alu expedition yacht

EXPLORING ULTIMATE LOCATIONS IN STYLE

The extreme exploration superyachts by naval yachts.

NAVAL SERIES

GREENAVAL 60

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eXtreme eXploration Passage Maker

WHY NAVAL YACHTS?

FEATURES OF OUR YACHTS

WHERE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE

Aluminum explorer & expedition yachts, exploring boundless horizons with aluminum explorer & expedition yachts.

At Naval Yachts , we specialize in crafting aluminum or steel vessels designed for long-range journeys, unmatched durability, and eco-friendly performance. Our commitment to reducing maintenance while maximizing adventures sets us apart. Our yachts are built with aluminum or steel for strength and corrosion resistance, ensuring resilience in any environment. They're engineered for fuel efficiency without compromising power and require minimal upkeep, allowing you to focus on exploring the world's most remote corners. Join us to redefine exploration, embark on unforgettable journeys, and create lasting memories with Aluminum Explorer & Expedition Yachts . Naval Yachts Passage Maker Yachts offer a unique "passage maker" experience in the explorer and expedition yacht categories.

Aluminum Strength

With the up front caveat that there is no one “best” material to use when building a boat as they all have their own lists of pros and cons, when you set about building a boat to take on the extremes that Mother Nature can throw at you when crossing the world’s oceans “short handed” with just 1 or 2 people and doing so with the highest safety and comfort, the choice becomes more clear. As with many other choices when designing and building such a boat, this is an extremely personal decision and what counts the most is that YOU have the highest possible confidence in your choice and can set to sea knowing that your boat will be able to endure much more than you.

The reasons of choosing aluminium as your hull material

Fuel Efficiency

Fuel efficiency has become one of the most important subject for boat owners and sailors not only because of high expenses but also they pay attention to the environment and nature. Naval Yachts sees these facts and concentrates in new Technologies and engineered studies together with the technical universities and institutions to find and offer solutions.

We use aluminum. A superior material. Light and 100% recyclable. ( Aluminium Yachts )

We have hybrid solutions in powertrain. We have serial hybrid boats launched already with the latest technology.

We use light materials in interior. We make our calculations to reach a light but stable boat in the end.

We design and use the most efficient hull forms in order to get best results with minimum water resistance under the waterline.

Earth is a great planet to discover and experience on a boat. As long as you can. As the sailors would like to discover and see more places, they need enough speed, consume less and bigger fuel tanks.

Our boats can give the chance the sailors to cruise faster and longer without refueling.

Long Range Yachts : Exploring the Naval Yachts XPM Series

Mission Safety / Safety First

At Naval Yachts, safety is our paramount mission. We prioritize safety first in every aspect of our aluminum yacht production. From design to construction, our unwavering commitment to ensuring the security and well-being of our passengers and crew is at the core of our values

Full Customisation

Naval Yachts is specialised in custom boat building. All our boats are unique and can not be repated because every owner has his own dream on board.

Thanks to our design and engineering team, we can make modifications easily and our experienced production and assemly team can produce and apply these modifications.

With the up front caveat that there is no one “best” material to use when building a boat as they all have their own lists of pros and cons, when you set about building a boat to take on the extremes that Mother Nature can throw at you when crossing the world’s oceans “short handed” with just 1 or 2 people and doing so with the highest safety and comfort, the choice becomes more clear.  As with many other choices when designing and building such a boat, this is an extremely personal decision and what counts the most is that YOU have the highest possible confidence in your choice and can set to sea knowing that your boat will be able to endure much more than you.

The reasons of choosing aluminium as your hull material;

• Extremely easy to work with using regularly available tools such as carbide tipped saws and router bits and to fabricate with readily available welding and bending equipment.  CNC cutting with plasma, waterjet or laser works particularly well with aluminium which allows custom designs to be as affordably built as production boats with the dramatic savings in labour time and costs.
• On a like to like boat comparison aluminum boat hulls weigh about 30% less than steel and less weight means a more easily powered hull which pays us back in reduced fuel costs for the life of the boat.
• Our previous all steel sailboat taught us the valuable lesson that robustly built metal boats do not flex or move under the stress and strain of the seas and everything and everyone onboard benefits from boat parts that stay water tight because they don’t move and from the quiet of cabinetry that isn’t being flexed.
• eXtremely low exterior maintenance time and costs when left unpainted down to the waterline as we will do.  Left unpainted, bare aluminium quickly forms a hard outer layer of aluminium oxide which prevents any corrosion which will be a major cost savings throughout the life of the boat.
• Highest strength to weight ratio of any boat building material other than composites.
• Future modifications or repairs of damaged parts of the hull can be easily done with either onboard equipment if you know how to weld or by pretty much any welders you will find in any country.
• While steel may have higher puncture resistance in some situations, aluminium is the most pliable and ductile of any other boat material meaning that when (never if) we hit something the aluminium will bend but not break or crack.  By using gradually thicker aluminium hull plating from the 6mm we have on our decks to ultimately 16mm below the waterline and 25mm thick at the keel our hull will most likely see us through pretty much any scenario.
• Relatively easy to control corrosion or rot compared to steel, wood, fiberglass or composites.
• Aluminium is very “transparent” in terms of letting  you see any damage that does exist as there is nothing which hides below the surface of unpainted aluminium.
• It varies somewhat between different world markets but aluminium boats tend to have a higher resale value than other materials because of all the advantages above.

We use aluminum. A superior material. Light and 100% recyclable.

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New build yachts

We are specialized in the building and finishing of aluminum custom built sailing yachts and have over 30 years experience.

Is your yacht in need of maintenance, repairs or a large refit? We’re happy to help you with it. We not only work on aluminium yachts but also on steel, polyester or even wooden yachts.

Designed by one of the world’s most legendary sailors as his private yacht. Brought to you by KM Yachtbuilders, the leading builder of aluminium expedition yachts up to 100ft.

We are KM Yachtbuilders

We build aluminium yachts. Starting out with three people and about as many yachts. A few decades later we are a team of 45 with more than 100 builds under our belt and our yachts are sailing the seven seas from pole to pole.

BOOT Düsseldorf

Get ready to experience the world’s largest indoor water sports show and explore the latest in boat technology, equipment and accessories. From sailboats to motor yachts, stand-up paddling […]

Choose your destination, comfortably go wherever you want to go.

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A custom built yacht is a journey in itself. Every customer comes with their own set of demands that depend on the purpose of the boat. Decades of experience, teamwork and a profound love of our craft help us to always come up with solutions for the most challenging demands.

Bestevaer yachts

Bestevaer s/y, bestevaer m/y, custom bestevaer 1/1, the world's finest explorer yachts., become part of the km family.

Our team is always ready to assist our yacht owners with advice and assistance in the event of contingencies.

Explore Bestevaer yachts

Designed by one of the world’s most legendary sailors as his private yacht. Brought to you by KM Yachtbuilders.

Professional BoatBuilder Magazine

An aluminum expedition catamaran.

By Dieter Loibner , Apr 5, 2022

With 110′ LOA, a 35′ beam, and 45′ (33.5m, 10.6m, and 13.7m) of bridge clearance, the H-2 catamaran seeks to make a case for U.S. custom boatbuilding.

Hauling toys beyond the horizon is the raison d’être for a rugged go-anywhere catamaran designed and built in the U.S., a notable exception in the world of big yacht projects.

Gunboat might have left town, but there’s another big catamaran under construction in its old facility in Wanchese, North Carolina. It’s called H-2 , short for Hippocampus 2 , a stout 110-footer (33.5m) that liberally and intentionally quotes from the expedition/workboat vernacular. It’s built from aluminum and was conceived to go to the back of the beyond, where adventure beckons and Vessel Assist doesn’t operate. Aside from commodious and cushy accommodations, the boat offers grid autonomy, ocean-crossing range, and cargo capacity to match the mission of hauling a 26 ‘ (7.92m) tender, a 17 ‘ (5.8m) skiff, a two-person submarine, a four-seat ATV on the main deck, and a small helicopter on the flight deck aft.

The boat was commissioned by Brian Schmitt, 67, a real  estate executive in the Florida Keys, who pilots his own plane to commute to the Bahamas, where he keeps Hippocampus , his current 57 ‘ (17.37m) cold-molded wood/epoxy catamaran. I asked him about the jump from 57 ‘ to 110 ‘ . “I never thought I’d have the ability to do that in my own boat until probably the last few years,” he replied, adding that “it would be 120 ‘ [36.58m] if I had to do it today.”

Its predecessor, Hippocampus, built in wood/epoxy, was launched in 2003. At 57′ (17.37m), it is about half as long as H-2, but with 22,500 miles under its keels, it was a useful starting point for designing the new vessel.

Wearing shorts and a shirt with the new boat’s name and logo to our meeting, Schmitt talked openly about his project, which he manages as attentively as his real estate brokerage with 130 agents. Communication is his thing, responding to e-mail questions in near real time (in ALL CAPS) and talking to contractors directly. No project manager.

A passionate diver who habitually explores remote and exotic locales, Schmitt said he was happy with the first Hippocampus , which has three staterooms and cruises at 15 knots on twin 370-hp Yanmars. “It was the vehicle that got our 17 ‘ tender wherever we needed it.” But running the little boat 60 or 70 miles a day lost its charm. “One of the things I wanted was a twin-engine tender that would have more room for dive gear. That ended up being a 26 ‘ Calcutta, so I needed a bigger mother ship.”

With accelerating climate change, the carbon footprint of ships and large yachts is under scrutiny, but hydrocarbons still win when speed, range, and payloads are priorities. While H-2 doesn’t break the mold there, Schmitt pointed to the project’s virtues as a U.S. domestic build. “You can’t complain about global warming when you’re flying around in your G500 jet that’s contributing more CO2 emissions than anybody else in the world,” he said. “You can’t complain about all the boats being built in Germany, The Netherlands, and Italy, and then go buy a boat [there].” Schmidt wanted to build locally, keeping jobs and money in the U.S. Besides, he noted, this approach simplified communications and enabled him to personally check on progress during COVID. Perhaps most importantly, he could pick a team of trusted and compatible mates to turn his dream into a boat.

