Not just the largest motoryacht to date for Heesen Yachts, this 55-meter (180-footer) is one of the most technologically advanced projects ever undertaken by the Dutch builder. Built entirely of aluminum, she’ll meet ABS @ A1 Yachting Service AMS Class and Large Commercial Yacht Code LY2 (MCA) requirements. That means she’ll have five watertight compartments in her hull to ensure stability in case of damage, meet stringent fire-suppression standards (including fire-resistant materials in bulkheads, doors, and stairways), provide a safe means of escape from all occupied spaces, and meet a host of other safety requirements.
Illustration: Bruce Alderson
Heesen 55-Meter
She will also feature a comprehensive electronic monitoring, alarm, and control system, based on a Local Area Network with a series of touch-screens and video monitors throughout her rooms. (There’s also a state-of-the-art, video-on-demand entertainment system.) To ensure quiet comfort underway, her design employs an arsenal of techniques to minimize sound and vibration. And to achieve comfort at anchor, she’ll be fitted with a zero-speed roll-stabilization system.
Notwithstanding all of her safety, comfort, and convenience features, her hard-chine, semidisplacement hull is predicted to deliver a spirited 24-knot top speed and a 22-knot cruise speed. For more leisurely voyaging, her estimated range is about 4,500 nautical miles at 12 knots, more than enough for transatlantic crossings on her own bottom. Of course, to achieve that range, she carries a prodigious 33,000 gallons of fuel.
Owner’s accommodations are always impressive on yachts of this size, but this 55-meter offers some unusual twists. For starters, as if a nearly 1,000-square-foot suite isn’t big enough, a section of the starboard side folds down to form a balcony. And while the sleeping area is rather modest, the suite includes a large sitting area, a study, two oversize walk-in closets, and an en suite head nearly as roomy as one of the four guest staterooms on the lower deck. Not to be overlooked is the main-deck VIP suite; it’s really a double stateroom, with two sleeping areas (each with their own en suite facilities) flanking a passageway leading aft from the master suite.
For more information on Heesen Yachts, including contact information, click here.
Specifications
- Builder: Heesen
- Boat Type: Megayacht (> 80′)
- LOA: 180’5″
- Draft: 9’10”
- Beam: 32’6″
- Weight: 992,000 lbs.
- Fuel Capacity: 33,000 gal.
- Water Capacity: 7,925 gal.
- Standard Power: 2/5,550-hp MTU 16V 595 TE90 diesel inboards
- Top Speed: 24 knots
- Cruise Speed: 22 knots
- Construction: aluminum hull and superstructure
- Designed By: Heesen Yachts/Omega Architects
- Interior Design: Larvor Interior Design
This article originally appeared in the October 2007 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
