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Wally breaks new ground with 143-foot Esense.
by Justin Ratcliffe
photography by Gilles Martin-Raget
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04/01/2007
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| Wally 143 |  |
In addition to the two 45-kW Westerbeke generators (close to
440 pounds lighter than their Northern Lights equivalents) that can manage all
of the boat’s power demands without the need for paralleling, the technical
specs include a robust 550-hp Caterpillar engine, a 1,585-gallon freshwater tank
with two HEM osmosis watermakers that can produce nearly 5,000 liters of water
per day and a generous 3,079-gallon fuel tank for a transatlantic range of 3,000
miles at a speed of 13 knots. To further save on weight and compactness, the
Servogear variable-pitch drive system does away with the standard gearbox with
forward and reverse gears, relying on just the hydraulic pump controller
instead. The yacht also features a unique servo-assisted steering system
developed in conjunction with Cariboni (see Tech Talk).
Top: Luca Bassani. Photograph by Justin Ratcliffe. Bottom: The view from a Wally helm is as simple and clear
as the vision of company founder Luca Bassani. Photograph by Gilles
Martin-Raget. (Click images to enlarge)
Wally has perfected a fast and simple lifting keel system
aboard Esense to vary the draft from six to four meters with lifting gear
for the combined 50 tons of lead bulb and steel fin supplied by APM of Italy.
The problem with lifting keels is fixing them in place securely, so that
vertical pressure from the main ram and a wedge profile at the top of the fin
ensure the system is locked and watertight. Above deck, the keel casing
ingeniously doubles as the plinth supporting the dining table. Wally has
conducted various experiments at Milan Polytechnic to protect hull integrity in
the event of the keel grounding. On Esense, the main ram is programmed to
tolerate a specific tolerance and will retract on impact. But on future boats
Wally is planning to introduce "crumple zones" in the front section of the bulb,
which studies have shown reduce the impact loading on the hull by as much as 40
percent. The company already has had firsthand experience with a similar
setup—albeit unwittingly—aboard Open Season, which touched bottom last
summer in Porto Cervo at nine knots with no damage.
When lowered, the 18-foot draft and 21-foot-long bulb
counterbalance the 900 square meters of 3DL sails by North Sails to give
Esense superb acceleration. In light air, the yacht builds her own
apparent wind very quickly. When we took her out for a spin in Ancona she was
making a steady 10 knots and touching 12 in eight knots of true wind. Bassani
was clearly delighted with this performance and was even willing to bet she is
faster upwind than Mari Cha IV.
Odile Decq produced an interior
that defies conventional wisdom. Top: A corner of one of the guest cabins can be
converted into a double bed. Middle: The main salon. Bottom: Carbon and chrome shelving in the
fore/aft corridor. Photography by Toni Meneguzzo. (Click images to enlarge)
All Wally yachts are user-friendly, but Bassani could easily
handle Esense himself when jibing and tacking using the joysticks
linked to the Cariboni Magic Trim system, a handy innovation on a big boat with
reduced crew when sheets have to be trimmed or released quickly. The furling
headsails and mainsail (the in-boom furling by Marten Spars can roll out the
mainsail in a matter of minutes) mean that no time is lost hanking on sails
before getting under way. In true Wally style, visible deck hardware is reduced
to four Harken winches and two snubbers clustered around the 57-meter pre-preg
carbon mast by Hall Spars. The vang and Max Power retractable bow thrusters have
push-button controls on the cockpit console. So when you see the shots of Esense with just her captain, Sergio
Lottini, at the helm, you can rest assured they are not just a publicity
ploy.
High performance in light air and fingertip control were two of
Tripp’s priorities in designing the hull and underwater appendages. "This is a
big boat, but she feels more akin to a dinghy than a superyacht," says the
designer.
Esense produces virtually no bow wave. This was achieved
through a flatter aft shape and by pulling the bow up out of the water and the
maximum beam aft. This goes against virtually everything Tripp learned at naval
architecture school, but the dynamic force of the boat moving through the water
prevents her from diving.
"There’s a general satisfaction that we’ve achieved what we set
out to do," admits Tripp. "One of the most exciting aspects of the project for
me was working with these kinds of proportions, but still keeping the boat
balanced. So, although Esense is a very modern-looking yacht, she still
has classic proportions. Rather like some of the big-boat designs of the 1920s,
you have the feeling she is smaller than she really is."
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