QUART ERLY - P.I. 31/07 /2019 - Intern Poste Italiane S.p.a. ationa l € 10, Chf - Spedizione in Abbonamento Postal 10,50 , UK £ 7,50 e - 70% - LO/MI
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PEARL ISSUE - n° 17 - 2019 - € 10
The Art of Sailing
Turquoise 77m Go
[ MEGASAILER ]
A superlative yacht from Royal Huisman, Dubois Naval Architects and the London-based Rick Baker studio. A team that embraced the massive technological and creative challenge inspired by an owner who wants the future now by Paola Bertelli - ph. by Breedmedia
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xciting”, “Radical”, “Edgy”, “Stunning” “Innovative”
the interiors, which was to be broken up with punches of vibrant
and “High Tech”. Ngoni has been called many
colour,” explains Rick Baker. “The use of vivid resins, combined
things, all of them positive. She has also picked
with sculpted metal surfaces, was to give an overall fluid feel
up quite a tally of awards in her short life, most
throughout: however each area had to retain its own design
recently being named Best Sailing Yacht 40m+ at last November’s
identity”.
Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.
The overall impact, both inside and out, is of a thoroughly original
The striking 58-metre was built by Royal Huisman in Holland
design that impresses both in terms of its general concept and
but her naval architecture and exterior styling are the great late
attention to detail.
Ed Dubois’s final masterpiece. For the interior décor, the owner
Visually, Ngoni is dominated by her reverse sheer and rounded
called upon his favourite studio, Rick Baker Ltd, an art-based
plumb bow. What started out as an exercise in creative expression
bespoke cabinetmaking company.
quickly became the key to the hull’s structural stiffness. Dubois
The big question is how such a startlingly different yacht came
further finessed the hull profile so that the reverse sheer turned
to be in the first place. A visionary owner was a must, of course.
into a concave sheer aft of the superstructure, a very appealing
And Ngoni’s proved to be a man not content to rest on his laurels.
stylistic flourish that also yields superior cockpit visibility. The
Indeed he pushed Ed Dubois to think beyond the already bold
overall hull design is astonishingly sophisticated. Even the four-
designs he had initially proposed by uttering the now famous
metre boom has been honed to mirror the profile of the stern,
words: “Build me a beast. Don’t build me a sheep in wolf’s
creating a sublime visual harmony.
clothing. This has to be an edgy and innovative weapon; fast
The superstructure has a sculpture-like feel with the saloon clad
and furious”.
in imposing curved glazing. It is on the same level as the guest
Ngoni also had to deliver on her performance, seakeeping and
cockpit and together the two spaces create the perfect indoor-
easy sailing credentials, yet at the same time she needed to be
outdoor day area. The furnishings and structures give the illusion
luxurious and comfortable for long spells aboard.
of movement, a feeling of dynamism and imagination, while the
A ‘less is more’ philosophy that called for an approach that was
finishes are textural and exotic with wood, resin, leather, marble
minimal in the extreme and sought to maximise reliability by
and onyx the main players.
minimising complexity while enhancing elegance and aerodynamic
There are a mere two guest staterooms on the lower deck, in
efficiency through a clean, clutter-free aesthetic.
addition to the large master suite (though the crew do have six
The owner also drove Rick Baker’s studio quite hard on the
cabins at their disposal). The owner’s bedroom is up a couple
interior front. He not only ordered his go-to-designer to stay
of steps in the suite to take full advantage of the beam and is
well clear of a traditional yacht interior but gave him and his
preceded by a large but subtly cocoon-like study and a private
co-workers an exhilarating palette of thoughts, experiences and
gym which has an opening hull port in the topside. Following on
ideas that challenged them to produce something special. “The
are a service space and then a small private pantry and private
scheme was to have flowing curves interspersed with organic
deck access.
detailing and unique materials. He wanted a masculine feel for
www.royalhuisman.com
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Stretching 58 metres in length, Ngoni unfurls 1,950 square metres of sail upwind. Her full air-draft is 75m/247 ft and therefore disregards the so-called Panamax height restriction. Another interesting aspect of the design is the boost to aerofoil efficiency yielded by the minimalist styling. There is a spa pool (page opposite) on the teak foredeck which is emptied and covered when Ngoni is under sail
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Flowing curves, unique materials and a masculine feel are the bywords in the interiors. The saloon and guest cockpit (top right and left) are on the same level. The curving staircase (left) linking the deckhouse and guest lobby (right) is trimmed in a bespoke Italian veneer with a textured bronze finish for the central newel post. A glorious aged brass handrail sweeps tendril-like between the saloon and the lower deck
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Naval Architect Ed Dubois, Founder of Dubois Naval Architects
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goni was Ed Dubois’s last boat. Sadly he did not live to see her completed (he passed away in 2016). However, Ngoni lives on as the final tribute to that great master of yacht design. Below are some quotes from Ed about the project.