The vast build hall left vacant when Gunboat left Wanchese, North Carolina.

He selected John Marples, a fellow pilot, inventor, and multihull specialist for the design and Felix Herrin to build H-2 . Both men had worked for him on Hippocampus , and their familiarity helped when meeting today’s challenges, such as damaging trade tariffs that drove up aluminum prices, and a pandemic that killed millions, wreaked havoc on global supply chains, and caused labor shortages in industrial sectors. These factors have conspired to delay H-2 ’s launching by roughly two years and counting.

Advantage Aluminum

A key decision early on was to build in aluminum, which promised a robust structure but required extra steps to deal with corrosion and noise mitigation. “Construction was reduced to something simple—a V-bottom deadrise model, stretched out,” Marples explained. “There wasn’t any benefit to round bilges on an aluminum boat. You’d have to add internal structure to support the flat panels, and it drives the cost and difficulty of construction way up. We’re talking about a speed-to-length ratio of 2 or less, which is not a big deal. His current boat would do a speed/length of about 3, so the extra length means that you’re never really pushing the boat that hard, so shape was not a huge consideration.”

Marples and Herrin go back at least three decades to their mutual acquaintance with naval architect and boatbuilder Dave Dana, who assisted Marples with the hull design for Admiral Pete , a catamaran passenger ferry still serving Puget Sound. Herrin works with different construction materials, but having built crew boats for Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) at Sea Force in Palmetto, Florida, he has spent considerable time with aluminum.

Taking a break during IBEX 2021 are builder Felix Herrin (left) and owner Brian Schmitt. H-2 is their second joint project with designer John Marples.

The structural components on H-2 are 5083-H32 alloy aluminum plate and extrusions of 6061-T6 alloy. Scantlings, materials, and weldment comply with the American Bureau of Shipping’s (ABS) 2016 design guidelines for pleasure motoryachts. Hulls and wing structures have transverse frames and bulkheads spaced on 36 “ (0.91m) centers. Those frames are supported by substantial centerline vertical keels (CVKs) welded atop twin 3 “ x 8 “ (76mm x 203mm) solid extruded-aluminum-bar keels. Intermediate subframes in the forward and aftermost hull compartments strengthen the hulls for operating in ice. Schmitt indicated he wants to traverse the Northwest Passage. For the same reason, there’s 3⁄8 “ (10mm) plate running the length of the boat above and below the waterline.

The topside and underwing plating is primarily ¼ “ (6mm), with areas of 5⁄16 “ (8mm) to strengthen slamming zones in the bow. The main deck plating is also 1/4 “ while the foredeck plate is specified at 5⁄16 “ . The bottom plating is 5⁄16 “ in the aft two-thirds of the hull and 3⁄8 “ forward. “We built all the frames and bulkheads first, then scarfed together the keel sections [and] lined those up on the bunks that we built on,” Herrin explained. “We welded the CVK on top of the keel, then started installing frames.”

Hulls and wing structure have transverse frames and bulkheads on 36″ (0.91m) centers. The hulls are supported by centerline vertical keels.

Herrin said he changed aluminum suppliers midway through the project, sourcing from Bayou Metal Supply , an ISO 9001:2015–certified distributor in Slidell, Louisiana. “We sourced the material from Greece and from domestic suppliers,” said Taylor Smith, who handles Bayou’s sales. Tariffs, he said, did not slow down business much, but the aluminum cost more. “Felix sent cut files. We had the material in inventory, we cut it, processed it on a router, and shipped it on time. Everything flowed well.”

Naval and structural engineering and detailing was contracted out to Van Gorkom Yacht Design in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. “My first responsibility was looking at structures,” Geoff Van Gorkom said. “Given that this is an aluminum yacht, we can do literally all the structures in 3D and have all the metalwork precut before it came into the yard. All the frames and longitudinals and all the primary structure were precut, which saved huge amounts of time.” Van Gorkom said he uses Rhino 3D and some of the numerous modules such as Orca 3D for hydrostatics and hydrodynamics, and 2D AutoCAD to produce construction details.

Helping save time and money, 3D-modeling allowed frames, longitudinals, and the primary structure to be cut before being sent to the building site.

Van Gorkom observed that H-2 is not a fussy high-performance vessel that needs minimum weight to achieve maximum speed. Besides ABS guidelines that address torsional loads in catamaran structures, he also consulted A.L. Dinsenbacher’s paper “A Method for Estimating Loads on Catamaran Cross-Structure” ( Marine Technology , Vol. 7, No. 4, October 1970) to estimate load conditions in beam and quartering seas. “This is going to be a very stiff boat. It’s going to be a very strong boat simply because it has to be, and that was one of the criteria that Brian put out there right from the very start of the project. The boat is sturdy and stout, a strong expedition yacht.”

Van Gorkom also engineered the setup for a folding deck crane housed under a flush hatch in the helideck on the port side to launch and retrieve the two-man submarine or the ATV. “It’s basically an enclosure that opens up, so the crane extends out,” he explained. “It comes up on a telescoping pipe to swing out and pick up something from the side of the boat.” It required support from beams on each side of the crane and cutting a slot in the helideck for the lifting bridle so the loads can move inboard or outboard. On the starboard side, the 5,500-lb (2,492-kg) Calcutta tender is an even heavier load moved by twin overhead beam cranes. The 17 ‘ Twin Vee is launched and retrieved from the foredeck with a 2,500-lb-capacity (1,153-kg) crane.

Catamarans are known to be weight-sensitive, so how will H-2 handle the weight of all the toys and high superstructure? The arch over the flybridge is 33 ‘ (10.05m) above waterline, Van Gorkom confirmed. “Add another 10 ‘ [3.05m] for the radar, mast, etc., so a comfortable bridge clearance would be around 45 ‘ [13.7m].” Marples conferred with Van Gorkom about the effect of the added weight on the center of gravity, which was deemed “almost imperceptible,” Marples remembered. A quick calculation suggests that a 5,500-lb deck load is equal to only 1.57% of a full-load displacement given as 350,000 lbs (158,550 kg).

High Power, Low Noise

Van Gorkom hired engineers at HydroComp to evaluate the design’s hydrodynamics and propulsion systems, including the influence of hull-shape parameters and demi-hull spacing on resistance. HydroComp also offered a speed-power prediction to aid with engine selection and recommended optimum shaft rpm and propeller parameters. Technical director Donald MacPherson, who prepared the report, outlined the process and findings: “Particularly interesting for this project was the use of its novel analytical distributed volume method [ADVM] for the vessel’s resistance modeling. This 2D technique (between parametric methods and CFD) uniquely allows for assessment of the influence of local sectional area curve regions (such as ‘shoulders’ or inflections) in wave-making drag. It also directly evaluates the effects of catamaran hull spacing.” HydroComp helped optimize the hulls by identifying the regions that contribute most to wave-making drag, and securing a 3% reduction in total drag at the design speed by making what MacPherson called “very minor changes to the immersed volume distribution.”

Rob Ayers works on the installation of the starboard engine’s Evolution Marine Shaft System that will be fitted with a 36″ (0.91m) five-blade propeller.

That simulation was mapped to benchmark performances of four similar catamarans, and the process was run for two design variants, followed by a propulsion simulation for partial-load conditions. The hull-spacing study concluded that the originally designed 35 ‘ (10.7m) beam remained suitable despite the boat being 20 ‘ (6.1m) longer than originally drawn. The chosen propulsion system comprises two MTU 10V 2000 M96, 1505-mhp diesels with ZF 3000 flange-mounted marine gears, providing an estimated top-speed range of 20–22 knots, cruising speeds of 12–15 knots, and 10–13 knots for long-range voyaging. Actual performance will be established during sea trials.

The recommended propeller specifications developed by HydroComp were for five-blade models with 36 “ dia­meters. HydroComp applied Prop­Elements, a wake-adapted propeller-analysis tool, to determine the advisability of installing a nozzle or shroud to restrict transmission of pressure pulses to the hull and to create a more uniform inflow. This would reduce interior noise but would increase appendage drag and power demand. Schmitt said he will wait to see if cavitation or prop noise is an issue before making a final decision.

He invested heavily in noise and vibration mitigation, knowing that an aluminum boat won’t provide the natural sound-dampening of a wood/epoxy structure like that of his first Hippocampus . Consulting with Soundown of Salem, Massachusetts, Schmitt wanted to replicate what worked well on his old boat, starting with the Evolution Marine Shaft System, in which the prop shaft runs in an oil-filled tube and uses roller and needle bearings instead of standard water-lubricated bearings. “You have a lot less shaft noise, but one of the primary benefits of an integral thrust bearing is that it transmits all the thrust directly into the hull, as opposed to pushing on the gearbox or the engine and gearbox combination,” said Sam Smullin, Soundown’s marketing and quality assurance manager. “It allows for a much softer engine mounting, so you reduce the noise from the shaft itself and get a much quieter engine installation, which reduces structure-borne noise.” Because of the relative weight sensitivity of catamarans, Smullin said, “it’s particularly important to do a really good job on the driveline.” His father, Joseph Smullin, president of Soundown and J&A Enterprises Inc., an engineering firm for noise and vibration control, estimated that this could reduce driveline noise levels by 5 dBA to 10 dBA compared to a conventional system.

Clemente Perez, one of Herrin’s build crew, works on the interior. The extensive sound and thermal insulation includes foam sprayed into the cavities.

Soundown also looked at the two 38-kW Northern Lights gensets, which have double-isolation mounts to reduce structure-borne noise. The firm also recommended structural changes to ensure that the mount foundations were as stiff as possible.

