Yachting World — November 2017

November 2017 75

NEW yachts

With rupert holmes

boat to be self-sufficient for extended
periods. “With high latitude cruising you
also have to take into account that there
may be restrictions on how you dispose
of waste, which may have to be held on
board for extended periods, especially if
the boat is iced in,” Clarke adds. There is
a sewage treatment system as well as a
total of one tonne capacity for grey water,
black water and sludge.

A fresh challenge
“Designing a boat of this size in
aluminium was new for us,” says Clarke.
“The client already has a composite
yacht, but wanted an unpainted alloy hull
that would require less maintenance, and
have the advantage of additional strength

and resilience.”

Owen Clarke Design has a history

of working with a variety of new

materials and, importantly, collaborating

with experts in each new field. Auckland-

based David de Villiers provided the

structural engineering expertise for Qilak.

Other than the combined pilothouse

and cuddy at the forward end of the

cockpit, the boat has a completely

flush deck. This extends to the hatches

and below-deck windlasses for the

two oversized 80kg anchors that are

permanently stowed on the bow. Strong-

wind mooring arrangements also include

four rope spools – two forward and two

on the gantry aft – that allow lines to be

quickly taken ashore. This is necessary

when in the kind of bay frequently found

in the Chilean canals, where the yacht

must be secured with ropes to the shore.

Attention to detail

There’s a deep all-round bulwark, with

the drainage primarily led to outlets

below the chine to avoid streak marks on

the topsides. It’s anticipated the boat will

operate with more than one RIB – one

stowed in the tender garage, the other on

the foredeck.

Most lines lead aft for easy sail

handling, incorporating elements of

short-handed race boats. The Solent

jib is on a conventional furler, while the

headsail and staysail are both on torsion

furlers with halyard locks, allowing them

to be easily lowered and stowed below

decks. This reduces the windage of the

rig by 25 per cent – important when

anchoring or mooring in storms.

The pilothouse has fishing boat/pilot

boat style forward-raked

windows, with an additional

overhang of the coachroof

for protection from water

and glare. This extends aft to

give two protected seats at

the forward end of the small

cockpit. In addition to the

pilothouse, sleeping quarters

for up to four crew are aft.

The saloon and galley are amidships; the

guest cabins further forward.

An example of attention to detail is the

positioning of the 240V sockets and USB

charging points. Clarke said: “You don’t

want laptops charging on someone’s

bunk, or risk devices falling onto the

floor when the boat’s underway. In turn,

this has further implications as to how

stowage layouts are arranged.”

Qilak is in build at K&M in Makkum,

Holland, one of six yards considered

for the job. The yard is also building its

biggest project, a 78ft polar explorer

with rotating wing masts.

Dimensions

LOA 20.2m (66ft 3in)

LWL 19.75m (64ft 10in)

Beam 6.14m (20ft 2in)

Draught 1.71m-3.57m

(5ft 7in-11ft 9in)

Disp 37,500kg (82,673lb)

›

This 20m yacht is

designed to sleep

12 and absorb a

huge payload of

scientific gear for

venturing into the

high latitudes