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Baltic Yachts’ Pink Gin is 152 feet of high-tech engineering.
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02/01/2007
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| Baltic Yachts 151 |  |
Baltic Yachts likes to cite the Olympic motto "Citius, Altius,
Fortius"—faster, higher, stronger. But it adds a fourth element to the dictum:
lighter. So when the German owner of the Baltic 97 Pink Gin, launched in
1999, returned to the Finnish shipyard for a bigger and faster boat, he also wanted it to be lighter. At 152 feet (46 meters), she is the biggest Baltic to
date and was developed around the owner’s experience and his knowledge of the
use of high-tech materials in manufacturing.| Click on the Spec tab at top to see complete list of resources. |
 With naval architecture by Judel/Vrolijk and structural
engineering by SP Technologies, Pink Gin is one of the largest private
yachts built entirely of pre-preg carbon fiber and composite materials. Pre-preg
laminate offers the highest strength-to-weight ratio in boatbuilding, and over
the past decade Baltic has become skilled at getting the vacuum as high as
possible and controlling the temperature levels accurately for perfect results.
In 2001, the company invested in a laminating press, which produces a much
flatter and lighter panel than can be achieved with vacuum bagging. The
structural bulkheads aboard Pink Gin have all been manufactured in this
way, which means they are much lighter and have better laminate properties. (Click image to enlarge)
 Pink Gin’s luxurious guest cockpit. (Click image to enlarge)
Weight savings was also a priority when it came to the rig
package supplied by Marten Spars, hence the carbon-fiber mast, furler foils and
boom vang, Kevlar backstay and aircraft-light cables. The early decision not to
make the yacht MCA compliant further saved several tons in fireproof and watertight doors and bulkheads.
Despite her lightweight construction, Pink Gin is a
performance cruiser with no pretensions of being a racer. Apart from the
addition of a deckhouse, she has a similar reverse transom and the classic
exterior lines of her smaller predecessor, but in keeping with the Baltic
philosophy, less weight doesn’t only mean more speed. The company believes in
the concept of the so-called Virtuous Circle, in which weight savings in one
place allows for weight savings in other areas, too. So if you can save 4,400
pounds in the laminate weight, you can save the same amount in ballast weight,
which means a lighter mast and rig. And so the process continues. When you take
away the 43 tons of lead bulb and the 16.5-ton lifting keel, Pink Gin
empty weighs in at just 105 tons—not bad for a 152-footer.
 The main salon features a chandelier and an antique Louis
Vuitton travel trunk. (Click image to enlarge)
The immediate consequence of this philosophy is that Pink
Gin performs extremely well in light airs. The yacht covered 5,000 miles on
her maiden voyage from Finland to the Mediterranean. Not only did she not suffer
a single major equipment failure—unusual on a brand-new custom yacht—but her
crew was impressed with her sailing performance. "Your jaw hits the floor because you just can’t believe the
numbers," admits Captain Henry Hawkins. "She’ll make nine knots in just six
knots of true wind and builds apparent wind very quickly. She gets over that
acceleration hump fast, whereas most boats would be sitting in the water." An additional benefit of less weight is increased range under
power. When Canica, the Baltic 141, came up short during a transatlantic
crossing, Hawkins pushed for an extra 528 gallons of fuel stored in forward
tanks. With a fuel consumption of 12 gallons at a speed of 11 knots (and with
the keel raised), Pink Gin has a 3,000-mile range more in keeping with a
motor yacht than a sailboat.
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