Struik & Hamerslag UK Ltd, a top company in the building as well as installation of the high quality yacht interiors, is pleased to have played an important role in the construction of the first WallyCento sailing yacht Hamilton by Wally Yachts. S&H was the sole interior fit‐out company for the 100ft Hamilton superyacht.
WallyCento sailing yacht Hamilton by Wally Yachts
The responsibilities of S&H encompassed the engineering, manufacture and installation of almost all the interior elements. This included all joinery and fitted furniture, deck head panels and base construction.
The contemporary design required a straight grained, light timber finish for the main furniture. The client had voiced concerns that light woods can often be featureless over larger areas and on inspection of a number of samples he finally opted for Sen (often referred to as Japanese Ash).
The Sen veneer is very distinctive in appearance with a colour similar to ash but with characteristics akin to elm. Its whitish sapwood, yellowish‐grey heart and pale brown growth rings provided the perfect tonal balance for this project. With Sen veneer only available in limited quantities in the UK, the search for a suitable supplier finally ended in Germany where 1,600 m² of veneer was hand selected.
Once the main veneer was chosen, Struik & Hamerslag manufactured a full size cabin mock‐up which included many of the standard details. This mock‐up acted as a live sample board and afforded the project team an opportunity to present a number of options for upholstery, flooring, and fixture and fittings. These items were all interchangeable and were presented to the client through the course of a morning. Within a few hours there were clear directions on all finishes.
Various trials were then conducted to determine the most suitable materials for reducing weight. Consideration had to be given to cost, durability and the practicalities of working with the materials in both factory and site environments.
A combination of plywood skins and aluminium honeycomb core was selected for the main furniture construction. The plywood provided a compatible surface for veneering and fabrication whilst the aluminium honeycomb produced an excellent strength to weight ratio. Timber lippings were replaced with low density polyurethane foams and laminated veneers. It was then possible to produce a detailed weight estimate for each individual area. This weight study provided an opportunity to assess the design and highlight any potential areas for weight savings.
It became apparent that a large percentage of weight was allocated to the non structural deck heads and decorative wall panels. A further period of consultation resulted in the development of a carbon composite panel weighing in at only 1.5kg/m2. This change in material would create a total saving of up to 200kg.
The engineering process provided another opportunity to reduce weight. A new spreadsheet was devised to automatically calculate the weight of every component providing the engineer with a running total allowing adjustments to be made in real‐time. This calculated weight was checked throughout each stage of manufacture and any further savings made during construction would be recorded. The final despatch weight was logged onto a running total providing the project and installation teams with regular updates.
The greatest challenge that the team at S & H faced was the very short construction period. It was understood from the offset that the WallyCento luxury yacht Hamilton was commissioned by a very experienced and competitive owner, who was committed to sailing events for 2012. The timetable, therefore, was condensed to 36 weeks from contract award, a tall order to say the least. However, S&H committed and promised it would complete on time ‐ and it did!
The company completely “bought” into the project and committed around 20,000 man hours, including many hours of overtime, to achieve the wishes of the owner and members of the Wally construction team.
S&H sincerely hopes the owner achieves success with his Hamilton yacht and has many years of enjoyment skippering his WallyCento.
Although the 100ft superyacht Hamilton was technically taxing, the S&H team explored many new techniques for manufacturing interiors of racing yachts and took great pleasure in being part of the team during the build of the yacht.
Struik & Hamerslag UK, based in Fakenham, Norfolk, has rapidly established a unique blend of skills and craftsmanship and is renowned for its individuality in producing top quality interiors and individual one‐off pieces of custom‐built furniture. The company offers a complete service from initial design and development through to manufacturing and installation and can take care of an entire project on a turnkey basis.
