Adapting to a Changing Environment
Terence Disdale
07/01/2008

I began my career as an independent yacht designer in 1973 when I left Jon Bannenberg’s design studio to start on my own. My first project was a 36-foot motorboat, and therein lies an indication of how times have changed.

In the seventies, a yacht was considered big if it was 30 meters. Nowadays, 50 to 60 meters is "good size" and 70 to 80 meters is "big." If one of my designers left to begin his own career today, I expect his first job would be at least 50 meters—a far cry from 36 feet.

Terence Disdale. Photograph by Richard Seaton. (Click image to enlarge)

Quite simply, yachting has become seriously popular. This is driven by many factors including a rise in expendable wealth and, equally important, an ease of worldwide communication, which means that someone can keep on top of his business while topping up his tan.

Client requirements have grown along with the size of yachts. Of course, it goes without saying, the larger the yacht, the more facilities she is able to provide. Not all yacht owners want a larger yacht to cater to larger groups of guests. More often than not, the requirement for a larger vessel is brought about by the need for spacious facilities such as a gymnasium, a hair and beauty salon, a spa area, a massage room, a swimming pool, indoor garaging for large tenders, plus a desire for a degree of privacy whereby the owner might designate a whole deck for his private quarters. Such full-deck arrangements might include his-and-hers dressing areas/bathrooms, a personal gym, a massage room and an office/study with a separate lounge and secluded outside Jacuzzi deck zone. We also have had requirements where owners wanted to incorporate their own cooking space so they could occasionally prepare their own evening meal in private, without being pampered by crew.

The dining room on Pelorus exemplifies the interplay between indoor and outdoor decks. Photograph by Bob Marchant. (Click image to enlarge)

Other advantages of a larger yacht include the capacity to carry larger tenders, which are often Venetian water taxi types, so that guests can be ferried back and forth to shore in air-conditioned comfort. The larger yachts can also offer the advantage of incorporating a helicopter hangar and possibly two helipads, which enable flexibility in aircraft operations and the bonus of being able to receive guests that arrive in their own helicopters.

Some owners might consider having a large yacht a burden because it limits the harbors and ports they can visit. However, the upside is that a large-yacht owner can anchor safely and rely on his vessel’s tonnage and stabilizers to afford him and his guests with a nice stable platform from which to visit the most intimate ports on the 12-meter air-conditioned tender. We have a 160-meter yacht under construction that carries 10 different tenders for ultimate guest flexibility.

Top: The 56-meter La Masquerade. Bottom: The 49.5-meter Sussurro. These vessels show the elegant and timeless superstructure design preferred by Disdale. Top photograph by Flying Focus. Bottom photograph by Bob Marchant. (Click images to enlarge)

For one of our projects, the client required a 15-meter cabin-cruiser tender with below-deck accommodations for his wife and children, so he could self-pilot his family on expeditions up river estuaries and be able to fish, picnic, cook, shower and spend the night on board, away from the mother ship. No one would have dreamed about this kind of flexibility 30 years ago, particularly because of safety concerns. Now with satellite GPS systems as backup, this type of trip can be undertaken without risk.

With regard to the changes in owner requirements, recent years have seen a lot of design development with the interplay between indoor and outdoor decks. Large windows are becoming the norm, which most owners find appealing. Access to the sea and to the tenders is now a major feature, and almost every yacht built today has a substantial built-in swim platform at the stern with grand stairs leading up to the deck. Twenty or 30 years ago, such a stern was unheard of, and a large percentage of yachts favored a canoe-style stern for aesthetic reasons and comfort in a following sea. The larger vessels can also provide sufficient structure to incorporate fold-down "beach terrace" doors that open up the hull side for bathing or alfresco dining.From a safety standpoint, recent years have seen the introduction of MCA rules and regulations, which determine fire zones, damage stability zones, means of escape and watertight bulkhead locations. These rulings often govern designer creativity in space planning, whereas 15 years ago, for instance, a designer could have installed an open-plan stair directly connecting one lounge to another without the necessity of a steel-walled fire-zone lobby to protect flame spread between the different areas.

