When the 203-foot (62-meter)
Moneikos was launched by
Codecasa in Viareggio, Italy, early last June, she joined
Apogee as the
yard’s largest private yacht since the family-run company began shipbuilding in
1825. The yard’s legendary attention to high-quality construction and interior
detail has attracted a long list of high-profile clients including Giorgio
Armani and Stefano Gabbana.
Moneikos shares
Apogee’s high-tensile
steel hull, bulbous bow, aluminum alloy superstructure and basic exterior lines,
but it is inside where the two designs diverge. Indeed, the interior of
Moneikos is quite unique, both in terms of layout and styling, and the
result is stunning in its simplicity and visual contrast.
Top: The main salon
is used principally as a children’s game room. Bottom: The view down the
main staircase from the upper deck. (Click images to enlarge)
"The owner wanted a clean, contemporary interior that wasn’t
overly decorative and that complemented the yacht’s exterior styling," explains
architect and designer Luisella Italia of Studio Dedalo in Turin. Working with
the owner’s wife, Italia came up with a thoroughly modern décor based on dark
wengé flooring offset by light maple bulkheads. Soft furnishings chosen by the
owner’s wife in bold hues such as fuchsia, turquoise and emerald green punctuate
the linear design and focus the eye. These same colors are reproduced in the
coral and other marine life in the backlit underwater photographs by Bruno
Rizzato mounted as artwork on the walls. Selected items of classic furniture,
such as the Fritz Hansen egg chairs inspired by Arne Jacobsen’s designs in the
late 1950s, are evidence of the Italian owner’s discerning taste for timeless
design that never goes out of fashion.
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Although the owner’s previous yacht was a 50-meter Codecasa, he
was impressed with the layout of Lürssen’s 200-foot
Phoenix launched in
2005.
"In particular," says Captain Marino Paladini, "he wanted
to emulate the wheelhouse on the sun deck with the owner’s suite underneath
on the upper deck."
Top: The adult lounge embodies the main themes
of the interior décor, with dark wengé floors, light maple bulkheads and backlit
underwater photos. Bottom: The massive lacquered dining table. (Click images to enlarge)
The extra height and panoramic forward-facing windows lend the
cabin superb sea views, but unlike
Phoenix with its shorter foredeck,
Moneikos has managed to maintain its sleek exterior profile and elongated
bow without sacrificing interior volume. The simplicity of design is continued
in the owner’s bathroom, an area where embellishment is all too often mistaken
for luxury. Instead, the crystal glass washbasins and shower stall,
custom-designed by Antonio Lupi in Florence, are highlighted by gold-leaf
cabinetry and wall panels that blend with the warm, honey-colored maple.
Breaking with convention, the owner also opted for an indoor
dining room on the upper deck, although the curved glass doors open completely
onto the aft deck with its corner sofas and coffee tables. Set into the
high-gloss black ceiling above the white lacquered dining table that can
comfortably seat 16 guests are scores of LED lights that glow softly in the dark
to re-create the night sky. In between the dining room and owner’s suite is a
lounge area that serves as an adult salon since the main-deck lounge is given
over to use as a children’s play area. That the largest room on the yacht is
used principally if not exclusively by children is an unheard of choice, but it
also illustrates the intensely family-oriented nature of the interior layout and
design.
Top: The owner’s cabin. Bottom: Gold leaf
cabinets in the owner’s bathroom. (Click images to enlarge)
Two bespoke semicircular sofas in the middle of the room
arranged around a central pouf and flanked by four lilac-colored Plexiglas
columns dominate the area. Disguising the structural pillars within, these
illuminated columns also provide practical storage space for kids toys and the
like. A series of light panels in the ceiling can be programmed to flash in
sequence in varying colors—a fun feature that no doubt delights the yacht’s
younger passengers and maybe one or two of the adults as well. Commendably, the
children’s lounge does not feature a TV screen.
Whereas gymnasiums are often relegated to the lower decks, the
fitness-conscious owner of
Moneikos has chosen to locate his on the sun
deck behind the wheelhouse to make the most of the view while working out.
Equipped with Technogym gear and a Matrix jogging machine, the gym looks onto
the aft deck where pride of place is taken up by a 7,397-gallon pool with active
current for swimming. The sheer size of the pool makes replacing the water after
use both impractical and wasteful, so it has its own filtered holding tank on
the bilge deck.
Guest accommodations consist of two VIP cabins—one double and a
twin single—on the forward main deck and a third ensuite cabin suitable for use
by a nanny with direct access to the twin single. On the lower deck there are an
additional two doubles and two twins with Pullman bunks for a total capacity of
14 guests. The Caniparoli joiners in Viareggio built a complete, full-size
mock-up of a guest cabin before the owner gave his final go-ahead. Each cabin is
individually decorated with vibrant, patterned fabrics in lime green, lilac,
pink and azure with matching bathrooms. All the cabins have a separate changing
room/closet area, with a final, light-hearted touch of flower-shaped vanity
stools by Edra.
