Boat International – June 2017

http://www.boatinternational.com | June 2017 All the furniture and surfaces were built offsite and finished before being assembled on the yacht. Some furniture is so heavy that it doesn’t need to be pinned to the deck

The bridge features the

latest touchscreen I-Bridge

technology from Team Italia

Sybaris updates strong features of the Perini

Navi design DNA both inside and out. On deck,

for example, the recessed cockpit aft of the saloon

is still an engaging outdoor living/dining space

but the sweep of terraced steps to it flows

beautifully and emphasises the luxury of space

the extra 10 metres delivers. All the furniture,

including the bronze end tables with slab marble

tops, are from the team at PHDesign.

The saloon is open plan, with no structural

supports blocking the views. This is no

mean feat since there is the load of an

18 metre sundeck above and the torque of the

mainsheet to defuse. The forward bulkhead

divides the guest areas from the wheelhouse,

butler’s pantry and the crew stairs to the galley

and their quarters.

There are no built-in cabinets in the saloon.

Instead four groupings of bureaus, looking like

steampunk versions of Louis Vuitton steamer

trunks covered in alligator hide, are attached to

the walls by titanium straps. The drawers hold

glassware and crockery. For handrails around the

room, teak batons within titanium turnbuckles

add a vintage nautical theme. A dining table is

anchored by an ambitious Adelman chandelier

and a Ron English Guernica-esque painting

commissioned by Duker. Wool and silk carpets

by SHIIR of Chicago appear as mirror images in

their soft grey and bronze pattern.

The overheads throughout the yacht are soft

matt titanium. Because the cambered overheads

on the main deck are 2.1 metres high at window

level, the darker material does not cramp the

room. It softly reflects and diffuses light and adds

a certain liveliness.

“Titanium was entirely Bill’s idea,” says

Hawrylewicz. “He said ‘I want to do metal

ceilings’ and I thought he meant a thin sheet of

painted material, but no, he meant real titanium

sheets.” These are rendered in large squares with

nearly seamless joints. Titanium, for all its

fireproofness and anti-corrosion capability,

proved to be a tough material for the yard.

Welded joints tend to leave keloid scars and in

the end there was only one subcontractor who

could finish the work, from deck rails to the

tiny piercings of the overheads for speakers,

to both the builder’s and owner’s satisfaction.

“If you can dream it, Perini will find a way to

build it,” says Duker. “To me, that challenge is

why you build a boat.”

Perini Navi aficionados will recall that a

staircase amidships on centreline is the typical

access from the saloon to the accommodation for

owner and guests. There have been versions with

landings, versions with multiple access points

and even a spiral. Sybaris delivers a straight fore

and aft run of steps but, like the IM Pei pyramid

at the Louvre, the staircase is also the way that

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Feat Cover Boat Sybaris, 5