Rob Doyle, of the Rob Doyle Design studio and former lead designer for Ron Holland, is pleased to unveil its latest proposal: the 47m (154′) Explorer Support Motor Yacht designed to offer 24 hours of support to luxury superyachts. As pointed out by Rob Doyle Design, there is an interesting alternative option to avoid the problem of yachts that are becoming too big in order to satisfy every element of the design brief.
Rob Doyle Design 47m Explorer Support Motor Yacht
Sometimes having too many features built into a superyacht can be more of a handicap than a blessing. With the constant requirement to get more ‘toys’ and more guests and bigger spaces onto yachts, designs have grown and grown in all dimensions and become hungrier on human resources to crew. Often now, due to the sheer inertia of the boat and its crew, operations are compromised as to where they can go and how quickly plans can be made and changed.
Picture a large superyacht operating with the owner and his guests on board somewhere in the Med. The weather turns and the decision is made to visit some interesting historic town. But the skipper realises that the yacht is too big to get near the old town and must use the commercial port. Break that news to the owner!
The same superyacht with a full compliment of guests and crew on board is a small village with all the social strains that this can entail. The same superyacht may also seem too small to be able to, for example – service the jetskis when the tender locker, which doubles as a beach for the owner’s children and their friends is opened up. This after all, is one of its primary functions. All of that effort and all of that time to design and build a big all-encompassing superyacht and then there are compromises when it really matters.
How many times does the owner of a 70-metre Superyacht wish they had a smaller boat when they are told by the skipper that it is the commercial port for them as the boat is too big for the marina? How many times does the skipper tell the owner they can’t anchor deep in that bay for lunch because the boat draws too much? How many times does the owner wish he had a bit more privacy on board in spite of hosting 12 guests and the crew required to serve them? How many times is a Superyacht operation compromised because a helicopter must land some guests on board?
MOTHER SHIP – THE ORIGINS: The late Gianni Agnelli, a real pioneer in superyachting, was one of the first owners to use a shadow vessel to support his superb yachts Extra Beat and later Stealth. He would fly by helicopter from his home in the mountains to the shadow yacht, prepare himself and be transferred to the sailing boat for a race or a sail in an area where there was wind. He would spend a few hours sailing on one of the most advanced performance yachts of the day and then do the reverse trip home, never stepping foot ashore between his home far from the sea and the yacht in a place of great beauty or at some specific event.
The same concepts apply to large Superyacht operations today, be they power or sail. A shadow vessel can take the load of the complicated logistics and portering of equipment, supplies and specialist human resource, leaving the owner and his family and friends the privacy and flexibility on board a boat of exactly the right size.
Whereas not a new concept as we have already shown, Rob Doyle has again studied the economics of the option closely and concludes that now more than ever before, two smaller boats with different specific roles are a significantly better financial, practical and time saving proposition than one huge boat capable of covering all bases.
“This is about keeping superyachts as yachts and not straying into the domain of shipping,” stresses Doyle. “And when depreciation, regulation and construction time are considered, the option of a shadow vessel and moderate sized superyacht to operate as a pair are significantly better value.” And to that end Rob Doyle is proposing a striking Fast Yacht Support Vessel concept of 47m/154ft. The Explorer Support Vessel (which is an under 500GT Vessel for classification purposes) has been designed to provide 24-hour support for superyachts.
Doyle explains further: “Superyachts in the 40m to 80m range, catering for as many as 12 guests, offer a perfect balance between size, aesthetics, space for the guests and the owners’ private living spaces. The prime vessel thus becomes very efficient in catering for the owners’ real needs and the idea of having a shadow vessel becomes the element that builds in almost infinite flexibility.”
“It offers the ability of having extra crew, extra stores, fuel and a huge array of toys ranging from helicopters, sea planes, small sailing yachts, power boats, jetskis, class rooms and specialised spaces available on tap, leaving the owner and guests to explore and enjoy on a similar sized private power or sailboat.”
“The Explorer Support Vessel has been designed to complement her mother ship with elegant and discreet hull lines and superstructure. Good looks and robustness, high performance and great sea keeping are a priority with this concept. This vessel has been designed to travel comfortably and safely at speed in almost any sea state, and significantly this kind of solution may mean that the support boat remains within the owner’s fleet during his entire yachting career whereas the primary vessel can be changed regularly as the owner’s needs evolve,” concludes Doyle.
Rob Doyle was lead designer for Ron Holland for 18 years, giving him a huge amount of experience in the design and project management of large Superyachts. In 2012, Rob set up his own studio and has taken on the staff and Kinsale offices of Ron Holland Design.