Energy from propulsion or generator engines invariably transmits to the boat structure and then resonates through big, flat panels like bulkheads, decks, ceilings, and liners, causing the familiar vibrating rattle. To dampen those vibrations, Herrin said he used Roxul, a lightweight, semi-rigid stone-wool insulation for fire resistance and sound control. His crew also sprayed cavities with Dow Froth-Pak, a quick-cure polyurethane foam for thermal insulation, and installed Sylomer (a microcellular PUR-elastomer) between the structural components and the floors, walls, and panels. “We glued the Sylomer, which is kind of a spongy foam, to the structure of the boat, and then the plywood of the subfloors and walls are glued to that,” Herrin explained, adding that this created a floating interior without any fasteners.

The plywood, called QuietCore, is a composite sandwich panel comprising marine plywood skins and an acoustic damping layer that converts acoustic energy into small amounts of heat that are dissipated. Soundown claims that an 18mm (0.7 “ ) QuietCore bulkhead can reduce noise transmission by up to 10 dBA, an audible reduction 50% greater than with regular marine plywood of equal thickness.

Electricity for a Small Town

Going off grid on H-2 does not mean anyone will suffer, as long as the electrical system keeps powering the boat’s myriad house loads—hydraulic Maxwell windlasses and thrusters; a Webasto air-conditioning system; two full-size stand-up freezers, two refrigerator freezers, and two under-counter refrigerators in the galley, all by Vitfrigo; Krüshr compactors for recyclables and garbage; Headhunter sewage-treatment system; Alfa Laval fuel-polishing system; two FCI watermakers; a complete set of Garmin navigation electronics with full redundancy; and a Böning vessel control and monitoring system.

Two Northern Lights 38-kW gensets are the heart of H-2’s AC system, which also includes a 37-kW Atlas inverter to connect to shore power in foreign ports.

Much of the AC side was designed and specified by Ward’s Marine Electric in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in cooperation with OceanPlanet Energy of Woolwich, Maine, and principal Bruce Schwab, who helped design and integrate the DC components. “Today there’s a big trend in the industry to use shore-power converters as inverters and superlarge lithium-ion battery banks to provide power, at least temporary power, for major loads like air-conditioning, chiller plants, and things like that,” said Ward Eshleman, chairman of Ward’s Marine Electric. “So, rather than using only smaller inverters and synchronizing them and stacking to get additional kW, the trend for the larger vessels is to use shore-power converters as inverters. There is an inverter bus in the main switchboard.”

True to its go-anywhere mission, H-2 was fitted with an Atlas 37-kW inverter to connect to shore power in places that do not serve 60 Hz, 240V single-phase power. “We can take anything from 90V to 400V and pretty much anything from below 50 Hz to the 60 Hz and single- or three-phase,” Herrin explained.

Eight GTX24V315A-F24 lithium-ion batteries from Lithionics are split between a house bank that can run all DC loads for at least 24 hours, and an emergency bank to operate critical DC loads—display screens, radios, nav lights—for 24 hours. The boat is equipped with 10 Solara Ultra-S 160W panels paralleled in two groups of five each, connected to two Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/50 solar controllers to charge the house bank. Given enough sunshine, solar and battery power should be “capable of running lights and refrigeration but not air-conditioning or heating,” Schmitt said. “Since we will likely spend most of our time in the tropics, we did not believe that solar power alone could do the job we needed.”

OceanPlanet Energy specified four Victron Buck-Boost DC-DC converters, two for each engine, to help charge the house bank from the starter batteries without having to modify the engines’ stock alternators, which would have voided the warranty. “The converters activate based on the input voltage from the starting batteries,” Schwab explained. “With lower rpm, the alternators would not produce enough current to feed both converters without the starting-battery voltage dropping, turning the converters off. Then the voltage will rise, the converters turn on again, drop the voltage, turn off…over and over. Staggering the input voltage cut-in, hopefully starting the converters one at a time, will more smoothly supply power to the house bank across the engine/alternator rpm range.”

OceanPlanet Energy specified the DC system including DC/DC converters and hefty battery banks to power house loads and critical electronics.

There are two 4,500-watt 240V split-phase engineroom-ventilation fans connected to two Victron Quattro 5-kW 24V inverter-chargers configured for 240V/120V split-phase AC loads. They can accept AC inputs from two sources (shore power or generators) and automatically connect to the available source. “In the event of a grid failure or power disconnect, they take over the supply to the connected AC loads by inverting from the Lithionics house-battery bank,” Schwab said.

“It’s more complicated than that,” according to Herrin. “Typically, we’re going to be operating with the A-bus and the B-bus tied together, so we can power everything with one generator. The B-bus actually passes current through the Victron inverter-chargers on its way to the load. We have the ability to split the A-bus and the B-bus and run the A-bus on one generator and the B-bus on the other in the few instances we’re exceeding the capacity of one of the generators. If we lose both generators, then the essential loads are still going to be carried,” meaning engine vents or water pumps.

Redundancy and emergency backups also figured largely in the deliberations of John McKay, manager of the Switchgear Systems Division at Ward’s Marine Electric and point man for this project.

One of his challenges was limiting the voltage drop in the estimated 53 ‘ (16.2m) cable run between engines, which in an emergency allows the starboard engine to be started from the port battery and vice versa. “For a starter group, you can allow a 20% voltage drop,” McKay said and noted that starting the engines requires 720 amps, while the gensets needed only 200 amps. “I was keeping the 720-amp current between 7% and 11% voltage drop, getting up to some pretty good-sized copper. Some sections of the run were 240mm2 [500MCM] cable.” Knowing that the boat is capable of going to high latitudes, McKay recalled his youth and the frigid winter mornings in Massachusetts, “where you can crank a diesel all day long at a low rpm, and it’ll never start. You just need to turn it over one or two times at a higher rpm, and it’ll be running. So, I was making certain that the starter was going to crank at the highest rpm possible and not lose it all to voltage drop.”

Protecting Assets and Finishing the Job

No matter how fast or how far H-2 will travel, corrosion caused by galvanic current between dissimilar metals, by stray currents or by electric fault, is an enemy that needs to be kept in check. That’s the calling of Ted Schwartz, who runs Electro-Guard (Mount Shasta, California). He’s one of the country’s foremost experts on cathodic protection, and also served on ABYC’s E2 Cathodic Protection Project Technical Committee.

“We designed the system and supplied all the equipment and steered them through the installation,” Schwartz said. It’s a 15-amp impressed-current-cathodic-protection (ICCP) system, model 715 A-2, with three anodes and two reference cells. Regarding the boat’s Evolution shaft system with driveshafts running inside an oil-filled tube, Schwartz said: “It was a real challenge because you can’t actually make contact with the propeller shaft on the inside of the boat.” He consulted with Soundown and found a solution. “At the coupling on the inboard end of the tube, a bit of the shaft stuck out through the seal,” Swartz said. “There’s this coupling that Soundown built that fastens to the shaft, and we asked them to provide a surface on that coupling where we could put our silver slip rings on [to provide an electrical connection] to protect props and shafts.”

Every anode can deliver up to 5 amps of current using its own current controller that receives a signal from the main controller, which determines exactly how much current each anode will put out. The entire system consists of three anodes, three current controllers, the main controller, and a separate monitoring station connected to the controller by signal cable. Later, Schmitt also ordered a backup system employing aluminum sacrificial anodes.

On catamarans, the company installs a reference cell aft near the prop of each hull, and an anode on the aft section of each hull, and one anode amidships on the inboard side on one hull.

Chromate, two layers of epoxy, copious amounts of fairing compound, and various primers rendered the surface fair and ready for a yacht-quality paint job.

At the time of this writing, the vessel had been shot with chromate and two layers of epoxy before approximately 500 gal (1,893 l) of fairing compound and 325 gal (1,230 l) of various primers rendered the surface fair and ready for a yacht-quality Alexseal paint job with 35 gal (132.5 l) light ivory, 24 gal (91 gal) stark white, and 2 gal (7.6 l) cordovan gold. Parallel to the exterior, construction was on the home stretch with installation of the crew quarters and the saloon overhead. On the systems side, pressure checks were performed for hydraulics and plumbing.

Since H-2 is a much larger and more complex vessel than the original Hippocampus , with a multitude of systems that need to be managed, monitored, and maintained, I was curious how many crew Schmitt was planning to hire to help run his new boat. He said he consulted with captains and headhunters, and “the consensus is three or possibly four at most. I just completed my 100-Ton Masters and will build time on the new boat as well. We won’t charter and are not accustomed to being cooked for or served or having our beds made and all that. So mostly I’m looking for a qualified captain and engineer to maintain the systems.”

Little surprise that a hands-on operator like Schmitt does not want to cede too much of the game he loves to play. But as big, bold, and broad-shouldered as H-2 will be when she finally emerges from the old Gunboat shed in Wanchese, the proud owner is quick to remind anyone that it’s still “a vehicle to get the toys wherever.”

H-2 : The Designer’s View

H-2 ’s owner, the adventurous Brian Schmitt, has dived into deep caves to see submerged caverns, hand-fed large sharks that would normally view him as food, and spent years in his off-time exploring Caribbean archipelagos in Hippocampus, his current 19-year-old 57 ‘ (17.4m) power catamaran. Nearing retirement age, he gave the order for his “ultimate” yacht.

The foldable hydraulic deck crane to launch and retrieve a two-man electric submarine or an all-terrain vehicle required cutting a slot in the helicopter deck for the lifting bridle.

The first talk about the new design was between the owner, the builder, and me. As we discussed the mission of the boat, it became clear that it would fall into the category of expedition vessel with more guest staterooms, more range, and more room for equipment than his old boat. Brian defined the function of the vessel as a carrier for a 26 ‘ (7.92m) twin-outboard catamaran, an outboard skiff, a small car, and a small helicopter, which needed a flight deck. This vessel was to be used with family and guests while also serving as an operations base for outbound travel by air, land, or sea.

Aside from commodious accommodations, a key requirement was comfortable motion on rough seas. This was to be a catamaran, like his current boat, which offers extensive real estate afloat in a seagoing vessel. The only restriction for the new design was a beam no greater than 35 ‘ (10.6m) to fit the largest Travelift.

