«»This July the Finnish shipyard Baltic Yachts launched a 78 foot (23.8) yacht designed, as usual, by Hermann Frers, the yard's everlasting «supplier».
It is very interesting, who had enough convincing to achieve this from the two «pillars of the sail». All we know so far is that they are a married couple, experienced boat owners who wanted a new boat with the comfort and right sailing spirit of a sailing boat, but with the speed and easy handling of a «motorboat». The first part was the responsibility of Argentinian Freres, who drew sailboats before most of us were born, and the interior was created by Design Unlimited with the very active participation of the clients.
To make the hull as efficient as possible Frers studied the latest research in commercial yacht building. The result is a less aggressive performance with the added bonus of reduced pitching perception. The composite hull is quite narrow and for a cruising speed of 16-18 knots she is semi gliding with special transom plates, while reaching a top speed of 25 knots with relatively modest Volvo Penta engines (2×625 hp).
The main salon in the superstructure is divided into a dining and living area. Both areas have direct access to fore and aft decks protected by high bulwarks. Aft there is a hydraulically operated bathing platform and a custom designed fishing chair. Accommodation consists of two guest cabins in the middle and «master» in the bow, plus two crew cabins aft.
According to the yard, the response to Baltic's first motoryacht has been so positive that all three parties (Baltic, Frers and Design Unlimited) have already agreed to work on a 30m version. The first sketches will be presented already at this Monaco Yacht Show and we can't wait to see.
