Danish yard creates cruiser with a conscience

Project 116 offers sleek lines and a light aircraft pad on the aft deck. Photo / NZH.

Project 116's mix of high performance and sustainable materials sets standard for responsible fun, says Mike Rose:

While most of the world has been in recession for the past two years, those who think about, design and build new marine technology appear to have been in overdrive.

Much of this new technology seems to have focused on the greening of the industry as businesses find new ways to build and run pleasure boats with as little impact on the environment as possible.

The latest of these, and perhaps the most impressive yet, is the vessel known as Project 116. Project 116 is an Aerocruiser 38M superyacht nearing completion in the Skagen shipyard of Danish Yachts.

Skagen (pronounced Skeyan) is a delightful town at the northernmost tip of Denmark. It is not, it must be said, the sort of place one would expect to find a modern pioneering shipyard.

A tourist town packed, in true European style, with rows and rows of brightly painted old houses and shops, it is perhaps most famous as a tourist spot for Norwegians in search of more liberal drinks laws (southern Norway is just a short ferry ride away) and as the place, somewhat similar to our Cape Reinga, where two seas meet. In this instance, it is the Baltic and the North Seas that mingle although, unlike at Cape Reinga, it happens here in shallow water, at the end of a spit just a short walk from the centre of the town.

It is of course unlikely that the thousands of visitors who flock to Skagen each summer have any idea that there is a very clever, very innovative shipyard on the outskirts of the town. Danish Yachts has not, at least until now, had that high a profile. However one suspects that that could be about to change.

Project 116 is breaking new ground in several ways. For example, its carbon fibre hull weighs in at just 112 tonnes, a weight saving of at least 25 per cent over a conventional composite 38-metre LOA superyacht.

Project 116 will also be one of the world's quickest boats of this size. Thanks to twin MTU 4000 16V M92L diesel engines, each generating over 4600 horsepower, the Aerocruiser 38 will boast a top speed of over 50 knots. Even more impressively, using twin MJP water jets, it will, at that speed, be able to come to a stop in just three boat lengths. Project 116's design parameters also provide for tight turning circles at the superyacht's top speed although, apart from the adrenaline rush, it's hard to see why.

Tight turning at 50 knots is great fun in a 5 or 6 metre jet boat but in a 38-metre superyacht? What about the crockery? Those artfully arranged floral displays? The drinks?

It all rather implies that this will be a massive "big boys' toy", a sort of hoon boat on a huge scale. Yet look at the accompanying photos. Project 116's interior features contemporary Danish design at its very best: simple, elegant, almost unbelievably stylish.

And, as they say in the ads: there's more. Project 116 is called the Aerocruiser 38M for good reason. Forget about the helipad on the aft deck; so passe. The Aerocruiser features a light aircraft on its aft deck.

The aircraft, a LISA Akoya, comes complete with folding wings, both of which are able to rotate aft for easy storage on deck.

The lightweight Akoya also has low fuel consumption, is able to take off and land on water (using its specially designed hydrofoil system) and, according to the crew at Danish Yachts, could soon become "an essential and unique resource for the global superyacht community". Perhaps.

On a slightly more serious note, like many of their counterparts, the team at Danish Yachts does seem to be committed to creating yachts with a minimal impact on the Earth's environment.

One example with Project 116: the superyacht has been fitted with reflecting glass, specially tinted to eliminate any energy loss. Recyclable materials and biodegradable products have also been used in its construction wherever possible.

It is, therefore, a somewhat strange mixture: earnest environmental credentials combined with an almost playboy-ish mixture of ultra-modern design and rock star speed and handling. Come to think of it, it could be a winner; saving the planet at 50 knots in luxurious Scandinavian style ...

All will shortly be revealed: the Aerocruiser 38M is about to begin four months of sea trials before being officially "unveiled" later in the year. I wonder how one gets an invite?