No one talks about the hull design in powerboats," said Tony Castro. He was standing in the salon of Arcadia, the 117-foot (35.7-meter) motor yacht he designed that was realized in a two-year build by Royal Huisman Shipyard. The focus of many owners, Castro offered, is on layout, fabrics and use of space—creature comforts, but none of those elements directly contributes to improving the yacht’s performance. Arcadia’s owner proved the exception.

Click on the Spec and Design tab at top to see complete list of resources.

He wanted a long-range boat with classic lines that was up to cruising in the cold extremes of high latitudes and could handle bluewater passages. Interestingly, the team he assembled has a decided sailing pedigree. "I’ve designed sailboats for 27 years, motor yachts for 15," Castro said. Royal Huisman has built more than a few groundbreaking sailboats, but Arcadia is only the fourth motor yacht it has produced since 1981. Interior designer Dick Young also has a sailboat-laden portfolio.

According to Castro, the owner brought with him an appreciation of the journey, the allure of the passage, garnered over 16 years of cruising on his 65-foot Jongert motor yacht. With an engineering background, the client had an understanding and respect for what it would take to deliver a boat equally adept at making the journey as it was at being at its destination. It was that vision that allowed—actually required—Castro to design a motor yacht that "produced an extensive preliminary design and 250-page specification."

Photograph by Roy Roberts. (Click image to enlarge)

---

Not wanting to widen the relatively narrow 27-foot beam to increase stability, Castro added weight low in the boat. Carrying 10 tons of lead, cast into four separate tanks in the skeg, Arcadia insists on staying upright. Two tanks on either side of the centerline forward of the engine room hold 1,974 gallons of freshwater; trim weight that can also be adjusted by adding water as fuel is depleted. To optimize the weight below the waterline, the mast was built of carbon fiber instead of aluminum, resulting in a 50 percent lighter mast.

The Nautica RIB. Photograph by Hans Westerink. (Click image to enlarge)

---

Forward of the rudders, two 61-inch, five-blade Wärtsilä props turn on Akerboom oil-lubricated shafts. Each is fully enclosed along its length, eliminating water friction with the fast-turning shaft, increasing efficiency and reducing waterborne noise."Being a displacement yacht, fast boat speed was not a priority," Castro said. "The emphasis was put on seakeeping and a very long range at around 11 knots." Arcadia carries 11,464 gallons of fuel and achieves 5,000 nautical miles at 10 knots.

According to technical design manager Jan Bokxem, one of the owner’s concerns was dealing with contaminated fuel in remote regions. To solve the problem, an interconnected fuel system was designed so that fuel can be isolated and cleaned, then stored by transferring it between any of seven bilge tanks. No matter which tank the fuel is pumped from, it goes through a centrifuge and water-separator filter system before being transferred to the 423-gallon day tank. "The fuel is always cleaned before it gets into the day tank," Bokxem said.

The teak "beach." Photograph by Roy Roberts. (Click image to enlarge)

---

Surrounded by a closed Portuguese bridge, the pilothouse has plenty of room for the on-watch and observers. There is no noise or light intrusion from the skylounge because it is thoughtfully located aft of the captain’s stateroom.

Just outside are wing stations with covers cleverly designed as part of the cap rail. Apply slight pressure outboard on the section of rail and the top lifts, revealing the necessary controls—engine throttle, thruster control and a tiller. "We didn’t want to eat up too much space. We put only the necessary equipment on the wings," Koppstein said.

Castro said, "The exterior design was developed to suit the client’s wishes to have a classic-looking yacht." He noted that the client was looking to recall features reminiscent of Feadship, Diana Yacht Design and Sparkman & Stephens. To that end, he drew a classic uncluttered exterior fronted by a clipper bow at the end of a rising sheer line. A low profile was achieved visually while maintaining 6-foot-11-inch headroom throughout and plenty of under-floor storage.

"It’s a well-considered boat," said the yacht’s interior designer Dick Young, who added that it’s a shame to cover the engineering with an interior. A worthy compliment from the man responsible for the interior, which has been conceived and finished with the same attention to detail and in the fashion Royal Huisman knows best—breathtaking.Table fiddles are a necessary fact of life aboard a sailboat at sea—they keep things in place. A first glance at Arcadia’s tables in the crew mess and galley makes it seem that fiddles weren’t considered. A closer look reveals that the teak tables’ four-inch perimeters are separate and held on by sliding tabs. Simply release the tabs, remove the rim, turn it over and reinstall it, and one-inch-high fiddles, permanently affixed on that side, are ready to work in a rough seaway.

Save for detours toward the traditional with teak in the pilothouse and skylounge, the yacht is fitted with unstained Swietenia mahogany, a West Indies genus of the worldly wood, throughout.

The divider between the salon and the dining room, though full beam and full height, imparts an open feeling, thanks to three opening glass panels flanked by shelves. Starboard, arched double doors open the walkway to the dining room and forward to the owner’s suite. The other two identical double panels feature storage in the bottom half, while the glazed panels open to increase the airy ambiance.

The arches match the doorways throughout Arcadia. All of Arcadia’s exterior doors are double recessed and include a sliding screen door. At 100 percent power, the salon registered a 54-decibel noise reading; at cruising speed it read 48 decibels. Considering that conversation produces 60 decibels, watching movies under way on the salon’s plasma screen is not a problem. At the bottom of the stairway to the guest quarters, aft starboard in the salon, two antique barometers were given place of pride on facing white reflecting panels on either side. Not much space is wasted in the foyer, although it is where the portlight storm covers are stored on custom-sized shelves in a built-in cabinet. Easy to find, their location is an indication of their importance aboard Arcadia.

Off the foyer, there are two ensuite twin cabins forward. Aft against the lazarette bulkhead is a full-beam queen VIP suite with a sitting room that becomes a cabin by means of a sliding divider and a convertible sofa. The overhead hides an escape ladder; by turning a small recessed latch, the section drops out at an angle and a stairway can be folded down manually.

The level of detail and finish aboard Arcadia is an indication of the respect the owner has for his boat, and of what he will ask it to do. He extends this same respect to the crew, knowing what he will ask of them. Their quarters forward are finished to the same level as the rest of the boat, a point proven especially by the mahogany shower doors.