Anyone looking around at trade fairs or in harbours will recognise the trend towards long-distance yachts: large engine packages, alternative energy concepts, enormous tank capacities and storage space, ideal for ocean crossings and self-sufficient travel. "Al Waab", you could say, is the antithesis of an explorer. "The owner wanted a flat on the water," says designer Bart Bouwhuis, explaining the plans. The Vripack creative director and his business partner Marnix Hoekstra were involved in the project from the very first idea, also as designers for the exterior and interior areas. It soon became clear that the client from the Middle East - represented by SF Yachts - had no interest in long passages. "He was interested in cruising close to the coast, anchoring and enjoying the sea," says Bouwhuis. "He wants to have fun with his family and bring friends on board."
Team overcomes major challenges
Then there was another requirement that presented the team with a major challenge: "The yacht should be as large a home at sea as possible, but under 500 gross tonnes, please." This meant that the owner's areas within these limits had to be piled up as skilfully as possible. The solution was a four-decker, extra-long and fairly slim: 55 metres to nine metres wide. This size ratio was optimised using CFD calculations until everything fitted and the steel-aluminium construction delivered the most efficient sailing characteristics. "A slim hull requires less propulsion energy and therefore naturally a smaller engine room," says Bouwhuis. The two 533-kilowatt Caterpillar engines are therefore relatively modest, with a maximum speed of twelve to 14 knots not suitable for showing off, but nobody is looking for a speed rush on "Al Waab" anyway. Ten or even eight knots are perfectly adequate for cruising, as is the respective range of 3000 or 4000 nautical miles.
Less power also means that "Al Waab" burns 35 per cent less diesel than similarly sized yachts. The designer emphasises: "We achieve the same speed and range with less fuel." This means that the tanks can be smaller and therefore take up less space. While "Al Waab" holds around 52,000 litres of diesel, the approximately equal length Explorer "Blue II" twice as much: "The space we took away here, we were able to add to the areas for the owner."
Shipyard Alia Yachts took over realisation of the "Al Waab"
Alia Yachts ultimately had the courage and capacity for the ambitious two-year project. Founded in 2008 by Gökhan Celik and Ömer Korai, the shipyard is based in Antalya, Turkey, and its portfolio primarily includes one-off motor and sailing yachts between 25 and 40 metres. The largest project to date was the 60-metre "Samurai", which was launched in 2016, and a project of the same length - also with Vripack - is currently in the docks.
In a direct comparison with yachts of the same length, "Al Waab" performs excellently on many levels: 42 per cent more deck space, eight per cent more interior space. In addition, guests enjoy a high level of cruising comfort, "25 to 30 per cent less rolling and pitching", state the yacht designers.
The shallow draught does not diminish the pleasure, but rather provides even more fun elsewhere. "2.15 metres is ideal for anchoring directly off the coast," says Bouwhuis, "ideally very close to the beach so that guests can swim or paddle across." The watercraft for this are not stored in the stern, but slightly lowered on the bow; a crane helps to lower the seven-metre tender and Zodiac RIBs into the water. This means that no valuable interior volume is lost for the tender parking spaces, which results in lower gross tonnage values - a clever trick. "A tender garage is a waste of volume," says Bart Bouwhuis.
Nevertheless, the storage area remains out of the direct field of vision of the guests, and nothing can be seen from the outside either, the vehicle fleet is perfectly concealed by the bulwark."
This storage space solution also offers a great deal of flexibility. The "Al Waab" crew still has to play a little Tetris, as the two jet skis and other toys are located behind floor flaps under the tender. A crane that can lift up to one tonne helps with manoeuvring.
Design with warm and cosy colours
A holiday home at sea - for the owners, this includes a lot of holiday flair, being outside, the feeling of space and openness. This effect is achieved on the one hand by the generously dimensioned outdoor decks, a living space that is easy to use on the Mediterranean and does not impinge on the interior volume. The bamboo wood used on all decks also fits in well with the holiday concept, the colour of which, according to Bouwhuis, has a "beautifully warm and homely" effect. The sustainably produced wood adorns the ceilings of both the salons and the outdoor areas, thus visually uniting the rooms. The desired ambience is also provided by many shades of beige and brown, for example for the floor coverings - there are tiles in the salon! -, ceilings, wall panelling and even the furniture.
