Vripack has been recognised for many years as one of the most innovative and productive yacht design studios in the world - around 7400 boats and yachts with Vripack construction or design are afloat on the world's oceans. Founded in 1961 by Dick Boon, Marnix Hoekstra and Bart Bouwhuis now manage an agile and highly creative team that is currently astounding the scene with its "Futura" design. The 66 metre long and eleven metre wide concept not only features futuristic lines - as the name suggests - but also a very flat profile. According to Vripack's design statement, "Futura" is only a third of the height of a conventional 66-metre yacht. Its curved lines are intended to create a particularly feminine effect, while its superstructure is reminiscent of the silhouette of a whale. The steel and aluminium displacer can take 14 guests and the same number of crew members on board, has a tank capacity of 100,000 litres and a top speed of 16 knots.
The Vripack designers envisage a diesel-electric solution as the drive system, whereby the fuel they have in mind is Finnish biodiesel, which is obtained from organic waste and is already used in the international haulage business, for example. The battery banks, which were also developed on a bio basis, can be charged via a kite that is started at the push of a button on the bow of "Futura". "We didn't want to wait," says Bart Bouwhuis, "until a client contacted us with the desire for a yacht that was as ecological as possible, but instead wanted to go ahead and already have a solution ready."
The interior of "Futura" impresses the viewer no less than the exterior. "It's a glass palace enthroned on the hull," says Bouwhuis. From the main deck upwards, the rooms are designed in a loft-style layout with a split-level concept. The lower deck has six guest cabins of the same size and a beach house with a gym and sauna, as well as the engine room amidships. One deck further up, the rooms open up, but offer enough space to retreat and enjoy some privacy. The visionary owner of "Futura" sleeps forward on the main deck. Two tenders are stored in the bow and the helicopter lands aft behind the pool.
