Jack A. Somer
06/01/2005
The jaunty 105-foot Cassiopeia is the very model of a
modern classic motor yacht – reminiscent of the best post-war American designs,
but with a freshly interpreted posture. From any vantage, she seems the
quintessential "sailor’s motor yacht," built to the exacting blueprint of a
mature sailing couple who still love going to sea but have lost their enthusiasm
for extreme angles of heel. It’s surprising, therefore, to discover that
Cassiopeia’s owners are neither
close to their dotage, nor are they ex-sailors resignedly settling into the
power mode. They are an American couple who, after years of chartering and
running their own motor yachts (including the first Little Harbor Whisperjet
46), instinctively evolved a practical accounting of their ideal cruiser, which
happily coincides with the archetypal sailor’s yacht.
Fine varnished teak woodwork crafted in-house by Holland Jachtbouw
sets a nautical tone in the master stateroom (top) and the two guest cabins (bottom). Photography by Jainie Cowham. (Click images to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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Well, perhaps it’s not quite a coincidence when you consider
two added elements. First, the couple found the right naval architect, Bill
Langan, who has stood comfortably astride the sail/power divide all his
professional life, and who knows how to draw a yacht to satisfy either camp.
Second, they chose the right builder, Holland Jachtbouw, which before Cassiopeia had built only sailing
yachts whose timeless quality dovetailed with their own sensibilities. The Dutch
yard was eager to embrace the build. To prove its flexibility (and to reassure
the clients), the company brought in a project manager with motor yacht
experience and had Vripack International review the aluminum scantlings and
engineering.
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The owners had met Langan when he was with Sparkman & Stephens in New York, but they renewed their acquaintance after he established Langan Design Associates in Newport, Rhode Island. The husband – who had been designing "the yacht" in his imagination since his childhood on Brazil’s shores – proposed a vessel of around 80 or 90 feet. His vision was inspired by Hargrave designs whose style, he says, "was stuck in my subconscious." Of course, he wanted it updated, technologically advanced and with a better turn of speed.
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Langan understood exactly what he wanted. They established a three-stateroom layout with crew quarters, but as systems were added, space became scarce and the hull progressively grew. Finally, because the boat will be chartered and thus built under MCA rules, an engineer was required and Cassiopeia topped off at 105 feet.
Langan’s semi-displacement design has a chined, modified-deep-V hullform with variable deadrise and small fin stabilizers.
The propellers run in tunnels, and a short keel aids directional stability.
Above the waterline, the bow and stern are beautifully complementary; the
superstructure, long but trim, embodies a spacious, sunny interior. The
layout makes intelligent use of space through reversed engines and V-drives,
which shortens the engine room and leaves more volume for accommodations and
an ample lazarette for two personal watercraft and other toys. Setting the
engine room aft also optimizes weight distribution.
Personal watercraft storage is cleverly designed into
Cassiopeia’s stern quarters (bottom). Her
foredeck includes a varnished teak caprail and an ample sun lounge (top). Photography by Chris Moorhouse. (Click images to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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The usable flying bridge area is quite long, as the tender
is stowed on the overhang. Below, Cassiopeia is gracious and serene, with
an inviting compactness and intimacy. On the main deck, in a pleasingly unconventional arrangement, the galley and dining room are well forward,
separated by the half-deck pilothouse from the full-beam salon aft, which opens
onto a deck lounge. On the lower deck, the full-beam master suite and two double
guest staterooms, set amidships where motion is minimal, are quite commodious
for a yacht with a waterline of less than 90 feet. The guest cabins are served
by a single stairway; a separate one serves the crew quarters forward.
Holland Jachtbouw built and outfitted Cassiopeia to the
highest standard, proving that sailboat expertise is no deterrent to handling a
motor yacht. As Langan says, "The shipyard was ready to find American solutions
to an American yacht." The yard also dutifully followed a strict noise- and vibration-reduction program, which included extra insulation. At the owners’
specification, everything in the engine room, including the 1,850-hp 16V
MTUs, is painted glossy white and trimmed in stainless and chrome. By contrast,
the hull is dark blue, which required a beefing up of the air-conditioning
system. That blue paint also strongly influenced the splendid, tasteful
décor below. "We will spend a lot of time in the Med, and we wanted something
light and airy," says the owner’s wife. With its theme of blue-and-white printed fabrics, the décor does indeed suggest the Mediterranean (with a bit of delft),
complementing the timelessly elegant varnished teak joinery so well executed by
the yard.
Guests can dine alfresco on the covered aft deck (top) or
for a change of pace, on the less formal flybridge deck (bottom). Photography by Chris Moorhouse. (Click images to enlarge); function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
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In achieving this, the owners benefited from a not-so-secret
weapon: Langan’s wife, Candace (Candy), who had recently opened an interior
design office. According to the owner’s wife, she interpreted their vision
beautifully: "I had never done a boat before," the wife says, "and didn’t know
how different it was from doing a house. It was great fun working with Candy and
Bill, who made understanding the space much easier. Candy did a fantastic job,
but it was a collaboration." As a result, Cassiopeia’s interior does
not appear to be arbitrarily dictated by a decorator, but seems lovingly
realized by the owners and their two new friends. The owners indeed had considerable input in designing
details, such as the dining table, joinery, hand-painted fleur-de-lis pattern in
bathroom sinks, shower tiles and the brass mermaid handles on the salon sliding
doors. They also enriched Cassiopeia below with a selection of antiques
and art, collected over years, including an Antonio Jacobsen seascape, and wall
and table lamps acquired in London’s lighting district. As the husband now
observes: "It’s a great boat. The quality is magnificent." This was surely
accomplished with the help of owner’s representative Nigel Ingram of Marine
Construction Management and shipyard technicians, who enabled Cassiopeia
to attain classification ABS Maltese Cross A1 Yachting Service – AMS.
For their summer 2004 shakedown, the couple circumnavigated the
Baltic Sea as far as St. Petersburg, logging more than 2,400 nautical miles
and finding her able, even in choppy seas. They also hit the Riviera. "They are
really using the boat," Langan says. Some spring tweaking was scheduled at press
time, including the addition of stern wedges and a change of propellers to
ensure she hit her projected top speed of 21.8 knots.
The owners also say that a "drawing exists" for their next
boat. "I think they both enjoyed the process so much that it wouldn’t surprise me," Langan says.
| Yacht Name: | Cassiopeia |
| Yacht Year: | 2004 |
| Yacht Type: | Motor Yacht |
| Builder: | Holland Jachtbouw |
| Interior Design: | Candace Langan Design Associates |
| Draft: | 6' 3" (1.91m) |
| LOA (Actual length): | 105' 1" (32.03m) |
| Displacement: | 103 tons |
| Max Speed: | 22 kts |
| Cruise Speed: | 17 kts |
| Range: | 750 nm |
| Beam: | 20' (6.10m) |
| Architecture: | Bill Langan Associates |
| Hull Material: | Aluminum |
| Superstructure Material: | Aluminum |
| Fuel Capacity: | 4,752g (17,988.28L) |
| Gearbox: | ZF 2555 |
| Engines: | 2x MTU 16V 2000 M90, 1,800-hp |
| Generators: | 2x Onan, 45kW, 55kW |
| Air conditioning: | Marine Air/Heinen & Hopman |
| Watermarker: | 2x Matrix, 1,250 gpd |
| Bow thruster: | Hydromar 51 |
| Stabilizers: | Naiad Marine |
| Radar: | 2x Furuno |
| GPS: | Transas Navisailor 3000 |
| SatCom: | Thrane & Thrane Fleet 77 |
