Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
I see. My comments were based on previous spirits, and their design criteria.
Beautiful yachts but..........
- Thread starter Fr J Hackett
- Start date
Fr J Hackett
Well-known member
I will expand a little on what I find wrong with both boats:
S111
The below decks spaces are like an upmarket modernistic hotel and I believe would be totally unusable in any sort of seaway and for any extend period offshore. She undoubtably sails very well but how she rates is not clear but given that spirit yachts do compete in international regattas with some success she probably rates reasonably well. In terms of ergonomics one can only really judge when sailing the yacht, Halcyon Yacht Deliveries delivered her from Ipswich to Gosport so it would be interesting to know what they thought but I expect it was less than a 2 day trip overall.
65DH
Again unpractical below decks for any extended period and in a seaway, from a cruising perspective the lack of a proper dining table I find odd, it's not always practical to eat in the cockpit and eating diner around the galley work surface is not appealing in a £2.2 million yacht. The electric propulsion seems highly limited 2 15Kw motors with 21Kw of batteries that then need a genset to recharge, it looks like about half an hour max then 10 hours of sailing above 8 knots to recharge without the genset and given everything else on the yacht is electrical and recharged via the genset. and the electric motor batteries via a DC / DC interface it seems impractical.I would love to see the polars with and without regeneration for both boats.
Having said that I still think externally they are both stunning.
S111
The below decks spaces are like an upmarket modernistic hotel and I believe would be totally unusable in any sort of seaway and for any extend period offshore. She undoubtably sails very well but how she rates is not clear but given that spirit yachts do compete in international regattas with some success she probably rates reasonably well. In terms of ergonomics one can only really judge when sailing the yacht, Halcyon Yacht Deliveries delivered her from Ipswich to Gosport so it would be interesting to know what they thought but I expect it was less than a 2 day trip overall.
65DH
Again unpractical below decks for any extended period and in a seaway, from a cruising perspective the lack of a proper dining table I find odd, it's not always practical to eat in the cockpit and eating diner around the galley work surface is not appealing in a £2.2 million yacht. The electric propulsion seems highly limited 2 15Kw motors with 21Kw of batteries that then need a genset to recharge, it looks like about half an hour max then 10 hours of sailing above 8 knots to recharge without the genset and given everything else on the yacht is electrical and recharged via the genset. and the electric motor batteries via a DC / DC interface it seems impractical.I would love to see the polars with and without regeneration for both boats.
Having said that I still think externally they are both stunning.
boomerangben
Well-known member
At the end of the day, you could go to Spirit yachts and say you wanted a 65 or a 111, but I guess they would be far more engaging if you went to them wanting a one off based on a big list of your own criteria. How much fun would that be?: defining your perfect boat, have someone add some nice ideas and have it built beautifully, just for you. Then come on here and tell everyone what you’ve had done and watch the rest of us spout our own armchair thoughts, whilst not caring!
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
Half an hour of full throttle, maybe an hour or more at half throttle
Bobc
Well-known member
I found them really nice people with a real passion for what they do. They were more than happy to invite me on-board and show me around. Beautiful things to own but I would prefer to admire them from afar as a non-owner.
lustyd
Well-known member
But who wants to drive at half throttle? I know I love seeing the black cloud behind a diesel boat as we go incrementally faster
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
If you’ve got somewhere to be, ( and who hasn’t when they press the start button) then sometimes a big handful of throttle is what you need. I find it handy myself if about to be run down by the chain ferry. Somewhere not to be, I suppose is equally valid.
lustyd
Well-known member
That's the point though, momentary bursts are not the same as trying to dial it up to 11 all day. Somehow people expect electric yachts to be driven like this and forget that with diesel we all cruise at 2000 revs (and sailors cruise at zero!)
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
I agree with your point, even though I would normally motor at half throttle myself, no rev counter, but halfway to the stop, at about 6 kn
KevinV
Well-known member
A friend has a 46 - beautiful, beautiful thing. Long, sleek, light, sea kindly and fast, and fabulously finished. The interior is almost entirely custom designed for/with the client, so if you're into G&T's in Monaco you can have one thing, if ocean sailing is your thing you can have another. That said, the latter really isn't what they're designed for and they didn't get everything right at first. What I mean to say is that there's not much point criticising the interior layout - someone specified it that way.
Gorgeous as they are, I really wouldn't want the upkeep - there's an awful lot of (perfect) brightwork!
Gorgeous as they are, I really wouldn't want the upkeep - there's an awful lot of (perfect) brightwork!
Wansworth
Well-known member
A designed uv light weight overall cover when the boat not going to be used
Concerto
Well-known member
4 or 5 years ago at the Southampton Boat Show I stood admiring the Spirit berthed stern to. A member of staff who was in his early 20's spoke to me ans I said I appreciated what had gone in building a boat to that standard. His response was to invite me aboard. I told him I was not a buyer, but that did not worry him. The boat was beautifully finished and from what I saw attention to detail was outstanding. Anyone wanting and can afford a Spirit will certainly get a very special yacht. There was no snootiness from any of the staff on board.
westernman
Well-known member
Defining your own perfect boat?