The trade-off for overall beam width involves room versus roll motion. A wider catamaran responds more quickly to roll in seaways but with less amplitude, whereas a narrower beam rolls more slowly with slightly more amplitude. The slower roll is preferable as long as overall roll stability is maintained. Roll in catamarans is unlike roll in single-hulled vessels. Because the vessel is supported by two buoyancy chambers (hulls) with distance between them, motion has little to do with roll inertia, but rather with response of the hulls to the seaway. Each hull responds to a passing wave independently by heaving (up/down) and rolling, which is a circular motion around the center of gravity (CG) that translates to lateral motion when standing above the CG, especially high up on the bridge. Power catamarans, unlike sailing catamarans, do not require wide hull spacing to generate righting moment (to support a sail plan), so they can have closer hull spacing, which still preserves sufficient stability, slows wave-response roll characteristics, and takes up less space in port.

One of the expected routes for this vessel is the Northwest Passage over the top of North America. Boats venturing there can expect floating ice, so we added thicker hull plating at the waterline and an ice-separation chamber on the cooling water intakes. We also designed the hull to give the propeller protection by positioning it behind a deep canoe-stern afterbody with no exposed shaft. A rudder horn, below the propeller extending aft from the hull, adds support for the rudder and protection for the prop. This configuration is useful as a hedge against the possibility of grounding. In fact, this boat can be careened on the beach between tides if necessary for repairs. The hull includes a strong, deep, vertical keel structure that allows for blocking anywhere along its length.

Speed and range became the largest determinates of the design. A maximum range of 4,000 miles at 15 knots (enough to cross the Atlantic Ocean) was proposed. Catamarans are easily driven at modest speeds due to lack of significant wave resistance by narrow hulls. A preliminary speed prediction analysis showed that we would be in the ballpark with about 1,400 hp (1,050 kW) and 5,000 gal (18,925 l) of diesel per hull. The final installed fuel capacity is 12,500 gal (47,313 l).

The general arrangement plan shows crew quarters in the hulls, three guest cabins, office, saloon, and galley on the main deck and owner’s suite on the bridge deck level.

A totally new design normally goes through a lengthy proposal and critique cycle between designer and client, especially if the client is knowledgeable and involved. The vessel’s first iteration started at 90 ‘ (27.43m) LOA, but it became evident that it needed more length to relieve a number of ills. After adding 10 ‘ (3.05m) we saw improvements, but it wasn’t until the 110 ‘ (33.5m) length proposal that we felt all the requirements had been satisfied: more slender hull shape, more open interior space, and better placement of machinery and tankage. The flight deck for the helicopter became larger, and the forward superstructure fairings gave the boat a sleeker look. And at 110 ‘ we achieved an efficient length versus waterline beam ratio that reduced wave drag and fuel consumption at the target cruise speed.

While beam remained at 35 ‘ , lightship displacement increased significantly to 230,000 lbs (104,190 kg). Accommodations now include crew quarters for four persons in the bows; three double guest cabins and a ship’s office forward; a large saloon amidships with adjacent galley, and a dive and a storage locker aft on the main deck. The upper deck is arranged with a full-width-bridge steering station forward, protected by a Portuguese bridge, and a master stateroom with en suite bathroom aft. The flight deck extends aft of the master stateroom. Access to the upper deck is by either a staircase from the foredeck, an interior staircase adjacent to the ship’s office, or by stairs from the starboard side deck.

The largest variable weight on the boat is fuel, so the tankage is located amidships to minimize its influence on trim. Engine and machinery rooms aft of the tankage take up the remaining spaces all the way to the transoms. Other amenities include a utility area aft of the crew quarters port side with storage and washing machines, and a walkway through the tank spaces and enginerooms to the boarding decks at each transom. Another late addition is the flying bridge to aid with shallow-water operation by improving the vantage point to see coral heads and other obstructions. Its protective bimini serves as a mounting platform for lights and antennae.

—John R. Marples

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Alubat [al.u.bat] noun | Aluminium Bateau | Aluminum Boat

Open House at Alubat

Join us at the Alubat boatyard in Les Sables d’Olonne, France for our Open House this coming May 31 to June 1 and get on board a new OVNI 370 and OVNI 430.

Amazing 43-ft Aluminum Sailboat

Full-time cruisers Roberta and Duca stopped by to visit us during the La Rochelle Boat Show for a tour of the NEW Ovni 430.

The ‘Small’ Huge Sailboat

Tour of the new Ovni 370 with Duca and Roberta on their YouTube channel Odd Life Crafting.

Aluminum Sailboat Misconceptions

“I have a friend, who knows a guy, who has a cousin, that bought an aluminum boat, and after a week in the marina the bottom fell out of her”.

Alubat Pricing

How Much Does a Well-Equipped Alubat Ovni Cost? Find out how we price the Ovni range of aluminum sailboats for the serious off-shore cruiser.

OVNI 490 Preview

The 490 shares some of the hallmarks of the Ovni range: shaft drive, full sailplan, centerboard, and spacious interior with a raised salon layout.

50 years of sailing excellence!

FIGARO nautisme | by François Tregouet

Half a century old and still thriving, Alubat, the Vendée-based shipyard, is not content with just being one of the world’s benchmarks in ocean cruising with its iconic Ovni yachts. Instead, with the enthusiasm of youth, it is preparing to launch three new monohulls over the next two years.

Link to read article [PDF]

STRENGTH ACROSS THE FULL RANGE OF ALUBAT SAILBOATS

The new generation OVNI 370 with an inverted bow for improved performance and expanded the interior volume.

The new generation OVNI 430 with an inverted bow for improved performance and expanded the interior volume.

The OVNI 450 stands out from the OVNI range and maintains a traditional cabin top styling.

What sets the OVNI 490 apart are the protected pilot house and twin engines. 

Designing and building aluminum boats for blue water sailing. ​

The  Alubat shipyard  has been designing and building aluminum boats for blue water sailing since 1973. With more than 1,600 yachts built and with 50 years of expertise in metal work and carpentry, Alubat has unparalleled experience in the aluminum sailboat market.

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By having the ability to beach your boat, inspecting and servicing your yacht becomes less daunting than having to haul out.

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Go places where other sailboats can't.

Centerboard advantages, navigate shallow water.

From the turquoise waters of the Bahamas to the Alaskan ice fields, a lifting keel gives you the peace of mind to navigate in shallow water. 

The centerboard doesn’t sacrifice performance or safety, in fact, it can enhance performance when it comes to downwind sailing. 

Another advantage of a centerboard is the expanded possibilities to find docking in marinas that would otherwise be too shallow for a fixed keel sailboat.

Without the limitations of fixed keel boats, your cruising opportunities can take you through the maze of Europe’s ancient canals and the historic North American waterways.

The centerboard can be lifted manually or by using a hydraulic system.

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My Cruiser Life Magazine

Aluminum Sailboat – The Ultimate Expedition Yacht?

Love them or hate them, aluminum sailboats are an excellent option for serious blue water cruising. They’re robust and sturdy and can come out of a scrap saying, “But you should see the other guy!”

Table of Contents

Advantages of aluminum sailboats, aluminum hull sailboat disadvantages, alubat ovni, garcia yachts, van de stadt, is an aluminum blue water sailboat right for you, faqs (frequently asked questions), why an aluminum sailboat.

In one particular niche of the sailboat industry, aluminum is all the rage. They certainly aren’t every man’s boat. Aluminum sailboats are reserved for high-end expedition-level long-distance cruising.

These boats are literally made to go anywhere and do anything. They’re practically indestructible, and they perform well. They can do things that make fiberglass boat owners fear for their gelcoat finish . Beach themselves on rocky shorelines? No problem. High latitude sailing while dodging icebergs? Sounds like part of a perfect cruise for an aluminum sailboat.

While browsing some of the aluminum sailboat manufacturers listed below, you’ll notice that many of these vessels look alike. They’re built for a similar purpose, after all. They are not charter boats going to the Caribbean—they are expedition yachts serving live aboard cruising couples.

These boats probably benefit from their limited market share. Their extra cost means that the makers don’t spend time marketing their boats to other buyers. The result is a sailing yacht that’s hyper-targeted to the task at hand—long-distance and long-term cruising.

Nearly all of these boats fall between 30 and 60 feet long, and nearly all of them are appointed for blue water cruising for a couple. In addition, more and more makers are branching into the multihull market, with several new aluminum catamarans coming out soon.

Once you start researching these boats and understanding the mission they’re designed for, their utility and robustness are apparent. For an owner who wants a worry-free vessel that can take on any challenge, it’s hard to beat an aluminum sailboat.

Here’s a list of just a few advantages of aluminum sailboats.

• Lighter than other sailboat materials
• Strong and difficult to damage, won’t crack
• Lifetime hull warranty possible
• Doesn’t need painting or top-coating
• Impervious to water—no blisters
• Doesn’t rust like steel
• More space down below
• Many are designed to dry out or sit on the bottom

Lightweight Material

Aluminum is used in many applications. Most aircraft are made of aluminum, so it is obviously lightweight and strong. It’s easy to machine into complex shapes and curves, and modern welding techniques mean it can be put together into a completely smooth surface.

Compared to other boat-building options, it is much stronger and thinner than fiberglass. It is lighter than wood, too. Compared to other metals, it is lighter than steel and does not rust.

The number one advantage of a metal boat is that it is strong. If your boat is made of metal, you don’t worry about scraping a dock or even bumping a rock. Gelcoat scratches and chips are a thing of the past. 

Metal boats are difficult to damage and won’t crack during an impact. In the worst case, it’s most likely that it will dent. Therefore, a hull breach is extremely unlikely. 

Compare this to the ubiquitous fiberglass boat, and the difference is stunning. Fiberglass is, by comparison, fragile. An impact with a sea buoy or a dock piling can easily cause cracking and severe damage to a GRP hull. These things are just in a day’s work for an aluminum hull.

Lifetime Hull Warranty Possible

The best aluminum sailboat makers can offer lifetime hull warranties. They put the time and effort into making their boats last a lifetime, and they will stand by that commitment.

