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Yacht owner, naval architect, shipyard founder and designer join forces for The Maltese Falcon.
by Justin Ratcliffe and Jill Bobrow
photography by Giuliano Sargentini and Emilio Bianchi
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12/01/2006
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| Perini Navi 289 |  |
As a designer, working with such an adventurous thinker as Tom
[Perkins] was a liberating experience. Unlike the majority of owners, he wasn’t
looking to maximize accommodations on board, which meant we could free up the
spaces, especially on the main deck, resulting in a simple, open-plan interior
giving long sightlines and organic planes that follow the natural contours of
the hull. I try to avoid doors and corridors, which tend to define interior
boxes that have nothing to do with the fluid exterior lines of a sailboat.
 Ken Freivokh. Photograph by Justin Ratcliffe. (Click image to enlarge)
In the Falcon, there are no traditional doors on the
main deck. Instead, we’ve developed sliding partitions that remain closed for
privacy, or disappear into the bulkheads to create a feeling of freedom and
enhance circulation. In fact, you’re hard pushed to find any straight lines.
Even the paintings from Tom’s modern art collection had to be reframed before
being mounted on the curved bulkheads.
In order to achieve these open spaces aboard a yacht in excess
of 50 meters and 500 gross tons, I insisted on early consultation with MCA and
Cayman Islands Shipping Registry, to prove we were complying with the spirit, if
not the letter, of the rules. On a yacht of this size, you would typically find
thresholds on all external doors, storm shutters for windows and vertical fire
zones. Our dialogue proved constructive because when we were able to show that
safety issues weren’t being compromised, they were very supportive of what we
were trying to achieve.
Top: A close-up of the superstructure detailing. Photograph by Justin Ratcliffe. Bottom: The Maltese Falcon under sail. Photograph by Carlo Borlenghi. (Click images to enlarge)
Given the owner’s experience, he had some very precise ideas of
what he wanted. The basic layout was established early on in the design process.
After we had determined the GA, it was just a question of refining the original
concept. Of course, we’d worked before with Tom on the interior of
Atlantide. With its plush art deco theme, it’s difficult to imagine
something more removed from The Maltese Falcon’s interior. But even
Atlantide has the imaginative, forward-thinking elements that Tom
appreciates, and so he came to us for The Maltese Falcon because he
knew we wouldn’t just pull a design out of a drawer.
The design and build process was a very positive experience for
us, and I don’t recall a single disagreement with Gerry Dijkstra or any members
of the team. Indeed, it was a pleasure to work with them, as well as Perini Navi
and Yildiz, who both carried out a first-class job, together with the excellent
German outfitters Sinnex and the Turkish outfitters Ulutas.
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