>
It looks like a giant ocean going vintage sports car.
Photos reveal a stunning new £300 million (€350 million/$376 million) catamaran called ‘Decadence’ that ’embodies the spirit of the 1920s, inspired by the extraordinary automotive and aviation developments of the time’.
One of the cars that inspired the London-based designer Andy Waughwas an Auburn Boattail Speedster, an American model of the 1920s and 1930s.
Four giant teardrop-shaped wings, known as “sponsons” in boat design parlance, give Decadence the appearance of having “wheels,” allowing the crew to deploy huge inflatable wing sails to boost performance and help reduce energy consumption “by about 30 percent’.
And the sports car stability of the 80 m (262 ft) long, 30 m (98 ft) wide catamaran is due to submerged cylindrical hulls, which give her “a reduction in pitch and roll of approximately 70 percent over a conventional monohull’.
Photos reveal a stunning new £300 million (€350 million) catamaran called ‘Decadence’ that ’embodies the spirit of the 1920s, inspired by the extraordinary automotive and aviation developments of the time’
Four giant teardrop wings, known as “sponsons” in boat design parlance, give Decadence the appearance of having “wheels,” allowing the crew to deploy massive inflatable wing sails to enhance performance
One of the cars that inspired the designer, London-based Andy Waugh, was an Auburn Boattail Speedster, an American model of the 1920s and 1930s.
In addition, crew quarters and technical equipment can be housed in the sponsons and submerged hulls – the latter making Decadence a SWATH, or “small-waterplane-area-twin-hull” vessel – meaning more space for guest functions.
Waugh, who heads Andy Waugh Yacht Design company, said: ‘Her SWATH configuration opens up a plethora of new possibilities for creative interior layouts and spaces, for example, the owner’s suite can be 20 meters wide, 30 meters long and have ceiling heights of three meters (10ft).’
The design also accommodates two 14 m (46 ft) Skyline Yachts yacht tenders – one with an open deck and one with a fully enclosed cabin.
The catamaran has submerged cylindrical hulls, giving her “an approximate 70 percent reduction in pitch and roll motion over a conventional monohull”
The ship is 80 meters long, 30 meters wide and weighs 5,000 tons
The ship’s sails, which ‘combined with the slim hull’ should help reduce energy consumption by around 30 percent
This unique ship doesn’t come cheap – it’s estimated to cost between £214 million (€250 million) and £300 million (€350 million) to build
The designer says about the tenders: ‘These can be used as luxury shuttles to shore with more capacity and more comfort than conventional limo tenders.’
‘Decadence’ is currently just a concept, although Waugh notes that it is possible to proceed with construction if a potential buyer has the budget – between £214m (€250m / $268m) and £300m (€ 350 million).
It is thought that it would take three to four years to build the superyacht, which would weigh approximately 5,000 gross tons.
Waugh graduated from the prestigious Transport Design course at Coventry University and previously worked at London’s H2 Yacht Design firm. His first major project was the award-winning superyacht Meya Meya and he has worked on vessels as large as nearly 400 feet (122 m).
His company is currently working on a new build contract for an American tech billionaire at Dorries Yachts in Bremen, Germany.
Waugh, who runs the Andy Waugh Yacht Design firm, said the owner’s suite could be 20 meters wide, 30 meters long and have a ceiling height of three meters.
The design has built-in capacity for two 14 m (46 ft) yacht tenders that can be used as ‘luxury shuttles to shore’
The catamaran, which is currently just a concept, is believed to take three to four years to complete
Andy Waugh previously studied at the prestigious Transport Design course at Coventry University