Wonder bag principle

It's not always clear what to expect when launching an individual boat. Sure, some shipyards and designers feed yachties with information and visualisation snippets such as sketches or renderings - but with the latest Admiral launch, most people were in the dark. That's a good thing, because ultimately this element of surprise is a big part of the fascination of yachting.

What emerged: a 75-metre-long steel and aluminium construction from the computers of Azure Yacht Design and Berlin architect Holger Schulze-Seeger (archineers.berlin). The most striking features of "Kenshō" are the negative stem, the overhanging main deck, glass bulwarks, the glacier-green metallic paint and the lower deck, which ends in an open stern with a pool. The ceiling height of 2.70 metres is carried offensively into the exterior and emphasised by the large glass surfaces. In contrast to this, the hull appears flat and has a comparatively moderate number of windows.

It was important to the owner that he and his guests come into direct contact with nature and constantly see the horizon. As he himself puts it: "'Kenshō' combines the best ideas of home and yacht design to create a new quality of life at sea." The yachting-experienced owner engaged the Parisian studio Jouin Manku to design the 1980 gross tonnes of interior space. Her rooms - the owner's suite is 13 (!) metres wide - are characterised by organic, rounded shapes, with materials ranging from teak, marble, onyx, silk, wool and glass to bronze.

"Kenshō" relies on a diesel-electric propulsion system consisting of two azimuthing nacelles with 1425 kilowatt electric motors each, which are fed by five diesel generators with a total output of 3530 kilowatts. Taking into account the retracted stabilisers, the forecasts assume a top speed of 15.4 knots and a range of 4350 nautical miles at a speed of twelve knots.

Once completed, "Kenshō" will surpass Admiral's current flagship, "Planet Nine", by 1.65 metres. From 2022, Y.CO will offer the unusual 75 metres for charter in the Mediterranean. Then 20 crew members will look after a maximum of 16 guests.