Iconic Dutch shipyard Heesen has announced that its hybrid silent superyacht, Home, will debut at the 2017 Monaco Yacht Show from September 27-30.
The 50-metre superyacht, originally dubbed Project Nova, is being marketed as the world’s first fast displacement motor yacht equipped with hybrid propulsion. The yacht’s ground-breaking technology enables her to “offer the ultimate luxury: a silent cruising mode”, the company told Luxury Lifestyle Magazine.
Heesen worked closely with sensory expert Professor Barry Smith, founder of the Centre for the Study of the Senses and director of the Institute of Philosophy, who found that many of the activities during an outing at sea involve enjoying good food and wine.
In a recent study examining the effect a silent cruising mode would have on guests’ on-board, Smith concluded: “Our research has shown that the brain’s processing of taste is affected by noise, which reduces the tongue’s ability to detect salt, sweet and sour. The beauty of Home is the ability to run at a sound of around 46 decibels — the sound level of softly falling rain – enabling those on board to enjoy food and drink to the full with no diminution of taste.”
Heesen said it continually strives to complement technology and design and believe that in a world full of noise, ‘silence is the ultimate luxury’.
“The first of a new breed, Home is quieter, cleaner and more fuel efficient,” the company explained. “The Fast Displacement Hull Form offers fuel efficiency due to the use of lightweight aluminium and the silent cruising mode can reach up to 9 knots.
“Propelled by a hybrid of both diesel mechanical and diesel electrical, her power sources can be used simultaneously or independently, reducing noise, vibration and again increasing efficiency. In silent cruise mode, her fuel consumption reduces to a staggering 45 litres per hour – an astonishing feat for a yacht displacing 295 tons and a gross tonnage of 499.”
Beautiful as well as technical; Home’s striking exteriors, featuring a vertical bow, swim platform and floor to ceiling glass windows, are designed by Frank Laupman of Omega Architects.
Inside, her two-tone palette, with jewel-like burgundy details, is the vision of leading Italian interior designer Cristiano Gatto, appointed by the owner himself to “create a linear design enriched by geometrical patterns and using precious materials, including rare Belgian marble”.
THE DETAILS:
Name: Home (Previously Project Nova)
Length: 50m (49.80m)
Shipyard: Heesen
Guests: 12
Medium: Aluminium
Features: Silent cruise, Hybrid Propulsion, Gym
Exterior Design: Frank Laupman, Omega Architects
Hull Type: Fast Displacement Hull Form, Van Oossanen Naval Architects
Interior Design: Cristiano Gatto, Cristiano Gatto Design
Top Speed: 16.3 knots
