SUPERYACHT #517
May 2005
Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest
and most luxurious boats with information, interviews, technical
articles, images and yachting news
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Article by
Angelo Colombo
Photographs by Ivor Wilkins and Martin Fine
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ALLOY YACHTS "PARAISO"
Paradise is not simple to define. If one wants to avoid using
concepts of religious nature and prefers considering valid the
hypothesis that the garden of Eden is also on the Earth, we would
certainly imagine it as fraught with the things and persons we
like most. For the Owner, sailing with his family onboard his
yacht, driven by the wind, is certainly worthy of having on his
boat's transom the name "Paraiso" (Paradise in Spanish).
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TECHNICAL DATA
LOA: 108'
LWL: 82'
Beam: 26'
Minimum draft: 7'
Maximum draft: 18'8"
Displacement: 178 tons
Classification: Lloyds Register of Shipping + 100 A1 SSC Yacht
Mono G6 LMC CCS
Mainsail area: 3236 sqft
Genoa area: 3333 sqft
Stay sail area: 1000 sqft
Engine: 2x300 HP Lugger diesel
Cruising speed: 10 knots
Maximum speed with engines: 12.5 knots
Fuel capacity: 3170 gallons
Freshwater capacity: 1585 gallons
Bow and stern thrusters: 40hp and 38hp respectively
Water-maker capacity:2133 gallons/day.
For further information, contact: Alloy Yachts; PO Box
21480; Henderson - Auckland; tel. +64 9 838 7350; fax +64 9 838
7393; e-mail address: mailbox@alloyyachts.co.nz; website: www.alloyyachts.com.
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The longing for a boat like "Paraiso" was born after the owner and his
family spent a vacation on board a chartered yacht along the Irish
coast. That event triggered the dream of sailing around the world
on their own boat. "Paraiso" is the biggest boat this family ever
owned, even if they all cruised and raced first on a 65 footer and
then on a 105 footer. The owner requests were the following: good
sailing performance, good habitability for long crossings for the
Owner, his wife, his adolescent son and possibly their guests,
good maneuverability, a medium-sized hull capable of sailing
anywhere yet not too long in order to reach places where draft
would otherwise limit accessibility. These were the guidelines
that Ted Fontaine, the designer of "Paraiso", had to keep in mind
when designing this 108' sloop. He opted for a mobile keel and a
powerful sail plan easily maneuvered by a small crew. In order to
meet the owner's requests on habitability, Fontaine created a
comfortable helm station with a U-shaped sofa surrounding a table
that may be eventually lowered to create a movie theater. From
inside the helm station, one can control the whole deck of the
boat and have a 360° view of the horizon, making it ideal for
navigation and for enjoying small bays at anchor. The deckhouse
also includes a split-deck with a C-shaped settee; opposite there
is the galley with table and surrounding settees. The dashboard,
occupying the superstructure's width, is forward of the galley;
the steering wheel and chart table are installed in the ideal
position for maneuvering and for navigation. On deck, aft of the
superstructure, there are two steering wheels for full control of
maneuvers and of the sail plan. The cockpit is abaft with central
table and surrounding settees and, when needed, it may be covered
with a bimini top supported by a stainless steel frame. The
forward extension of the deckhouse, on the main deck, houses the
tender without hindering foresail and staysail movement. As
already mentioned above, as the Owner wanted a powerful yet
manageable sail plan the designers created a sloop with a full-
batten mainsail on a carbon-fiber mast with four set of spreaders
and a carbon-fiber boom. The spar was custom-built by Southern
Spars and the rigging by Navtec Rod Rigging. For easy maneuvering,
motorized winches were installed and sheets and halyards were
concealed in a hollow space on deck. Sail hoisting and lowering
can be carried out by simply pressing a button. The construction
material preferred and chosen by the yard was of course aluminum,
in consideration of its light weight, of the absence of molds and
because it allows designers to position weights where needed.
Interiors include three cabins. The full-beam master stateroom is
aft. It has independent access from deck, double bed to port,
office table, vanity, hanging lockers and en suite bathroom with
separated bathtub. The second access is from the corridor from
which one can access the guest cabins as well. These are
amidships, along the fore-and-aft axis, one to starboard and the
other one to port. The first one includes double bed, settee,
hanging lockers and en suite bathroom with separate bathtub. The
latter is fitted with twin beds along the fore-and-aft axis and
two additional Pullman bunks totaling four berths, en suite
bathroom with separate shower stall and lockers. Going forward
there are the covered full-beam salon and dinette which are also
accessible from deck through the central companionway stairs. The
crew quarters are in the bow area and include the galley with a
small dinette and sofa and two cabins (one with double bed and the
other one a Pullman cabin with two bunk beds) with en suite bathroom.
This is the third yacht designed by Fontaine for the Kiwi yard. In
this case, as in others, the waterlines were designed on the basis
of a hull called Delta Hull developed by Fontaine and Ted Hood
more than twenty years ago but still very much appreciated for its
performance and ample inner spaces. Thanks to this design the
Fontaine Design Group succeeded in creating deluxe and cozy
interiors, which efficiently meet the initial Owner's requests for
spending long periods on board with extra comfort.
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