No Painting

Love it or hate it, aluminum boats fare best without paint. Over time, the paint will bubble and chip away, so adding paint adds maintenance. As a result, most owners leave their aluminum hulls bare.

Impervious to Water

The fear of every fiberglass boat owner is the dreaded osmotic blister. These blisters form on the bottom of the boat and occur when water seeps into the fiberglass laminates. Of course, it’s not the end of the world, and they can be repaired and are preventable. But aluminum boats have no blisters—the metal is entirely impervious to water.

Doesn’t Rust

The other common option for vessels is steel. But unlike steel, these boats don’t rust. This is why they don’t have to be painted.

More Space Down Below

Compared to similar-sized fiberglass yachts, a boat will have more space down below. Since the hulls and bulkheads are thinner, they leave more space for storage and furniture. It might sound like a minor thing, but on a 30 or 35-foot sailing yacht, a few extra inches on each side of the cabin makes a huge difference.

Shallow Draft and Safe to Dry Out

Many of these designs are made to go absolutely anywhere. As such, shallow draft is a desirable feature—and one not often found on ocean-going blue water sailboats . Quite a few of these boats, particularly the French aluminum sailboats, have swing keel designs for getting in and out of skinny water.

For these boats, another great feature is the ability to dry out on their keel and remain upright. For areas with big tidal swings, this means access to harbors that dry on the outgoing tide. It also means easy access to haul-out facilities for repairs—just find a comfortable sandbar and do what you have to do.

Related: Best Trailerable Sailboats

If aluminum is so grand, why aren’t all sailboats made of it? Unfortunately, for as many pluses as these boats have, there are negatives as well. All boats are a compromise, so for all the benefits, you will have to give something up while you drive your boat around the boating world .

Here’s a list of a few disadvantages to owning an aluminum sailboat.

• More expensive to make and purchase
• Extreme care must be taken to avoid dissimilar metals penny in the bilge etc
• Subject to corrosion
• Harder to add deck fittings
• Repairs require specialized welding techniques expensive
• More difficult to apply anti-fouling paints
• Thinner hulls mean noisier rides and harder to heat and cool insulation is key
• Problems with weak welds
• Rare finds on the used market
• Custom one-off builds have the unpredictable build quality and resale value

More Expensive

Everything about an aluminum sailboat is more expensive. For the manufacturer, materials, labor, and construction time increase costs which they pay particular attention to. These are passed on to the buyer, so aluminum sailboats are nearly always more expensive than a comparable fiberglass yacht.

Dissimilar Metal Corrosion

Aluminum is more or less indestructible, with a few exceptions. What you get in protection from the elements and sturdiness at sea you pay for in routine maintenance and upgrades.

Aluminum quickly corrodes when it comes in contact with other metals. If you look at the aluminum mast of the typical sailboat, you’ll find corrosion around practically every stainless fastener. You must take extreme care to avoid dissimilar metals in a metal boat, where every attachment point and accessory presents the possibility of dissimilar metal corrosion.

Stories abound of people who have dropped pennies or batteries in the bilge only to find a hole corroded through the boat. To some extent, these problems are hyped up a little bit too much, but there is no denying that the danger is real.

Subject to Corrosion

While on the subject of corrosion, dissimilar metals are only one possible cause. Aluminum yachts must also be extremely careful of galvanic and electrolytic corrosion. So, in addition, you must take care that the boat’s electrical system does not introduce any stray DC currents. The same may be said of marinas and shore power connections, which can also introduce problems.

Harder to Add Deck Fittings

The risk of corrosion and damage to the aluminum hull and superstructure means that accessories or deck hardware are more difficult to add on. Generally speaking, drilling holes and bolting on new doodads is a straightforward task on a fiberglass boat. In the end, what matters is that it is sealed well enough not to allow water into the deck coring or the hull itself.

With these boats, things are a bit trickier. Owners are understandably more hesitant to go drilling holes in their expensive boats because holes are much harder to repair. Furthermore, unless all new hardware is made from aluminum, care must be taken to keep the two metals from touching. This might mean painting the metals or adding an extra layer of an insulator.

Difficult Repairs

Repairs to an aluminum boat require specialized welding techniques. It’s already boating, so the word specialized should be a warning—this isn’t going to be cheap. While you can pull into any port town in the world and find someone with fiberglass repair skills, a skilled aluminum welder might be a tougher ask. The good news is that it will need far fewer repairs throughout its lifetime.

Anti-Fouling Paint Problems

While regular boats can slap on any anti-foul that their local marine store or chandlery sells, aluminum boat owners need to be extra cautious. Like deck fittings and stray objects in the bilge can cause problems, so can the wrong paint. 

The active anti-fouling ingredient in most bottom paints is cuprous oxide. Copper reacts with aluminum and causes corrosion. So you cannot apply regular bottom paint directly to an aluminum hull. 

There are special paints that are safe for aluminum, however. It is generally believed that these formulas are at least somewhat less effective, which means you might have to reapply them more often or invest in bottom cleanings more often.

Thinner Hull Skin

For the same strength, aluminum is much thinner than other boat-building materials. It also conducts sound well. That means you will hear wave noise and hull slap more down below.

It also means that the boats will be harder to insulate against very hot or frigid weather. Newer boats make up for this with a perfect layer of insulation all around the hull, which should fix these problems. They’re still, like all boats, subject to condensation in the winter months.

Aluminum Boat Build Quality Problems

There aren’t many aluminum yachts on the market, which means that you are more likely to come across custom, one-off boats as a buyer. These may be works of art, but you’d have to research the shipyard that built it very carefully to determine if they have experience with aluminum yachts. These one-off boats often have unpredictable build qualities and a lower resale value.

For the most part, the production boats, even if they are custom or semi-custom models, have fewer problems. But issues with weak welds do pop up from time to time.

Finally, if you’re in the market for a used aluminum sailboat, you will likely need to search for a while. There aren’t many companies making them, and only a handful are built and sold each year. They are out there, but you’re going to have a very short list of options.

For example, a quick look at Yachtworld shows that for used sailboats between 30 and 50 feet long, there are currently listed the following.

• 5,665 Fiberglass or composite boats
• 87 Aluminum
• 9 Ferro cement

Best Aluminum Sailboat Makers

The original aluminum blue water sailboat was made famous by cruising legend Jimmy Cornell. Cornell did a five-year circumnavigation on Aventura III, an Ovni 43 .

Ovnis are centerboard yachts with shallow drafts. They have distinctive double hard chines on the hull and a go-anywhere look that feels as much at home anchored in a French Polynesian lagoon as it does tie to an iceberg in Patagonia.

Ovnis are built by Alubat, a French builder of several types of aluminum boats. They are currently marketing their new aluminum catamaran Ovnicat 48 , which will turn a few heads.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hobo Sailing Boat (@hobo_sailingboat)

Garcia makes expedition yachts between 45 and 60 feet. Their Exploration range of monohulls features raised salons and sleek lines that make them look like production fiberglass boats. Their boats feature centerboards and can be dried out thanks to their protected running gear and double rudders.

Garcia also makes a catamaran, the Explorcat 52 , and one-off designs for custom clients. Garcia yachts are built in France.

Kanter is a Canadian builder of top-quality aluminum yachts, both power, sail, and commercial vessels. Their pilothouse sailboats, available in sizes from 47 to 80, are as sleek as any fiberglass boat and built to go anywhere. Several designs come from the table of yacht designer Chuck Paine. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Grabau International (@grabauyachts)

Futuna, also built in France, makes expedition monohulls between 50 and 70 feet long. Their boats tend to look more like ocean racers, with a focus on performance.

Boreal yachts are unmistakable with their half-dome-shaped dodgers. The Boreal 44 has won numerous “sailboat of the year” awards. Boreal yachts have centerboards and can be dried out.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anne G Dørum (@feelgoodbyanne)

Meta has a storied past. They built Bernard Moitessier’s Joshua , the boat made famous in the book The Long Way . Today they build semi-custom and custom aluminum blue water and expedition boats in both power and sail.

Another popular French builder of aluminum yachts is Allures yachting. Their boats are between 40 and 50 feet in length and feature a similar centerboard design as the Ovni, Boreal, and some Garcias.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Williams&SmithellsYachtBrokers (@williamssmithellsyachtbrokers)

Van de Stadt is not a boat brand but rather a famous Dutch yacht designer. Many of his plans were built in steel or aluminum, so it’s not uncommon to see Van de Stadts listed for sale.

Another famous designer of aluminum sailboats was German Kurt Reinke. Many of his boats are smaller and feature twin or bilge lifting keels.

If you’re in the market for an expedition yacht, looking at a circumnavigation, or are interested in sailing in high latitudes, an aluminum blue water sailboat is worth a look. Of course, like any yacht, they have their pluses and minus. But the peace of mind you’ll get from driving a nearly indestructible go-anywhere vessel is hard to beat.

How long do aluminum sailboats last?

If properly cared for, an aluminum sailboat has no particular lifespan. Several manufacturers offer lifetime warranties on their hulls. If the hull is well built and protected from corrosion, there is no reason that it couldn’t last forever.

What is the best material for a sailboat?

Most sailboats in the world today are built with fiberglass. It is inexpensive, easy to build with, and easy to repair. In addition, it is strong in its weight ratio and resistant to corrosion and deterioration. But unfortunately, it does not survive impacts well, and it is easily scratched or cracked by docks or rocks. Aluminum sailboats are considered much more robust. A well-built aluminum sailboat does not need to worry about getting scratched or damaged during regular use. Many sailors looking for expedition yachts consider aluminum the best material for these sailboats. Of course, each material has advantages and disadvantages.

What is the best hull material for a sailboat?

Most boats are built with fiberglass because it is generally considered the best overall value. When used to make the hull of a sailboat, it produces a rigid structure and is easy and less expensive to manufacture. However, it is protected by a delicate gelcoat layer, which will deteriorate over time. More expensive yachts favor metal construction for longevity. The best material for sailboats is aluminum, which can last forever if taken care of. It is much less likely to sustain damage like scratches or cracks than fiberglass.