The 52-meter Tigre d’Or. Photograph by Flying Focus. (Click image to enlarge)

From a styling point of view, since Bannenberg broke the mold with the creation of Lürssen’s Carinthia VI, there has been a steady stream of designers entering the ever-expanding industry. However, new designers don’t always bring new ideas, which has given rise to quite a few yachts possessing features that were someone else’s innovation.

On the other hand, the marketplace includes clients who are prepared to work alongside new designers who do have fresh ideas, which in some cases will result in yachts that are radical at concept, but out-of-date before they are out of the shed. Such concepts never could have happened 20 years ago when the client base was more discerning or conservative.

The 72-meter Kogo is another example of the interplay between indoor and outdoor decks. The yacht exudes a laid-back, informal style. Photograph by Bob Marchant. (Click image to enlarge)

Size is not everything, and while there are several 100-meter-plus yachts under construction throughout the world, we still find clients who are shocked at the prospect of having 60 or so crew to look after them, preferring the intimacy of a smaller crew and subsequently a smaller, more compact yacht. We also have clients who might have an unlimited budget but do not want to build a yacht any larger than 60 meters, which is the maximum size allowed to moor in Saint-Tropez.

Kogo’s laid-back owner’s lobby and stair lobby give a nod to Disdale’s feminine view of yachts. Photographs by Christopher Gonta. (Click images to enlarge)

My own preference for superstructure styling, particularly on larger vessels, is more toward elegance and femininity than toward paramilitary and aggressivity—shall we say Jaguar E-type versus Lamborghini Countach? My reasoning for this emanates from a belief that, firstly, a yacht is a feminine creature and, secondly, that radical styling, even on a car, dates more quickly than elegance. A yacht has a far greater life span than a car, and in my view, timelessness is an essential part of the designer’s criteria that can be achieved without being mediocre. Witness Bannenberg’s Carinthia VI, designed in 1971, and our own Montkaj, designed in 1993. Both stand the test of time. A car is created purposely to have a brief life span because the manufacturers want you to buy next year’s model. These parameters should not apply to a large motor yacht that might take four years from design to completion.

Above all, we believe the most important ingredient in the designer’s palette is restraint. We don’t gild the lily or let style overcome substance. We are always conscious of practical considerations when we design a superstructure. These considerations play an essential part in successful yacht design. These considerations embrace wheelhouse visibility, helicopter operations, mooring arrangements, tender embarkation, deck-furniture stores, window-cleaning facilities and discreet crew circulation.

From an interior design aspect, over the years we have successfully steered our clients away from ostentatious glitz and more toward an ambiance of laid-back, informal style. We believe life on board should be very relaxed and low-key. It might be nice to dress up for dinner, but the dining room décor should not make you feel underdressed if you are wearing shorts and a T-shirt. If you have an 80-meter yacht, you do not need gold faucets to impress.Another major change over the years has been the introduction of numerous specialist magazines. In 1970, only two magazines were available in the United Kingdom: Yachting World and Power and Sail. The latter eventually disappeared through lack of interest, I suppose. Hence, there was no reference material for budding designers or potential owners to review. That, of course, has changed as well.

Bannenberg’s style library literally revolutionized yacht design. He was afraid of nothing and had the charisma to persuade the client to venture forward. The builder or naval architects often met his ideas with scorn, initially, but his talent and persuasive skills always swayed them to his way of thinking. He certainly paved the way for future designers, allowing us to present our ideas to builders he had already indoctrinated.

The lower-deck hallway hides a watertight door to conform to MCA requirements. Photograph by Bob Marchant. (Click image to enlarge)

When I worked for Jon in 1970, he was the most successful and famous in his field and employed four staff. With today’s workload, we run at full capacity with a staff of 15. Some of my colleagues in the same industry are employing up to 30. This indicates another clear measure of how things have changed in the yacht design world.

Terence Disdale is founder and president of UK-based Terence Disdale Design.