Yacht builders are accustomed to buyers coming to them. But those roles are reversing, with some clients seeking design concepts to jumpstart their imagination and reduce wait time. Combine this with some yards’ long distance from the majority of buyers, and there’s another challenge. Rising to the occasion is McMullen & Wing’s management team, which, along with three leading design firms, recently presented potential projects to owners’ representatives worldwide.
McMullen & Wing is perhaps best known for Big Fish, the expedition yacht from 2010 whose maiden voyage included a visit to Antarctica as part of a polar circumnavigation. The yacht has barely sat still since then. However, what’s not so well known is that the New Zealand-based builder has also delivered other well-traveled pleasure yachts, plus two America’s Cup racers. To further raise its profile, McMullen & Wing invited Gregory C. Marshall Naval Architects, H2 Yacht Design, and Vripack to create globetrotters reflecting its capabilities. Specifically, Michael Eaglen, CEO of McMullen & Wing, says their design briefs called for “yachts which are capable of exploring the remotest corners of the world. Very much expedition cruising, whilst still looking and feeling at home in the more traditional superyacht cruising grounds.” Eaglen then invited them on a McMullen & Wing “roadshow,” to personally introduce and explain each project to brokers. Each design is supported by specification and engineering packages, while still leaving opportunity for buyers to tailor arrangements.
The Gregory C. Marshall Naval Architects design (above) should certainly attract adventure-seeking owners. “Greg Marshall was obvious,” Eaglen says, “a long-time friend and collaborator, and the genius behind Big Fish and our current 50m. In many ways, Big Fish epitomises the kind of yacht we build best, and of course it has been tremendously successful.” This new design proposal is one of three LOAs in what the firm calls the Diamond Series for McMullen & Wing. Those LOAs are 148, 164, and 180 feet (45, 50, and 55 meters, respectively). They’re largely inspired by Big Fish, which the studio also designed, and a 164-foot (50-meter) sistership in build at McMullen & Wing at present. Each Diamond Series yacht cruises at around 11 to 12 knots, for a 5,000-nautical-mile range—plenty distance to bring Pacific and Atlantic shores within reach. The smallest Diamond Series is intended for an owner’s party of 10 and a crew of nine to 10 people. The larger two designs can accommodate 12 guests and a crew complement between 12 and 16. Interior spaces benefit from big windows for “outside inside” appeal. Suggested arrangements include devoting the aft bridge deck to the owners’ suite, creating an art wall in the atrium-like main stairway, and including a gym in the transom. The largest Diamond Series can also put the VIP forward on the main deck. Alfresco areas are well suited to sunning, sightseeing, and entertaining, additionally aided by fold-out platforms and balconies. Of course, off-yacht fun is also in the mix, thanks to custom tenders designed to match their motherships.
H2 Yacht Design’s project, titled Blade, is above. She, too, is available in multiple sizes, 158- and 190-footers (48- and 58-meters). Some softer, curvier details, in keeping with the studio’s signature, stand out in the styling. “As a design and styling office, H2 are quite a different organization to the other two offices,” Eaglen explains. “Their ‘role’ in the group was to represent the Mediterranean end of the style range, while still providing a yacht with the underlying DNA of McMullen & Wing: a yacht capable of amazing adventures.” Jonny Horsfield of H2 Yacht Design agrees, seeing an opportunity to introduce McMullen & Wing to what he calls “the fashionistas populating the rather tamer cruising grounds of the Cote d’Azur and the chic streets of Cannes and Monaco,” yet who still wish to venture to the South Pacific and beyond. That’s why the two Blade yachts boast abundant alfresco deck space and must-have features like big tenders and a pool. They also are intended for a little more speed: 15 knots max for the 158-footer and 17 knots for the 190-footer. Both Blade models are also is expected to see a 5,800-nautical-mile range at about 11 to 12 knots. The smaller Blade can accommodate 10 guests and 10 to 11 crew, while the larger caters to an owner’s party of 12 with a crew complement of 13 to 14.
The third design, from Vripack, is Flow, pictured at top. Offered in two LOAs (144 and 167 feet, or 44 and 51 meters), Flow is intended for 10 guests, with six to seven crew handling the smaller model and nine to 10 crew running the larger. The Vripack team started with the concept of a family who enjoy an especially active lifestyle together. Judging from Flow’s primary design cues, this family is also wonderfully unconventional. Take the circular patterns along the hull and superstructure. Those circles are perforations, to create unusual additional windows on the world. Vripack will customize the graphic pattern according to what the buyer wants. The entire aft deck is glass-enclosed to create what it calls a Beach House, attached to a spa and usable whether in the tropics or polar climates. There’s even a “treasure cabinet” in the dining area, which can be filled with shells and other findings in the family’s adventurous travels. Though they’re hard to detect in the profile image, there are gullwing-like extensions aft on the upper deck. They have glass walls fore and aft, and behind the graphic perforations, perfect for taking in the sights when Flow cruises at 11 to 12 knots and enjoys a 5,000-nautical-mile range or more at those speeds. As to why Eaglen chose Vripack, he says, “I have known the Vripack guys for many years and really admire their combination of serious ocean credibility with amazing creativity: the perfect combination for a fresh approach to world’s most capable luxury yachts.”
Each project is intended to feature a steel hull. “Although we can and do build in any material, we feel that the expedition market prefers steel hulls,” Eaglen explains. “They’re also all aluminim superstructures, although several of them have composite components when you get into the detail.” As for build times, they range from 30 to 36 months, he adds.
McMullen & Wing has full details available for Diamond Series, Blade, and Flow. To obtain them, contact the shipyard or fill out our contact form.
BONUS IMAGES: See the Diamond Series photo gallery.
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