Page 34: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2004)

Megayachts

The M-147 Megayacht Makes its Debut

Blohm + Voss GmbH in Hamburg, which has built ships of all variety, shape and size for more than 125 years, has a tradition building megayachts since the mid-1980s. The latest project from its burgeoning stable is the M-147. a 482-ft. (147-m) long luxury yacht, which aims to set new standards in design, outfit and functionality.

M-147 was created in collaboration with the designer Hermidas Atabevki.

Paris. His fundamental idea was to develop several thematically different spatial elements instead of long continu- ous decks and at the same time to retain spaciousness and grand scale. The result is various loggias, balconies, oriels and sun decks. A special characteristic of the

M-147 is, among other things, a loggia which stretches over the whole width of the yacht, linking the main salon with the dining room. In the stern a round shaped room with a continuous glass front provides an impressive 270-degree panorama view. In addition the yacht is equipped with a swimming pool on the upper deck, a cinema and a disco. The yacht has a garage for a submarine, with which the owner and guests can go on discovery trips through the underwater world, and a helicopter pad. An 18 m long tender has been integrated into the silhouette. Blohm + Voss took its first yacht building steps before WWII with the Savarona. The 408 ft. (124.4 m) long ship was delivered to the US billionaire couple Cadwaladar on July 24, 1931.

With the most luxurious outfit and a speed of 21 knot the Savarona attracted worldwide attention at the time.

Following a thorough refurbishment, which included reinstating the fixtures and outfit to the style of the 1930s, the

Savarona is still in service today.

The Katalina is the first of the newer yachts which have been built by Blohm + Voss since the mid 1980's. Special attention was paid to reducing vibration and noises when designing this 214 ft. (65.2 m) long yacht. In the case of the 250.6 ft. (76.4 m) Golden Odyssey.

Blohm + Voss took on sole responsibili- ty for the design and construction. The exhaust gases of this yacht are dis- charged directly underneath the surface of the water — an innovative solution for a boat of this size. In 1991 Blohm +

Voss delivered the ultra modern 37-knot

ECO. propelled by a system proven in naval shipbuilding, which consist of two

KHD diesel engines and a gas turbine.

Circle 20 on Reader Service Card

Q&A with Hermidas

Atabeyki, Paris, Designer of the M-147

Q: What makes the M-147 so unique?

A: It goes without saying that part of the uniqueness of the M-147 is due to its grandeur and aesthetic beauty. It would have been easy to rest at that however. I did not set out to create another beauti- ful boat with good design except on a larger scale. For me it was primarily a question of rethinking the whole con- cept of living on board. I envisaged a certain way of life in my head and tried to put that down on paper. So throughout the creative process it was not only a question of how good I make it look, but even more importantly how can it better and how can it contribute to the life and

In 1991 Blohm + Voss delivered the ultra modern 37-knot ECO. propelled by a sys- tem proven in naval shipbuilding, which consist of two KHD diesel engines and a gas turbine. Each of the three units is coupled to a waterjet. The exhaust gas is passed below the waterline so that a funnel is dispensed with.

Hermidas Atabeyki pleasure of those on board. It is this lifestyle concept behind the design that makes the M-147 so unique. And that was the challenge which I think was overcome and accomplished pretty well.

Q: What aspects and currents in mod- ern thinking inspired you to design this yacht? What design elements incorpo- rate these modern aspects, for example?

A: I did not really follow any modern trends in design per se other than to adhere to the fundamental design dis- tinctive to boats. I firmly believe that 'good' design must necessarily reflect the function and utility of the end prod- uct. Without a functioning and utile con- cept behind it, a product, whether a car, boat or object, cannot withstand the test 34 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News