SUPERYACHT #10
Autumn 2006
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
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ROYAL HUISMAN ARCADIA
Designed by Tony Castro for an American customer, Arcadia is one
of those splendid examples of how the classic can be coupled with
the modern and with the most recent technology.
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TECHNICAL DATA
LOA: 35.80 METRES
length on waterline: 31.55 metres
beam: 8.24 metres
draught: 4.34 metres
displacement: 284 t.
top speed: 12 knots
cruising speed: 10 knots
range at cruising speed: 5.000 nm
classification: MCA, Lloyds ?100A1, SSC, Yacht, Mono, G6, LMC, UMS
building material: Corus "Alustar" Temper
engines: 2 x 540 HP Caterpillar 3412 DI-TA
fuel capacity 43.474 litres
water capacity 7.780 litres
deck gear: custom made by Rondal.
For more in-depth information contact Royal Huisman
Shipyard BV, Flevoweg 1, 8325 PA Vollenhove, Holland; tel. +31 527
243131; fax +31 527 24 3800; email yachts@royalhuisman.com;
website www.royalhuisman.com.
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The Dutch shipyard Royal Huisman may be said to be an expert on
superyacht. We need only think of Athena, the biggest private
sailing yacht ever built: one of her strong points is precisely
this combination of classic and modern. But there are also other
examples where the yard has demonstrated its ability to create a
design philosophy, interpreting it each time with stylistic and
technical solutions that are always innovative. Arcadia is the
fruit of this experience and of the yard's usual ability to do
everything in-house, right down to the most apparently
insignificant details on board. But Arcadia is also the fruit of a
trend that is gaining ground among yacht owners, which is to say a
tendency towards less gigantic vessels that can reach smaller
marinas and ports in places otherwise inaccessible. The owners who
ask for yachts of this kind are looking for long range vessels
with relatively reduced fuel consumption and for interior volumes
that can ensure the right level of comfort on the most demanding
cruises during which every inch of the yacht is experienced. With
Arcadia the Royal Huisman yard has realised the dream of an east
coast American whose first request was a yacht which was not
oversized with regard to his actual needs but which at the same
time was suitable for ocean cruises, without excluding voyages to
the poles. This is why one of the owner's main requirements was
the choice of construction material - aluminium - which in
comparison with steel reduces hull friction by about 10% and
offers about 25% more range and 17% more efficiency with equal
fuel consumption, thus guaranteeing reduced running costs.
Moreover, with the intention of sailing to the poles, the owner
chose this building material for its high mechanical resistance to
impact: the great elasticity of the alloy functions also at very
low temperatures. But we must add to all this, as mentioned
previously, the owner's desire to have a yacht where functionality
and luxury are coupled in the best possible way, but in accordance
with classic stylistic canons. So Tony Castro's work in developing
this yacht - he himself spoke about a fine challenge - was
undoubtedly demanding. Also because the owner is a yachtsman with
many years of experience behind him and therefore with clear ideas
about his final aims. But the designer saw this as an advantage,
inasmuch as such an owner can understand all the design processes
necessary to overcome problems of a technical nature with regard
to problems of a purely aesthetic nature. One of the finest jobs
in the design phase was the parallel development of Dick Young's
interiors and the external lines by Tony Castro, work which was
necessarily carried out in harmony by the two designers in order
to achieve an optimal result. Having arrived at defined forms,
meaning establishment of the volumes and waterlines, the designers
submitted the results to the Dutch Hydrodynamic Institute which
supplied an analysis of the hull's hydrodynamic flow as well as
the results of the pressures and waves produced thereby. All this
supplied data necessary for optimisation of the hull and for the
right dimensions and forms of all the appendages, as well as clear
references about the hull's seakeeping properties, especially with
regard to its righting tendency. Undoubtedly a highly attentive
design which we could appreciate personally on our brief sail
aboard. What struck us most about the interiors was the solution
of the VIP cabin: a sliding door transforms it into two cabins,
complete with everything, including bathroom. Needless to say that
when used as a single cabin it becomes an actual suite with
sitting room and all. Other outstanding elements are the fine
finishes in mahogany which give a very pleasant warmth to all the
spaces. Then again the windows and portholes in the superstructure
and in the ship's sides, the sliding doors in the interiors, the
excellent visibility from the bridge and the panoramic view from
the saloon and upper deck. Plus solutions such as the mast for
sensors and aerials created in carbon by Rondal to avoid shifting
weights upwards. And that's not all. For example the navigation
systems are the most modern found on the market today, like the
computerised system for handling all the data arriving from the
sensors and instruments, as well as from apparatus such as radar,
a solution that means you can have everything under control by way
of two monitors on the bridge: from engine and plant efficiency to
the environment in which Arcadia is sailing. The design is
developed on three decks plus a small upper deck for open air
relaxation. The lower deck aft houses the large VIP cabin
described above, transformable into two double cabins, which
occupies the whole width of the beam and is accessible from two
doors that overlook a small quadrangle at the sides of which there
is a companionway to the main deck and an access door to the two
guest cabins in the same area. Both with private bathrooms, one
has a double bed and the other has twin beds. Amidships the great
engine room also houses all the on-board systems such as
generators, air-conditioning etc.. This is directly accessible
from the crew's quarters which take up the whole forward portion
of the vessel and include two double cabins, one with double bed,
an office and a relaxation space for the crew. The main deck
includes an open air zone aft, protected above by the extension of
the upper deck, where there is a large dining table and chairs.
From here you access the saloon with sofas, bar, a large
retractable plasma TV screen, card and coffee tables and access to
the adjacent dining area which is in a central position.
Proceeding forward there's a daytime bathroom, service rooms and
the splendid owner's cabin which enjoys the spectacle and
brightness offered by the large superstructure windows and plenty
of space for an office corner, a spacious bathroom, a dressing
table area and a double bed. The upper deck is occupied by the
large, welcoming command bridge where the technological content is
obvious at a glance. Aft there is another saloon and relaxation
area from which, farther aft, the tender area is accessed: two
RIBs handled with a custom designed davit. Given the owner's
requirements, Royal Huisman created a special system for handling
the heavy stern anchor on the port side of the transom by means of
customised mechanisms, thus avoiding damage to the structure and
ensuring easy casting and weighing. Another noteworthy element is
the excellent soundproofing, with a vibration level that is
imperceptible even at full speed. Arcadia's Zero-speed stabilisers
also function optimally. In conclusion, a unique yacht with
numerous equally unique and interesting technical aspects to
investigate: such as the floating sole system and the stern
platform with vertical movement to lower its level.
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