What a nightmare. I would never get to the end of all those difficult decisions and compromises.
Wansworth
Well-known member
Cannot be doing with so much perfection with no sprayhood it would be very drafty and wet g going to windward at double figures
Frogmogman
Well-known member
Spirits are one of my fantasy boats, but then, they are firmly in the “when I win the lottery category” (unlikely, as I don’t do the lottery).
I did once flirt with the idea of buying a Spirit 46. It had started life under the name Ski IV (as in spending the kids’ inheritance). She was originally ordered to be kept in Antigua, so had a white painted rather than varnished coachroof. When I was tempted, she was lying in Turkey and could have been had for (IIRC) £110k ex vat - truly a bargain. I could just about have afforded to buy her, but I bottled it.
TBH, I don’t regret it.
I did once flirt with the idea of buying a Spirit 46. It had started life under the name Ski IV (as in spending the kids’ inheritance). She was originally ordered to be kept in Antigua, so had a white painted rather than varnished coachroof. When I was tempted, she was lying in Turkey and could have been had for (IIRC) £110k ex vat - truly a bargain. I could just about have afforded to buy her, but I bottled it.
TBH, I don’t regret it.
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
We looked at that idea too, thinking to bring her back to uk. Hence attempting to engage with Spirit.
Bobc
Well-known member
Exactly my experience too.
Daydream believer
Well-known member
I would have thought that if one wanted such a yacht one would sit with the yacht designer & discuss the overall dimensions & the approximate lines.
he would then come back with some ideas , from which the client would then start to make some more positive decisions. The actual shape may not be the builder's choice. When they get to this level of vessel they build what the owner wants, not what they thnk he wants. It is not, as far as I know, a production yacht , in the way Oyster or Nautor produce yachts with variations internally.
After that, an interior designer would be called in & the real work would come in to play. The interior team might be part of the hull designer team or more likely a separate design team that has possibly worked together with the lead team & builder in the past.
In any event the yacht would evolve with the owner presenting his list as early on as possible. I bet that in most cases a lot of that list goes out the window when a decent design team can show him what they can do.
That assumes he is not a repeat customer. Of course he may be someone who has had a history of large yachts and has begun to know exactly what he wants from his new pride & joy.
It is interesting to note that the 65 shown in the video was first comissioned in 2021.It is now up for sale. Why? No one has commented on that point yet. It may be that the owner has met an unfortunate set of circumstances, or it may be that he has just decided that he does not actually like it, now he has seen & sailed it- Has anyone considered that last point; because I might be lambasted for this, but I do not like it that much either.
Another point about these yachts & super yachts for that matter, is the build time. How long does it take to build someting like this? I would get fed up waiting 12 months for a production yacht ( which I believe is quite common these days) let alone 2-3 years for a super yacht. That would put me off it for a start. I would get bored of constantly having to make decisions on this bit & that bit all the time. I think I would be the one who would buy the second hand one & have it now. Sail it for a while, then send it for a refit. But not the one in the first video.
he would then come back with some ideas , from which the client would then start to make some more positive decisions. The actual shape may not be the builder's choice. When they get to this level of vessel they build what the owner wants, not what they thnk he wants. It is not, as far as I know, a production yacht , in the way Oyster or Nautor produce yachts with variations internally.
After that, an interior designer would be called in & the real work would come in to play. The interior team might be part of the hull designer team or more likely a separate design team that has possibly worked together with the lead team & builder in the past.
In any event the yacht would evolve with the owner presenting his list as early on as possible. I bet that in most cases a lot of that list goes out the window when a decent design team can show him what they can do.
That assumes he is not a repeat customer. Of course he may be someone who has had a history of large yachts and has begun to know exactly what he wants from his new pride & joy.
It is interesting to note that the 65 shown in the video was first comissioned in 2021.It is now up for sale. Why? No one has commented on that point yet. It may be that the owner has met an unfortunate set of circumstances, or it may be that he has just decided that he does not actually like it, now he has seen & sailed it- Has anyone considered that last point; because I might be lambasted for this, but I do not like it that much either.
Another point about these yachts & super yachts for that matter, is the build time. How long does it take to build someting like this? I would get fed up waiting 12 months for a production yacht ( which I believe is quite common these days) let alone 2-3 years for a super yacht. That would put me off it for a start. I would get bored of constantly having to make decisions on this bit & that bit all the time. I think I would be the one who would buy the second hand one & have it now. Sail it for a while, then send it for a refit. But not the one in the first video.
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Frogmogman
Well-known member
Mine too. ?
Frogmogman
Well-known member
Wonderful to do that if you can, but it’s even more expensive. My uncle did just that on his retirement, but his health failed him and he never actually got to sail his dream boat.
The moral of the story is Carpe Diem. He could have packed in chucking widows and orphans out into the snow years earlier (he was a lawyer) and enjoyed the fruits of his labour. Instead, he made my cousins very wealthy.