A design of a luxury 70ft sailing yacht with dive boat / tender.

This project is to produce a design solution from a specification by a fictitious client. It is intended to replicate a common scenario found in the yacht design industry. The brief was to design an aluminium hulled yacht to accommodate a family of four plus guests and provide facilities for SCUBA diving with an integral garage for the tender. Aesthetics were important to the client, who expressed a desire for uncluttered decks and sleek lines. The yacht needed to be capable of being sailed short handed. In this case, the client is both the author and the designer and the design is loosely based around his interests. The type of yacht chosen was seen to be more challenging from a designer’s point of view as apposed to a racing yacht, for example, where there are fewer compromises and design decisions are clearer cut. The project began with research into tenders and dive boats as garaging, combined with accommodation for eight passengers would determine the general arrangement and size of the vessel. The process was carried out this way as client had not specified the length of the yacht, but its practical requirements. From this a study was carried out on vessels of the appropriate size and the initial parametrics were produced and the design spiral started. The finished design was for a seventy foot yacht, 15 foot wide. It included a stern garage for the tender, also housing the liferaft and compressor. To double cabins with en-suites and two single cabins with additional ‘Pullman’ berths and a shared head were arranged as close to amidships as possible. This reduced seaway accelerations, creating a layout that was both practical and comfortable for passengers. A large galley and saloon was placed on the port side. A two-rudder configuration was selected to counter balance the problems associated with the wide flat hull. Other specific design features included: - a self tacking jib and automated sailing controls. A safety survey of the craft was undertaken and full range of safety features were incorporated into the design. Challenges of this design included the general arrangement and the logistics of fitting a large tender into a comparatively small boat. Performance from the specified metal hull needed to be enhanced without compromising safety or comfort, whilst all the time maintaining an aesthetically pleasing design