Blinding white has been completely avoided. Nevertheless, it is bright everywhere, with the only exception being excessively bright sunlight. Instead, the aft terraces are generously covered, as are the wide side decks, whose dark ceiling panels absorb additional light. In the evening, cleverly placed LED strips provide indirect, dimmable lighting both inside and out.
Seamless transitions and wide sliding doors are important for the popular fusion of inside and outside, as are floor-to-ceiling windows and glass bulwarks, some of which can be folded down, bringing the sea close enough to touch. "We've been able to use glass as a structural element for a few years now," explains the designer, "which allows for much larger areas and therefore more open spaces." A good example of this is the gigantic shimmering gold wall that runs vertically across three floors in the open stairwell. Countless crystals adorn the backlit surface, creating an enchanting play of light. However, the large amount of glass caused the designers some headaches. "The problem with the large window panels is creating enough storage space," says Bouwhuis.
Virtual reality was used during the design process of the "Al Waab"
What the yacht really looks like inside and out in the end, how it lives inside, what can be seen from where - that was no longer a big surprise even for the owners. The Vripack team made extensive use of virtual reality throughout the design process. This technology has been helping the designers with their design work for five years and also gave the owner family of "Al Waab" a lot of pleasure. One by one, they put on the VR glasses and experienced the yacht virtually. "This allowed the family to really understand the spaces and our concept," says Bouwhuis, "and see exactly how all areas are connected."
In addition to his large family, the owner also plans to invite numerous friends and acquaintances on board. "You need a flexible set-up," says Bouwhuis, outlining the issue. For this reason, the guest suites should be as versatile as possible. A good example of this is the VIP area on the middle lower deck. Two cabins can be turned into one really large one on request. The mobile partition wall disappears and the two previously separate single beds slide together to form a central sunbathing area with an additional sofa bed, "depending on whether a family with children or grandparents are travelling," says the designer. If more than six guest cabins are required, the large aft gym is transformed into a comfortable suite with a sofa bed, which also offers direct access to the beach club. WC and shower are available there anyway.
Favourite place on board
With a few simple steps, 16 to 18 overnight guests can be accommodated on board. The owner himself lives forward on the upper deck. His suite here does not take up the entire width, but leaves space for wide side decks to access the foredeck with its four-metre pool. Fold-down balconies invite you to enjoy a private tea time. So that the family can look out unhindered, the bathroom and dressing room had to take up a somewhat unusual position one deck below. Now the rooms are accessible via a few steps, you can see in from above, and yet the light-flooded and spacious wellness area is somewhat separate from the sleeping area, an idea that the Vripack team is clearly proud of. Bouwhuis' favourite place on board is on the main deck, in the large saloon. To starboard, in a semi-open alcove, is a not-too-large dining area, "the breakfast nook", as the designer puts it. Now he starts to enthuse: "Imagine: early in the morning, the sliding door is open, the bulwark is down and the first rays of sunshine are coming in. A light breeze is blowing. Ah, this place is great!"
Technical data
- Length over everything: 54,85 m
- Length (waterline):51,90 m
- Width: 9,10 m
- Depth: 2,17 m
- Displacement (empty): 510 t
- Gross tonnage: 499 GT
- Material: Steel, aluminium
- Motors: 2 x Cat C18
- Engine power: 2 x 533 kW
- Speed (max.): 12.5 kn
- Speed (travelling): 10 kn
- Generators: 2 x 125 kW
- Fuel: 52 000 l
- Water: 18 000 l
- Guests: 18
- Crew: 10
- Construction:Vripack
- Exterior design: Vripack
- Interior design: Vripack
- Class: RINA
- Shipyard: Alia Yachts, 2021