Do aluminum boats last forever?

It is theoretically possible for an aluminum boat to last forever, as long as it is well cared for. Aluminum boats are sensitive to corrosion issues. But with regular maintenance, these boats can easily outlive their crews.

Matt has been boating around Florida for over 25 years in everything from small powerboats to large cruising catamarans. He currently lives aboard a 38-foot Cabo Rico sailboat with his wife Lucy and adventure dog Chelsea. Together, they cruise between winters in The Bahamas and summers in the Chesapeake Bay.

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Boat of the Week: This Old-School Aluminum Explorer Yacht Was Designed to Slice Through Ice With Ease

Forget those sculpted, pretender mini-explorers. with its ice-class hull and 5,100-mile range, 'grey wolf' has already done two world tours., julia zaltzman, julia zaltzman's most recent stories.

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Some expedition yachts are built to look pretty. Others boast new technology. Grey Wolf is an outlier, created with a single mission in mind: to achieve long-distance cruising and access inaccessible areas, while igniting fire in the bellies of adventure-hungry travelers, including the owner.

The 78-footer is like an explorer that returns from the North Pole with frostbitten fingers, a gaunt face and icicles on the beard—as opposed to the tourist who does the trip on an “expedition” cruise ship, sporting a barely used, bright-colored parka and five extra pounds because the buffet was so good.

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Grey Wolf has both the looks and chops to claim true explorer status. Her maiden voyage after launch in New Zealand was a cruise to New Caledonia, onto Fiji and Tahiti, across to Chile and down to Antarctica. Now, the owner of the salty, 78-footer has the Northwest Passage in his sights.

The boat has an industrial, almost commercial look, but its ice-class hull, long range and spacious interior makes it the ideal liveaboard vessel.  Courtesy Peter Watson

Designed by Steve Dashew as part of his Functional Power Boat (FPB) series, and built by Circa Marine in New Zealand, Grey Wolf has circumnavigated the world twice since her 2017 delivery. “Grey” represents the bare aluminum hull, which has been left unfaired for practical purposes. Plus, it just looks rugged, even cool. “Wolf” reflects the yacht’s wild, robust capabilities.

Her owner, Peter Watson, who previously owned a Dashew-designed FPB64, was intimately involved in Grey Wolf ‘s build from the start. “A second FPB owner and I worked closely together on three hulls at the same time,” Watson told Robb Report . “Our goal was to be able to go anywhere.”

The boat’s attributes include an ice-class hull for navigating polar regions, long-range and economical cruising up to 5,100 nautical miles, and easy maintenance. Pressure washing the bare aluminum hull every year is a more practical and cheaper option than painting it every five years.

“The Great Room,” as Watson calls the main salon, is open, simple and comfortable, in keeping with the rest of the boat.  Courtesy Peter Watson

Grey Wolf has the highest safety rating of CAT O by the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency (MCA), meaning the boat is unrestricted on where it’s allowed to cruise. Watson likes the compact size, too. It keeps crew costs down, but more importantly, with a shallow 6.5-foot draft, Grey Wolf can anchor close to shore and access small ports where larger boats can’t.

Inside, three spacious ensuite guest cabins and panoramic windows offer views out to sea from every corner. Four crew are accommodated on charter, but as a qualified captain Watson often likes to take the helm.

Penguin mother and baby spotted on a trip to Antarctica.  Courtesy Peter Watson

Since qualifying as an ice pilot in Finland, he’s captained the boat to the Antarctic peninsula twice. He also cites a trip to the island of Vanuatu hidden deep in the Pacific Ocean as one of his most memorable moments. “We visited the volcano, saw some local tribal ceremonies,” he said. “The people are so loving and generous. It’s a place that feels truly untouched.”

Redundancy is a key part of Grey Wolf ‘s design. The boat has two helms—one on the “Matrix Deck” or flybridge, the other in the “Great Room” or main salon, just forward of the dining area.

Can your mini-expedition yacht go here? Exploring icy Antarctica.  Courtesy Peter Watson

While that’s not unusual, Watson mandated numerous backup systems so Grey Wolf would never be stranded when a marine mechanic is thousands of miles away. “I steer by autopilot, but I can override that and electrically control the steering. If that failed, I go to hydraulic steering, and after that I’ve got a tiller,” he says. “I don’t think I’ll ever need four modes, but if I’m in the middle of nowhere with no support, I can get somewhere safe.”

During Covid when the world went dark, Grey Wolf largely stayed in port, except for a few  weekend trips to local islands. Since Watson spends around 50 percent of his time on board—including one nine-month stretch—the first year of Covid was taxing. His happy place is in the upstairs helm spotting wildlife. It’s an interest that peaked in Antarctica when a pod of orcas swam around the boat’s dinghy.

Beneath the surface on a charter.  Courtesy Gerald Schombs

“I was quite frightened because I thought they’ve only got to push this and we’ll be in the water,” he says. “But they were just amazing. A real once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Watson designed Grey Wolf with adventure charters in mind, though he only allows two to three charters a year; this year, one lasted four weeks. The boat was due to explore Norway this summer, cruising through its northwestern fjords, though that was cancelled at the last minute.

Pristine and remote Vanuatu was one of the owner’s favorites.  Courtesy Peter Watson

Winter will likely see the yacht laid up—“it’s not really a Caribbean-style boat,” he says—but next summer, the plan is to head to Scotland, Norway, Svalbard and Greenland, before ticking off Watson’s bucket-list destination, the Northwest passage.

“It needs a lot of planning, but I want to bring a charter there,” he says, noting British Columbia will be the second stop on that trip. “They’re two places I’m keen to visit with Grey Wolf ,” he says. “You can’t find many 78-footers that can reach those kind of remote areas.”

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Aluminium Strongall Specialist – Sailing and motor yachts

Located in Tarare since 1963, META is the manufacturer of Bernard Moitessier's historical JOSHUA. Thanks to the Strongall ® assembly process, patented by the shipyard in 1977, and its unique know-how the shipyard designs and builds sailboats, trawlers, speedboats and other floating buildings using the deck hull prestressed aluminum technique: our constructions are efficient, innovative, comfortable and very resistant.

The History of the Site

It is in Chauffailles, in Saône et Loire, that Jean Fricaud, an enlightened self-taught metallurgist, takes advantage of his workshops to build his first 11m steel motor-sailer: the SAINTE MARTHE. At the age of 13, Joseph, the eldest son, dreams of cars, drawing and mechanics... and of leaving school as soon as possible in order to start an apprenticeship-which he will do, with his father's blessing.

The workshops, in full effervescence, set up a construction line for hydraulic shovels, Joseph finished his apprenticeship as a mechanic in Lyon and left to enrich his technical knowledge in various regional boiler making workshops hoping, as soon as possible, to practice metallurgy on his own account.

Still in Chauffailles, Jean Fricaud is approached by Bernard Moitessier, for whom he agrees, as a good patron, to build the steel hull of JOSHUA. At the same time, Joseph set up under the name META and became a subcontractor for his father's excavator company.

Jean Fricaud, in Chauffailles, has exhausted all the possibilities for expanding his hydraulic excavator construction company and sets up an additional workshop in Tarare, on the RN7, near Lyon. META, still in Chauffailles, began to diversify and expanded its range of construction equipment.

Jean Fricaud seized the opportunity of a lifetime and sold his prosperous business to an industrial group: he had just built the motorboat NADINE and could finally devote himself to deep-sea fishing. But the buyer does not want to expand to Tarare, where the workshop has just been completed. Sensing "the emergence of a market", Jean proposed to his son to build steel boats there. Joseph obeyed and fate precipitated events: thanks to the publicity generated by Bernard Moitessier's exploits, META became a full-fledged shipyard in Tarare.

After having built more than 70 JOSHUAS, more than 30 DAMIENS II, and many other steel hulls, Joseph launches a big paving stone in the pond and abandons steel in favor of STRONGALL® aluminum, which he has just patented. His pre-stressed aluminum construction technique makes it possible to create extremely resistant deck hulls. The young subsidiary PROMETA, directed by François Fevre, also abandons steel for STRONGALL®.

Patrice Passinge is 17 years old when he joins META as a metal worker, under the supervision of André Ravatier, the company's workshop manager. Joseph carefully follows Patrice's efforts, and despite his young age, he soon proves to be an outstanding journeyman.

Patrice Passinge became workshop manager when, after his excellent career at META, André Ravatier took his legitimate retirement. At the end of the 90's, aware that Joseph was getting older, various buyers came forward with the objective of expanding the company. But Joseph wanted to preserve the family spirit of the company and decided to pass on META to Patrice, who had a solid background and an excellent culture of the business.

Joseph definitively transfers the META Chantier Naval Spécialiste du STRONGALL® brand and all its activities to Patrice Passinge.

Construction and launch of FLEUR AUSTRALE, the magnificent custom sailing boat designed for and by Philippe Poupon. This large expedition ketch travels in all the waters of the world in complete safety, from the Arctic to the Antarctic via the Pacific Ocean.

Design and construction of the Ecotroll 39 in partnership with Jean-Pierre Brouns and the Olbia shipyard. The smallest troller approved for ocean navigation, it sailed from Lyon to Greenland through canals and oceans before returning to Lyon via the Canal du Midi in spring 2011.

50 years of META Shipyard on the island of Frioul opposite Marseille. Great meeting with many clients and personalities owning META yachts.

META is diversifying by proposing hulls for various floating projects, such as the development of a floating restaurant (entre deux ô) visible on Roanne.

Based on our floating projects, Dominique Renouf called on META to build Solar Carriage. Real floating habitats with electric propulsion, the Solar Carriage are powered by photovoltaic panels and can navigate on canals and rivers in an ecological way, an important value of our company. In parallel, META is working on its first production boat, the META 36.

Thursday March 12, a few hours before the first presidential address concerning the containment due to COVID-19, Philippe Brabetz signs the takeover of META Chantier Naval Specialist of the STRONGALL®. Patrice Passinge will launch a carpentry workshop dedicated to the interior fittings of the META 36, at the Tarare location.

