115 METRES TUHURA

In the course of the latest Dubai International Boat Show, Oceanco presented the concept design work of a megayacht which in spite of her imposing size, recalls in terms of shape the kind of canoes which indigenous people used to sail in coastal waters all over the world hundreds of years ago.

One of luxury Yachts’ more fascinating aspects is the considerable number of concepts presented during International Boat Shows. They often comprise technological innovation but more so in terms of design. Many of these will probably never see the light and will remain the result of mere stylistic exercises, but it’s nevertheless equally true that while they make us dream, they also lay down the bases for future models. This 115 metre model exhibited by Dutch yard Oceanco named “Tuhura” unbelievably evokes the indigenous canoes and dugouts which not only sailed along the coasts but also used to travel many miles in search of new lands to explore. After all “Tuhura” is a Maori word which means discover, explore, investigate. This name has a lot to do with the “explorer” nature of this superyacht which even when clearly resembling a proto type has every chance of being built. Behind the rendering work presented by the Dutch yard

there’s a long string of contributors who were involved: Lobanov Design for the exterior styling, Achille Salvagni for the interiors and BMT Nigel Gee who oversaw the engineering of the power house – propulsion system. “Our Tuhura is a simple idea,” explains Igor Lobanov, “The thought was to take a natural shape similar to those seen in the earliest canoe –type craft and augment it many times over to a larger scale, using modern technology”. The innovation of the design is clearly visible.the hull sports several horizontal window like ports thanks to advanced technology which, makes them look like the same colour as that of the hull seen from outside, making them very hard to identify; while from inside the yacht, visibility through the window like ports is guaranteed as if they were totally transparent. The black superstructure instead, is made of large flat glass panels. The main inspiration for the interior decor comes from East Asia and the Pacific islands which is very much in line with the look of exterior design. “Tuhura is a megayacht conceived for a dynamic owner, hoever the timeless sense of peace and calmness are her main characteristics,” said Achille Savagni. “This softness and dynamicity are reflected in the humble elegance and sensuality of the primitive organic shapes echoed throughout the yacht”. The yacht’s hull and propulsion system have been developed in collaboration with BMT Nigel Gee who’s integrated good seakeeping qualities and excellent manoeuvrability into the hull which should deliver low drag coefficients thanks to her forms. A hybrid Azipod CRP (contra rotating) propulsion system by ABB, was introduced in 2003 for the first time and is successfully installed in numerous commercial ships. James Roy, Yacht Design Director at BMT declared: “The hybrid CRP system is inherently efficient and perfectly suited to the canoe form, since there’s a synergy between the efficiency of the hull form and that of the propulsion system, leading to a yacht which marries an evolutionary simple hull with an evolutionary advanced propulsion system”. Luxlab the custom design label from Van Berge Hengouwen (VBH) joined the team and developed the ‘domotic’ aspects with controls for HVAC, lighting, audio and video, curtains, A/C and much more to guarantee the degree of comfort and automation this sort of yachts commands. “This is a technically challenging and intriguing project” said Dirk de Jong Sales Director at Oceanco. It is very different from our previous collaborations with Lobanov Design, the 86 metre launched in 2013 and the 110 metre Jubilee launched last year and yet Tuhura is still 100% Oceanco DNA”. For further information: www.oceancoyacht.com - info@oceanco.nl - info@oceanco.mc