T
he owner of Ngoni is an experienced sailor who has raced in the Fastnet and Sydney-Hobart, and he knew I understood both the racing and cruising side. He wanted a yacht that was fast and punchy without losing the concept of a world cruising boat, which allowed me to think outside the box and defy convention. I remember when he initially came to the office, I sketched out a design and he said “It’s OK, but a bit ordinary. What are you going to do now?”. I went away and came up with the reverse sheer, but was worried he might not like it. The next time we met in London I showed him the design and he loved it – in fact, he gave me a big bear hug! Actually, Ngoni has a convex sheer at the maximum bending moment amidships that transforms into a concave sheer aft, which looks more attractive and provides better visibility from the cockpit. I started my career designing race boats and then transferred into
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The relatively narrow low-volume hull form supports a very powerful sail plan. Combining the two proved a major challenge but part of Ngoni’s brief was that she should have been a highperformance yacht. Her signatures include a reverse sheer and softly rounded, plumb bow (left). The helm position (opposite, top) contrasts modern with classic: the pedestals are made from carbon with the tops in steel while the carbon wheel spokes support wood rims
large cruising yachts, so my job as a designer today is to get the right balance of speed, seaworthiness and long-range cruising ability based on the owner’s brief. The development of a yacht’s naval architecture greatly influences the interior and we worked very closely with the architects involved in the Ngoni project. As naval architects, we know where the primary elements such as the mast, the keel box and the engine room should be. The associated structures around these have a profound effect on the interior layout, especially on a sailing boat. I also very much enjoy dealing with the architecture – as opposed to the naval architecture – of a boat: the flow from one space to another and the lifestyle the owner enjoys (or endures!) on board. So we created the general arrangement and introduced some of the curved shapes into the interior, which provided the template for the interior designers Rick Baker and Paul Morgan.
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Interior Designer Paul Morgan, Director of Rick Baker Ltd
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e have been working with Ngoni’s owner for many years and when he contacted us about his sailing yacht he gave us a very precise brief. He wanted something unusual, something that people would look at. A style that you don’t normally associate with yachts. He is an eclectic individual and Ngoni’s interiors reflect that. All the cabins, for instance, are different and we really had to be meticulous in selecting different details for each one of them. We chose materials, textiles, woods and finishes that you rarely encounter aboard sailing yachts. They include handmade resin panels, liquid metal, antiqued polished bronze and lacquered textured effects. Ngoni was an exhilarating challenge for us (the project took 18 months to complete). We had already designed some freestanding pieces for other yachts but we’d never done the interiors for a whole yacht. The limited space and the curved shape of a yacht calls for a
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different approach. We have made a lot of curved furniture in the past, but it was always to fit into square rooms. The yacht is a total one-off, with a unique design by Ed Dubois, and the interiors had to reflect the same state-ofthe art design. So we consciously avoided giving the yacht a theme, but rather chose to make the different areas very individual. It was important to us not to let the craft feel like a hotel, and to avoid repetition, etc. I believe that other people will enjoy slowly observing the yacht and interiors when they first board – in the same way that people attune themselves to understand abstract art. They will inspect carefully and then hopefully understand and warm to their surroundings. My favourite place aboard? I really like the study in the master suite with its rounded shapes, turquoise leather and striped engineered Italian veneer.
Ngoni has just two guest cabins in addition to her spacious owner’s suite which includes a sleeping area, study, gym, bathroom and pantry. The study is both cosy and cocoon-like (below) with bright turquoise trim. Artistic-looking resin panels made by Officina Coppola also adorn the suite (page opposite)
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The Shipyard Jan Timmerman, CEO at Royal Huisman Shipyard
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e believe the client was motivated by his appreciation for how his previous Royal Huisman-built yacht, Antares, had served his needs. It takes very discerning taste – and no small portion of patience – to justify the waiting time for a new build project to be delivered. It’s not altogether uncommon, but this client firstly looked to the used market for a ‘ready-to-wear’ yacht. Having considered the used and available market, he came to the conclusion that he might get something that looked like a Royal Huisman Yacht but it still wouldn’t be a Huisman yacht. He admitted: “You guys spoiled me; as hard as we tried we couldn’t find the feel and touch of what we’ve become accustomed to on our current boat – nothing else felt the same”. We remember meeting the client in NYC where he made it clear that he wanted to be able to truly ‘feel’ the boat under sail. What he meant was that there was to be no hydraulic or electric powerassisted steering. He added: “I want to get off the wheel after a day of sailing feeling knackered from the excitement of hands-on fast sailing”. When we first heard what we were being asked to create, the two words that seemed to flow around the room were ‘cool’ and ‘edgy’. This is going to be very cool, we all thought – outside and in.
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There are two ways of boarding Ngoni: either via the spectacular curved staircase that slopes gently down to the bathing platform or through the hydraulic side gangway (right) with balcony
Fortunately, the challenges were recognisable. You had a hugely powerful sail plan supported by a relatively narrow low-volume hull form, punctuated by a rabbit warren on the foredeck. You needed to engineer a stiff hull that includes cut-outs for a submarine anchor, bow thruster, tender garage, deck sail lockers and a Jacuzzi, all contained between the mast and the headstay. And let’s not forget the huge compressive downforce exerted by the mast and the upforce of the ocean waves hitting the forefoot with around one tonne/m3 of energy and 20-plus knots of boat speed. Fortunately Ed was a great help with his reverse inflection in the sheer line. This was calculated to yield 12% more stiffness than the more usual sprung sheer line.