The takeover is final and the shipyard, renamed META Yachts—Architect Shipyard—Strongall® Specialist, resists to the COVID wave and follows its course. Philippe conceides his TurboKeels® patent to the company and initiates a range of innovative designs for modern, attractive and highly performing sailboats, new motorboats. META Yachts confirms the desire to invest in environmentally clean projects such as electro-solar housing barge carried by Dominique Renouf, and gorgeous Noé boat, carried by Nicolas Lallemand.

Inauguration de META Yachts Services, à Port Saint Louis du Rhône, sur la côte méditerranéenne, cofondée par Philippe Brabetz et Fréderic Switala, pour l'entretien, le gardiennage et la vente de bateaux META Yachts d'occasion.

Technical Legacy

Bernard moitessier, writer of great talent, exceptional sailor and philosopher recognized well beyond our borders, bernard moitessier (1925 – 1994) has become a legend..

He has given rise to strong vocations by communicating his precious philosophy to all those who, in love with freedom, have “taken the plunge” and are blossoming far from our agitated lands. Everything or almost everything… has been said and written about Bernard, a very unusual character. “I am weighing these words because I fear that his formidable genius of simplicity has escaped some people and has disappeared into the oblivion of history, which would be unjust and regrettable. More than any other sailor, Bernard was haunted not only by the obligation of robustness of the boat, but also by maintenance, hence maximum simplicity. In this perfect sailor’s logic, the deck of JOSHUA – by its very studied simplicity – has always constituted, in my eyes, an essential work reference. Today, every builder (amateur or professional) should be inspired by the best of this masterpiece of practical common sense, on aluminum as on steel.

Drastically simple, but with minimum solutions that have been carefully thought through… On the JOSHUA bridge, nothing should catch, nothing should hurt, nothing should jam: no rails or screwed parts, but welding of sturdy rings instead (to make it easier to surf with the brush, to keep everything clean, and to do away with protective adhesives! Moreover, the most economical solutions were the order of the day, because Bernard was really not rich when Jean, my father, built for him in 1961, the hull number 1 of JOSHUA in CHAUFFAILLES. Among the original features of this deck plan – of a monarchal rigor – the famous “Chinese hood” for example, is worth the detour: 100% watertight thanks to its judicious volumes of depression in spite of the absence of flexible joint, inviolable, reducing thermal bridges, it divides by 3 the times of painting on its perimeter while maintaining the aspect of the new: who does better?

I was very young in the trade when my small team of journeymen started the construction of the JOSHUAS in TARARE, and Bernard’s sponsorship was a great help to me!

More than forty years separate us today from the launching of Bernard’s hull in LYON, and the spirit of the master is still deeply rooted in our reflexes – everything that could be tried differently often turned out to be less convincing, so thank you Bernard for your intelligent contribution to the design of the metal decks of our sailing ships.

Joseph FRICAUD

, Founder of META Chantier Naval

Our Strongall ® construction technique

There is no such thing as the a universal or perfect material, and here is why we have chosen aluminum to replace steel:.

• Aluminum boats are solid: constructions are homogeneous, without joints between welded elements and without weaknesses caused by composite associations of various materials
• Aluminum boats have a great longevity, are a good investment when budgets are under control and if they’ve been well designed and especially well built, they maintain a good rating when resold
• Aluminum grades 5083 and 5086 require little maintenance

Why Strongall ® ?

This aluminum construction method was developed and patented by META Chantier Naval in 1977. The concept is that of a self-supporting aluminum deck hull, based on the use of thick sheets: the transverse structure is then reduced to a minimum (integrated tanks, engine cradle, mast belt, crash-box or watertight bulkhead) depending on the size of the boat. This type of construction is synonymous to robustness and longevity, warrants of the significant investment a boat represents over the years.

The Advantages of Strongall ® :

• Stronger than equal weight steel construction
• About 30% lighter than the same steel shell with comparable strength
• The use of thick sheets allows a greater intensity in welding thus eliminating the risk of “sticking”, and guarantees a better fusion of the metal
• Little or no deformation of the plating sheets
• The thickness of the sheets increases the resistance to corrosion and significantly reduces the risk of metal fatigue (repeated cycles of torsion-bending of the planks where the hull is a hollow beam moving on complex waves and swell phenomena)
• The hull is treated with inorganic Zinc Silicate
• The painting of the dead works and the bridge is only necessary for cosmetic reasons, they can remain raw without consequence for the material.
• A significant advantage for the shipowner, the absence of internal restrictive structures makes the design of the fittings more flexible.

Architectural constraint:

The hulls require developable hull surfaces and lively chine(s)—easily integrated in elegant and efficient designs!

Over 300 sailboats, motorboats and trollers have been built in Tarare since 1977, their extreme robustness secures navigation in particularly difficult areas: Arctic, Northwest Passage, Antarctica… COME MEET US IN TARARE, AND GET A FEELING OF WHAT WE REALLY DO!

TurboKeels®

A solution for ballasting lead from one side to the other….

To displace the center of gravity without relying on complex tilting keels, Philippe Brabetz, new owner of the Meta shipyard, has come up with an ingenious solution: TurboKeels®, or how to ballast lead from one keel to another!

Already used on tilting keel sailboats such as IMOCAs, the system literally involves shifting the center of gravity of the boat—but a tilting keel requires a large draft and a complex, expensive and above all fragile mechanism not suitable for cruising yachts.

With TurboKeels®, Philippe Brabetz applies the above basic premise to twin keel boats. The 2 keels are then used as reservoirs to accommodate the ballast which travels from one keel to the other as needed, and following a closed circuit mechanism activated by a simple pump.

The advantages of Turbokeels are:

• Enhances power
• Diminishes heel angle
• Allows for shallow draft
• Simple, reliable and economical

Stronglite®

—The Stronglite ® technique is undergoing scrutiny by our R&D team—

you can stay tuned and follow our social media networks

Philippe Brabetz

Owner & CEO

Nathalie Simon

Administration & Sales

Marin Ducoux

Design Office Manager

Serge Calka

Export & Communication

Dockyard Technical advisor

Aluminum Ship Builder

Naval Engineer

Philippe Brabetz has an architecture degree from the Paris-La-Villette School of Architecture. While studying to become a building specialist, he attends Dominique Presle’s naval architecture courses and becomes passionate about the subject.

He graduates shortly after the first Gulf War, when jobs were hard to come round, and nevertheless manages to join the Guignols’ team at Canal+, working at the design and production of TV sets and special effects as of 1995. Ten years later, still passionate about shipbuilding, he joins the Nantes Naval Architecture DPEA which he tops by an internship for the construction of America’s Cup Areva Challenge monohull. During his collaboration with shipyards and naval architecture firms in France, Spain and Morocco, he invents TurboKeels: a twin-keel system whose lest is ballasted from side to side. The invention patented, taking over META Shipyard seemed like the next best thing to do.

His mission is to consolidate the achievements of the legendary shipyard, but also to add the creative touch that will allow META to navigate today’s challenging waters and thus continue its fantastic adventure.

Born in the same valley as META and with a name familiar to windserfers worldwide, her career was mapped out: since 2008, Nathalie has been assisting the shypyard’s management from an administrative, commercial and accounting point of view.

An Executive Assistant by training, she favors positions which allow for the widest diversity of tasks, within human scale structures. It is an interactive and stimulating format that she appreciates and that participates to the great complementarity between her very “maritime” professional activity and very terrestrial personal interests: running, cycling, hiking are all activities which fill her up with the energy and enthusiasm we much appreciate.

Nathalie is a valued collaborator, who faithfully has and does contribute to the welfare of the company .

A naval architecture engineer with a degree from ENSTA Bretagne, Marin’s work at META combines his passion for sailing and his experience of ocean cruising with the technical skills acquired through his training.

As an admirer of Gérard Janichon (Damien) and Bernard Moitessier (Joshua), he says he’s proud to be able to contribute to the development of META and its new series of ocean-going yachts, with modern lines and a spirit of adventure still intact.

Lover of nature, water sports, and concerned about the environment, Victor tackles his new adventure : his meaningful collaboration as a fully-fledged member of the META team.

Profil Linkedin

Lionel has learned and confectioned his skill at aluminum ship building at META, where he’s been a faithful member of the team since 2004. He has become the metalworkers’ go-to person for all questions related to Strongall ® boat building techniques.

Not only is he an experienced boilermaker, he’s got a secret skill up his sleeve: he grows grapes which participate in the making of one of the local Rhone wines.

We’re looking forward to the META vintage 😉

Etudiant-ingénieur en architecture navale à l’ENSTA Bretagne, Marin allie en travaillant chez META sa passion pour la voile et ses expériences de croisières hauturières avec les acquis techniques de sa formation.

Admirateur de Gérard Janichon (Damien) et de Bernard Moitessier (Joshua), il se dit fier de pouvoir contribuer au développement de META et de sa nouvelle série de voiliers hauturiers aux lignes modernes et à l’esprit d’aventure toujours intact.

Le chantier est donc très heureux de pouvoir compter parmi ses équipes ce Marin très compétent—mais aussi parfaitement polyvalent, avec un très bel esprit d’équipe et un sourire communicatif.

Anticorrosion

Your anti-corrosion solution for 50 years.

This zinc-based product is the best protection against hull corrosion so far. We are its historical retailer and use it for all of our boats.

Whether used as antifouling or covered by a regular antifouling, METAGRIP ® welds perfectly to the steel or aluminum hull thanks to the absorption phenomenon.

It does not deteriorate and therefore fully respects the underwater environment.

Do you live in metropolitan France ? Order online

You are not in metropolitan France? Ask for an estimate

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Vérifiez votre boite de réception ou votre répertoire d’indésirables pour confirmer votre abonnement.

MODERN YACHTS

Expedition-31, aluminum powerboat, technical characteristics.

Displacement

Main cabin ceiling height

Ceiling hight in bow cabin

Passenger capacity

Sleep capacity

Fuel capacity

Water capasity

Kitchen length 2 m (6.5 ft.)  

