http://www.boatinternational.com | July 2018from industry and, while I really like to create to owners’ ideas, I am
passionate when it comes to shipbuilder requirements. I thrive for
eiciency and rational design.”
The biggest diference from hull No 1 is the layout. There’s an open
tender bay on the foredeck instead of an enclosed tender garage on
the lower deck, which allowed for a large beach club. “Like any of our
platform boats, the design continues to evolve,” Conboy says.
The mast, which lowers from view when the boat is at anchor,
doubles as a crane to lift of two 6.2 metre Castoldi tenders. And then
there is deep storage for jet skis and other toys.Laurentia, which will
be selectively available for charter, has plenty.
The tweaking was a success from all angles. The owner, who finally
got to see the yacht about six weeks after the contract’s signature, is
reportedly very happy and the yacht’s relaxed and elegant interior was
up for a World Superyacht Award this year. But it is nearly as satisfying
to witness how the confluence of technology and of a streamlined
yacht-building process can change the way business is done.
“Technology, if used correctly, might just save this old-school
industry,” Cardenas says.BBut smaller engines don’t equate to less of a boat. “It’s a beast of
a boat,” is how Conboy puts it. “It’s an incredible sea boat, strong
and eicient.” She probably won’t go that fast often but during sea
trials in the North Sea last summer,Laurentiahit a top speed of
16.6 knots, which is especially impressive considering her heft. “She
is 740GT, the largest 55 metre platform built at any recognisable
shipyard,” Conboy adds.
This is the second of Heesen’s full displacement 55 series. “The first
one we built [and delivered in July 2015] was a boat calledAzamanta
and she had an enclosed tender garage,” Conboy says. In contrast to
Azamanta’s golden brown hull,Laurentiais all white. Her vertical
portholes, designed by Heesen’s long-time design partner Omega
Architects, look like the black keys of a piano from the outside;
another distinct feature is a “shark tooth” in the superstructure
overhang. Some exterior features were streamlined from the first
55 metre for more eicient construction. “It’s a typical Omega design,”
says Frank Laupman, the firm’s CEO, “because basically she is very
simple. There is not a lot of engineering the yard needs to do – no wing
door, no hatches – so she can be eiciently built. My background is
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