| Baltic Yachts 151 |  |
Carbon-fiber boats are traditionally noisy, as Pink
Gin’s owner discovered with his previous yacht. So one area where saving
weight was less of an issue on this boat was in the sound insulation. The
acoustics specialists at Soundown of Massachusetts were called in to calculate
the considerable volumes of insulation material required to achieve completely
quiet, peaceful cruising. The crew was somewhat dismayed when during final sea
trials on a bad day in the Gulf of Bothnia the Soundown technician kept the boat
out another four hours to check decibel levels. In addition to floating floors
and wall panels, between one and two inches of Tuff Mass, a vinyl barrier, was
used throughout the accommodations zone. The combined mass and damper layers
provide extremely efficient reduction of both air- and structure-borne noise.
With the engine room lagging, the weight of insulation material totaled some
8,800 pounds.
Top: The breakfast dinette is on a split level. Bottom: The owner’s bath
and steam bath. (Click images to enlarge)
After the owner’s insistence on superlative soundproofing, the
captain’s wish list can be summed up in just three words: Keep it simple. "Over the past few years we’ve seen a rush to automate
everything," explains Hawkins. "My personal feeling is that it’s a mistake. We
were looking for a functional, easy-to-operate boat, and that went from the
Edson two-speed mechanical steering to the engine-room specs." Chief engineer Peter Gibson, who spent more time onsite in
Finland than any of the owner’s representatives, came up with a straightforward
setup using standard equipment. One handy concession to automation is an
electronic control unit (ECU) that shares hydraulic and air-conditioning power
demands between the two Kohler generators. Gibson very nearly didn’t survive the
build process. Two weeks before the launch, he dove into a lake and broke his
neck in two places. Miraculously, he not only lived but also walked away to tell
the tale.
 The owner’s "sea cabin" on the lower deck. (Click image to enlarge)
The interior of Pink Gin is not just comfortable, it’s
sumptuous. Design Unlimited, headed by Mark Tucker in England, produced a
classic décor above and below deck around Rolf Vrolijk’s unusual layout and the
owner’s eclectic taste. Design Unlimited was responsible for the interior of the
Baltic 147 cruiser racer Visione and is used to working within strict
weight parameters, but with Pink Gin the company went one step further.
The handrails, for example, are of hollow carbon fiber with a teak-and-holly
veneer that mirrors the two Edson Y-spoke helm wheels on deck (the only solid
wood inside the yacht is the fiddle on the cabinets). Three major furniture
pieces—the TV unit in the main salon, the dining table and the bureau in
the VIP cabin—are also constructed entirely of carbon fiber. The bare structures
were then shipped to Italy where specialists at Tura applied a lacquered
parchment veneer.
Top: The yacht’s ample social areas on deck. Bottom: The custom tender was styled by Design Unlimited and built by Richard Faulkner. Photography by Justin Ratcliffe. (Click images to enlarge)
Like many projects, Pink Gin grew 12 feet during the
design process. The extra length was added to give more space to the engine room
and to accommodate the starboard passerelle that retracts into the ceiling of
the VIP cabin, which forced a change in layout. "A few inches more or less in
the cabins can make a huge difference," explains Tucker. "After a year in the
design phase, we realized that it made sense to create more space, and the owner
agreed. As it is, we were still working within tolerances of a few
millimeters." On entering the deckhouse there is a large breakfast table to
starboard and a nav station to port. In bad weather the yacht can be steered
under power from there using a joystick. On a lower level is the open-plan
dining room and salon. The forward area houses a master suite in the bow and an
adjacent bathroom with full-size Turkish bath and a twin single cabin occupied
by the owner’s children. This area can be closed off from the rest of the yacht
and is dedicated to family use. There are two double ensuite guest cabins and a
VIP or "sea cabin" amidships next to the galley, which the owner occupies when
alone on board with the crew. Three crew cabins, dinette and chart desk are
located aft with independent access to the helm cockpit. There is also space for
a proper walk-in cold room in the galley. Unusual for a yacht of this caliber,
all the countertops in the bathrooms are of Corian, although the owner is
expected to replace those in the master bathroom with marble. The exception is
the marble countertop in the VIP bathroom, which also features exquisite
starfish taps by Lalique.
|
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Email This
Printer Friendly Version
Reprints & Permissions
Most Popular Searches