Guest accommodations on the main deck
consist of two VIPs and a third ensuite cabin; each is decorated with patterned
fabrics in green, lilac, pink and azure with matching
bathrooms. (Click images to enlarge)
Departing from the trend aboard other similarly sized yachts,
the owner of
Moneikos has eschewed expansive sunbathing and open-air
dining areas. The captain was also against grills or barbecues to protect his
teak decking from grease spots. There are sun beds around the pool and a
circular table on the upper foredeck that can be fitted with sun umbrellas, but
for the most part there are semi-open areas or shaded zones, such as the main
aft deck that features a massive green marble buffet table. This is perhaps
symptomatic of today’s awareness of the dangers of overexposure to direct
sunlight, but it also indicates the owner’s preference for
controlled-temperature environments. Indeed, one of the owner’s specific
requests was that the interior temperature throughout the yacht be maintained at
a constant 75 degrees Fahrenheit, controllable from his own cabin.
Air-conditioning suppliers Francesconi in Viareggio worked with Siemens to
develop electronic "nose" sensors that operate in conjunction with the
centralized air-conditioning unit to ensure constant air temperature, humidity
and quality.
In the event of unpleasant odors or excessive humidity, all the
air can be exchanged in less than two minutes. While noise control is one aspect
of onboard comfort, motion control is another, and for this the yacht is fitted
with Quantum ZeroSpeed stabilizers.
Huge improvements have been made in recent years in reducing
sound and vibration levels aboard large motor yachts, and "floating" floors and
bulkheads have become a standard feature, but even by these new criteria
Moneikos is a remarkably quiet vessel. All the guest areas record less
than 50 decibels (comparable with the sound of light rainfall) while under way,
but the lead-lined owner’s cabin registers just 36 decibels, a noise level more
in line with a hushed library. The levels are so low that the "whoosh" of air
exiting the air-conditioning outlets could be heard, and these were duly
modified to induce a Zen-like silence on board. To minimize structure-borne
noise,
Moneikos features an ATB (Advanced Thrust Bearing) system that
combines the requirements of limited space with elastic support of a thrust
block directly attached to the gear unit. The three 175-kW generators in the
engine room are housed in their own soundproof rooms.
Top: All the guest cabins have a separate
changing room/closet area. Bottom: The relaxation area on the main aft deck. (Click images to enlarge)
European builders often skimp on crew areas, but the 16
crewmembers aboard
Moneikos are provided with a full-beam
dinette-cum-lounge and their own galley. An additional steward’s mess and a
small laundry for the owners’ private use are located on the main deck next to
the galley. The space is lined in black galaxy marble and professionally
appointed with Miele and Gaggenau equipment. Captain Paladini added a
custom-made Carpeggiani ice-cream maker for his crew.
He also insisted on glass-fronted refrigeration units by U.S.
manufacturer Sub-Zero, so that the chef can find items quickly but is also
obliged to keep the fridge interior clean and orderly. Besides a dedicated
pantry on each deck level, the crew can also make use of a full-size elevator
between all deck levels.
With crew comfort and practicality again in mind, the captain
wanted a spacious laundry room on the top-tank deck and an additional washing
machine in the garage. In the unlikely event of having to use the emergency
steering gear in the garage, he also requested a VHF radio and monitor
displaying a depth sounder and radar to avoid having to drive the yacht blind
using handheld walkie-talkies. The same monitor can be used to track the
locators on the two Novurania tenders. A common complaint from crew operating
modern superyachts with a high degree of bow flare is that the chain plates are
not visible from the forepeak. So, a final design detail included two small
platforms that fold down from the port and starboard bulwarks for an
uninterrupted view of the anchor chain.
In the wheelhouse, with its splendid green leather upholstery
and six 23-inch monitors (four of which can retract into the console), the
captain requested multiple redundancy and a powerful Selesmar Selex radar. An
Italian company with more than 30 years of experience in navigation
equipment for merchant shipping, Consilium Selesmar is an unusual choice for a
private yacht. As the captain points out, however, handling a 203-foot yacht is
effectively like driving a small cruise ship.
Top: The large pool on the sun deck can be accessed
directly from the gym and is equipped with active current. (Click images to enlarge)
"When I cut the power on the owner’s previous [164-footer], it
stopped dead in the water. At minimum revs,
Moneikos makes 7.5 knots, and
when I stop the engines it will keep on moving at much the same speed."
The difference in stopping distance lies in the significant
increase in volume: The 164-footer displaced some 450 tons; the 203-footer
displaces twice as much and will keep moving forward under its own inertia. For
added navigation security—especially in the Caribbean where actual bottom
soundings do not always accord with chart readings—
Moneikos is also
fitted with a telescopic Skipper sonar in the bow with a 3,000-meter range. On
the communications front, an item high on the captain’s wish list was VSAT in
addition to the more conventional Inmarsat B, C and mini-M. A cost-effective and
highly reliable means for receiving and transmitting data, voice and fax between
remote locations on a 24/7 basis, VSAT also means the owner can use his GSM
mobile phone in the middle of the ocean to keep in real-time contact with his
business interests.
Moneikos is based in Monaco and herein lies the origin of her
Greek-sounding name. Monoikos was the name of the colony of Phoceans from
Massalia, today Marseilles, who settled Monaco in the sixth century B.C. Phocea,
near modern-day Izmir in Turkey, was in turn colonized by the Greeks, which
explains the Greek name. Hercules is said to have passed through the settlement
on his travels, and
Moneikos will be moored in Port Hercule, which still
bears his name. This is the stuff of legend indeed.