| Vitters 180 |  |
The 180-foot aluminum ketch Adèle launched by Vitters Shipyard last
spring is designer Andre Hoek’s
largest project to date and the
crowning example of the style for which his
design studio is renowned:
classic looks with a modern underbody and rig. As an
experienced
yachtsman who circumnavigated the globe in his previous yacht, owner
Jan-Eric Österlund approached Hoek Design Naval Architects five years
ago with
very clear ideas for a dream yacht that should represent
"beauty, speed and
adventure." Following Adèle’s maiden voyage
to the Arctic, the yacht relocated to the more temperate waters off
Palma de
Mallorca for last October’s Superyacht Cup. Excited by the
prospect of putting
the boat through her paces on the racecourse,
Österlund was keen to talk about
the technical and aesthetic choices
that went into her design.| Click on the Spec and Design tab at top to see complete list of resources. |
"Early on, it was decided that Adèle would be a ketch
because as a
sloop her mast would be too tall to pass under the Bridge of the
Americas on the Panama Canal," begins Österlund, who plans on
circumnavigating
the globe for a second time. "It’s also a more
versatile rig that allows us to
set more sail, especially downwind,
with a 500-square-meter mizzen
staysail." The yacht’s sail plan was tested in the wind tunnel at the
Wolfson
Unit in Southampton, United Kingdom, to make sure she would perform well
in light airs. But with so much sail area, safety was also a major
consideration. "We decided on traditional slab reefing, full-length
battens and
lazy jacks, so we can drop the mainsail in a hurry,"
continues Österlund.
"In-boom furling on superyachts can be problematic
and generates more wear and
tear. I sail to remote areas, and you can’t
get a mainsail that size fixed just
around the corner! Besides, the
lazy jacks and full-length battens give more
control of the sail and,
of course, the mainsail has a better profile for
higher upwind
speed."
 "A," is for Adèle. Photograph by Justin Ratcliffe. (Click image to enlarge)
For Adèle, Österlund requested both mechanical and
hydraulic steering—unusual features for a yacht of this size—because
the chain,
rod and cable system provides a better "feel" when hand
steering the boat under
sail. The hydraulic steering is a Tenfjord
rotating system with two pumps,
providing redundancy given that one
pump is enough to handle the rudder. The
hydraulic steering is via
three joysticks, one at each wheel position in the
cockpit and one in
the deckhouse. When you disengage most power-assisted
systems,
including hydraulic steering, you still have to turn the hydraulic
rams, so you don’t get a feel of what the rudder is doing. Aboard
Adèle, however, a mechanical clutch completely disengages the hydraulic
system,
and both helm wheels can be operated independently. "We tank tested five different keels and rudders at the Delf
University of Technology to optimize the helm balance before coming up
with
the fin keel with bulb and a rudder with a fixed skeg," adds Andre
Hoek. This
involved a velocity prediction program developed by the
design studio to measure
the side forces and moments, not just on the
hull, but also on the keel and
rudder.
 The table between the forward and main deckhouses
accommodates family-size groups. (Click image to enlarge)
"The rudder is balanced with 14 percent of the 14-foot blade forward of the
rudder post, which takes some of the weight out of the hand steering,
although
we also have a high and low gear that can be engaged by
turning a small
wheel on each wheel hub." Adèle was
conceived for world cruising and exploration, and
that means she carries a great
deal of redundant equipment (three Onan
generators, three tenders, two Furuno
radars and two 10,000-liter
watermakers are just the start). She is also a
"generator ship" in that
she was designed to have a generator running
continuously, except in
port. "During sailing, the winches are too energy-hungry
and the
air-handling systems demand too much power to be run from batteries
alone," says Österlund. Though this makes sound insulation more of an
issue, its
advantage is that the electrical system is simpler,
requiring less cabling and
fewer heavy batteries, which saves weight.
Additionalweight savings were
realized by utilizing a single,
well-proven 1,000-hp Caterpillar engine. It also
improves the center of
gravity over the keel and reduces drag.
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