to go wide for stability, and your
performance is affected by that. I certainly think that, in terms of elegance
and not just pure efficiency, it looks much better, a boat which is slender
and low. Is it going to be a trend? Well, you can often see things going in
cycles, and Silver is not a new concept, it’s very much like how boats were
designed and built as late as up until the 1960s when the available engine
power was not as abundant and boats needed to be narrow to be able to go
fast. Right now I’m just looking at a yacht from the window of my office
in Monte Carlo, which in many ways has the same beam-to-length ratio
and similar volume – it’s Carinthia VI now called The One. It’s an early
Lurssen build and one of the early yachts by Bannenberg, designed I think
in the late 1960s early 1970s. It’s a beautiful, beautiful yacht. She does
about the same speed and is around the same length, so it’s not all new.
A lot of upstart designers are releasing some stunning and radical concept
renderings and getting a lot of press without having ever delivered a
boat. How do you feel about how computer modeling is it allowing
more entries into the field?
A lot of that is just pretty pictures. They are starting at the wrong end in my
mind. It’s a bit problematic because a rendering can look very professional
very easily these days. Even my daughter, who has just turned 12 and
she’s got a modeling program for designing houses, and she can come up
with these amazing little houses which look even photo realistic. But with
all due respect to my daughter, it’s the brain of a 12-year-old kid who’s
designed it. A lot of things could be improved greatly! The fact is, it is a bit
dangerous, and I think that the whole design process has changed and it’s
much better if you know how to use the tools. But the rendering process
of the exterior should be the icing on the cake, not the starting point.
Any other worrying trends you see emerging in your field?
Well, some clients are looking at some of these designs and saying – I want
my yacht to look like that. But I have to say, it might not be the right way
to do this. That’s a worrying aspect.
Also, at the moment many owners seem to lose their critical judgment
when it comes to building yachts, thinking that a yacht is a yacht and
anyone can build them. They say, “Oh we’ll go to China and it will cost
half the price”. And others who say, “With the crisis, yacht prices must
be down around 30 per cent”. We’re talking new builds here, not second
hand yachts. And, it’s quite clear that they are not – certainly not for
custom-built yachts. To explain to them that people are still paid the same,
it still takes the same number of hours so the labour is still the same. I
don’t think many people have actually reduced their salary because of the
crisis. It’s a worrying trend, they think because of the crisis shipyards have
huge profit margins that they can slash.
What can you tell us about what you are working on at the moment?
We have quite a few boats going at the moment. We have a very close
relationship with Lurssen, and we have quite a few going there at the
moment. There’s one 125-metre, which will be launched this summer;
we’re building a 68-metre, which will be launched in the fall; we’ve got
some more 85-metres launching next year and others that are under
construction. We’re building a slightly bigger boat at Hanseatic at the
moment; another few in Turkey; we’re launching shortly another large
motor yacht in Italy, a 140-metre yacht. Just before Christmas we signed
up another 140-metre in Italy which will be delivered in 2014. We’re also
building an interesting 38-metre carbon fibre boat in Norway, it’s quite
different and will be an enviornmentally friendly boat.
“There are a number of designers and
suppliers who have claimed that they have
designed the ‘ultimate green yacht’...
None of these advances in technology are
close to beating the old sailing boat.”
Where do you find the satisfaction in your work?
Starting off from a blank sheet of paper, drawing a concept sketch and
then eventually seeing it through to being built. All along the process you
have these little moments when you think, yeah that was the right thing to
do. And sometimes, you think, “Shit, that wasn’t right! Let’s not talk about
it!” (laughs) But most of the time, you get it right. And then eventually,
seeing the thing come out of the shed and put into the water; she comes
alive, with the engines starting – it’s like a birth. These are pretty big
objects, and yet they are moving objects, and I think that is what is really
fascinating. We’re a really small team, only about 14 in our office, yet we
can create something and then see that a few years later actually moving
across the water at 25 knots. That’s great satisfaction.
O
For further information visit www.espenoeino.com
When you sit down and just draw for enjoyment, what fills the page?
I enjoy trying to explore geometrical features. I always try to think of
myself as being onboard, imagine myself creating cool spaces onboard.
Although we don’t do interior design, we do create interior spaces on the
yacht and the relationships between interior and exterior spaces is very
important. For example, forward view. I personally hate being on a yacht
or any moving object – particularly I hate aircraft, because you can’t see
forward. I think it’s very imporatant to be able to orientate yourself and
look forward when you are on a moving object, so I have quite a few ideas
of superstructures which offer forward view for more people.
Some ideas I have on hull forms, like planing hull forms we are playing
with at the moment. Many different things.
Who has been the most influential people for you in yacht design?
One of my early heroes was Jan Linge, who just died a few years ago. He
was a great Norweigian boat designer who designed a great number of
commercial boats in Norway when I was young and, before I was born,
military vessels. And he designed many sailing boats, such as the Solings and
so on. He was one of my early day heroes, and still is a great inspiration.
Johan Anker, who designed the Dragon sailing boat, which is still one
108 | ocean
ocean | 109
Press Coverages
Press Coverages