Bathroom with pump toilet

9.5 m (31 ft.)

2.65 m (8.69 ft.)

0.36 m (1.18 ft.)

2.05 m   (6 .72 ft.)

1.08 m (5.9 ft.)

500-1000 liters (132-264 gal)

100 liters (26 gal)

Description:  Compact motor yacht or a large vessel?

"Expedition-31" is a fast and compact trailer motor yacht made of aluminum, it is a house on the water and the newest trend in the world of boats and yachts!

The "Expedition-31" is unique not only for its innovative design of the yacht-trawler. The interior is what distinguishes it from existing analogues. With a body length of 9.5 meters, due to its extensive view glazing with a sliding system, a spacious saloon with a large corner sofa and a full bow cabin with a closet and a double bed, Expedition-31 is filled with comfort and atmosphere of the house where all furniture is arranged according to the usual ergonomic standards. For example, in the kitchen you can use the usual household appliances - a two-compartment refrigerator, a microwave oven, a dishwasher, a stove with an oven. And in the salon it's even possible to install a decorative fireplace!

And this is not all innovative proposals! The boat can be with ELECTRIC engine Torqeedo Deep Blue 80i 1800  or the DriveMaster Ultimate / Performance with a body for semi-slippery and slow-moving driving modes - for short trips, with a range of 100 km in the protected areas of the planet.

The concept of "Expedition-31" uses the philosophy of the floating vacation at sea. Its classification is « Aluminum boat with a cabin», but it can be safely classified as "MOTOR YACHT 10 METERS AND LARGER". "Expedition-31" is a high-speed motor yacht designed for enjoying the water, small, but with an extensive upper deck and a spacious interior! She is able to travel quickly to your favorite places of recreation, where you like to enjoy a pleasant and comfortable stay on the water. As for the design it's a yacht in the style of Explorer. All the lines of design, decoration, and equipment in "Expedition" show you that it is a compact and comfortable motor yacht for the taste of the most discerning client, who loves order and aesthetics. Its design provides everything that you might need for a pleasant stay for you and your family on a long vacation or on short weekend outings.

The rugged aluminum body of "Expedition" is made of marine aluminum alloy 5083, It gives the yacht the ability to come right up to the shore without any damages, even if the sea bottom consists of fine stones and rocks. What is more important - with a length of only 9.5 meters and a width of 2.65 meters, you'll find the cost for docking the "Expedition-31" incredibly low . The dry weight of the Expedition is 2.7 tons, the draft with the hinged outboard engine is 0.35 meters. The main thing is that the dimensions of "Expedition-31" allow you to transport it on the trailer. It's a great yacht for traveling with your family to new unexplored places.

This yacht posesses incredible seaworthiness. The body of the "Expedition-31" has a deadrise of 16 degrees with a hydrolizer (hydroski). This allows the yacht to move very fast even with a small engine power, which is very economical (see video). As a result, the range of engine capacity  expanded from 300 hp to 600 hp, if two engines of 300 hp are installed.

Thanks to the straight stem, the "Expedition-31" contours have a sharp waterline and a deep deadrise in the bow - that's why the ride on the waves is soft. A straight sharp stem cuts and pushes the counter wave, and does not jam it into itself, like yacht hulls with traditional contours, which tend to fly on the wave and land very hard (see video). 

With regard to range of travel and economy: you have a choice of both short weekend outings at high speed to your favorite vacation spots, as well as living on this yacht full time or travel. Depending on your preferences you can order a version with a stationary diesel engine, or with one or two outboard engines with power of 200-300 liters. For fans of a leisurely weekend getaway an even more economical option is possible - you can order a version of the boat with a smaller engine of 150-200 liters. The speed will vary between  12 to 30 km / h.

 With a fuel tank capacity of 550 liters, the Expedition-31 runtime will be 10-11 hours, with a range of 400 to 500 kilometers and a fuel consumption of 50 liters per hour - this distance can be overcome during the daylight hours. For far distance travelers it is also possible to install a second 550 liter fuel tank. and with an economical, but high speed of 35 km / h with a diesel engine and a fuel consumption of 20 liters per hour, you can easily travel very large distances - up to 1800-2000 kilometers. At a quiet pace at 9 km / h, the fuel economy and distance covered will  increase three-four times - this is the immutable truth of the existing hydrodynamics. expenses in conditions of dacha-yacht comfort.  

Cruising the Moskva River: A short guide to boat trips in Russia’s capital

There’s hardly a better way to absorb Moscow’s atmosphere than on a ship sailing up and down the Moskva River. While complicated ticketing, loud music and chilling winds might dampen the anticipated fun, this checklist will help you to enjoy the scenic views and not fall into common tourist traps.

How to find the right boat?

There are plenty of boats and selecting the right one might be challenging. The size of the boat should be your main criteria.

Plenty of small boats cruise the Moskva River, and the most vivid one is this yellow Lay’s-branded boat. Everyone who has ever visited Moscow probably has seen it.

This option might leave a passenger disembarking partially deaf as the merciless Russian pop music blasts onboard. A free spirit, however, will find partying on such a vessel to be an unforgettable and authentic experience that’s almost a metaphor for life in modern Russia: too loud, and sometimes too welcoming. Tickets start at $13 (800 rubles) per person.

Bigger boats offer smoother sailing and tend to attract foreign visitors because of their distinct Soviet aura. Indeed, many of the older vessels must have seen better days. They are still afloat, however, and getting aboard is a unique ‘cultural’ experience. Sometimes the crew might offer lunch or dinner to passengers, but this option must be purchased with the ticket. Here is one such  option  offering dinner for $24 (1,490 rubles).

If you want to travel in style, consider Flotilla Radisson. These large, modern vessels are quite posh, with a cozy restaurant and an attentive crew at your service. Even though the selection of wines and food is modest, these vessels are still much better than other boats.

Surprisingly, the luxurious boats are priced rather modestly, and a single ticket goes for $17-$32 (1,100-2,000 rubles); also expect a reasonable restaurant bill on top.

How to buy tickets?

Women holding photos of ships promise huge discounts to “the young and beautiful,” and give personal invitations for river tours. They sound and look nice, but there’s a small catch: their ticket prices are usually more than those purchased online.

“We bought tickets from street hawkers for 900 rubles each, only to later discover that the other passengers bought their tickets twice as cheap!”  wrote  (in Russian) a disappointed Rostislav on a travel company website.

Nevertheless, buying from street hawkers has one considerable advantage: they personally escort you to the vessel so that you don’t waste time looking for the boat on your own.

Prices start at $13 (800 rubles) for one ride, and for an additional $6.5 (400 rubles) you can purchase an unlimited number of tours on the same boat on any given day.

Flotilla Radisson has official ticket offices at Gorky Park and Hotel Ukraine, but they’re often sold out.

Buying online is an option that might save some cash. Websites such as  this   offer considerable discounts for tickets sold online. On a busy Friday night an online purchase might be the only chance to get a ticket on a Flotilla Radisson boat.

This  website  (in Russian) offers multiple options for short river cruises in and around the city center, including offbeat options such as ‘disco cruises’ and ‘children cruises.’ This other  website  sells tickets online, but doesn’t have an English version. The interface is intuitive, however.

Buying tickets online has its bad points, however. The most common is confusing which pier you should go to and missing your river tour.

“I once bought tickets online to save with the discount that the website offered,” said Igor Shvarkin from Moscow. “The pier was initially marked as ‘Park Kultury,’ but when I arrived it wasn’t easy to find my boat because there were too many there. My guests had to walk a considerable distance before I finally found the vessel that accepted my tickets purchased online,” said the man.

There are two main boarding piers in the city center:  Hotel Ukraine  and  Park Kultury . Always take note of your particular berth when buying tickets online.

Where to sit onboard?

Even on a warm day, the headwind might be chilly for passengers on deck. Make sure you have warm clothes, or that the crew has blankets ready upon request.

The glass-encased hold makes the tour much more comfortable, but not at the expense of having an enjoyable experience.

Getting off the boat requires preparation as well. Ideally, you should be able to disembark on any pier along the way. In reality, passengers never know where the boat’s captain will make the next stop. Street hawkers often tell passengers in advance where they’ll be able to disembark. If you buy tickets online then you’ll have to research it yourself.

There’s a chance that the captain won’t make any stops at all and will take you back to where the tour began, which is the case with Flotilla Radisson. The safest option is to automatically expect that you’ll return to the pier where you started.

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• Guided tour

River Cruise on Luxurious Radisson Boat

• Description
• Choose date

Equipped with ice-breaking technology, these huge fancy yachts are the only river cruisers running all year around. The round trip journey takes two and a half hours and floats past all the big sights like the White House, Novodevichy monastery and the Kremlin. There’s a large open air observation deck up top, while the main body of the ship houses a restaurant with a dance floor for a romantic post dinner dance. For a particularly romantic experience take one of the evening boats and admire the bright lights of the city skyline at night.

The most relaxing and picturesque tour that Moscow can offer: a great way to see the city center and its main attractions. This is a perfect alternative to exploring the city by car, if you only have time to do sightseeing during weekday rush hours.

Your English-speaking guide is eager to share every bit of their knowledge about the surrounding landscape, the architecture and historical details.

We conduct Moscow river tour on Radisson Flotilla boats all year around!  It’s warm inside during winter months, while there’s air conditioning during hot summer days. You may also treat yourself to drinks, lunch or dinner on board (drinks and food are not included in tour price).

The cost of an excursion with a personal guide for 1 person

Quay at Radisson Collection Hotel

Government Headquarters ("the White House")

Kievsky Railway Central

Novodevichy Convent

Luzhniki Stadium

Academy of Sciences

Monument to Peter I

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

Moscow Kremlin

St.Basil's Cathedral

Novospassky Monastery

U-turn and back to Quay at Radisson Royal Hotel

Choose your dates

Who's going.

• Excursion River Cruise on Luxurious Radisson Boat
• Date and time:
• Who's going:

See photo of the meeting point