Billionaire oligarchs, ahoy! Designer Gian Paolo Nari has been in touch to tell us about his NPe75 mega-yacht design. The 75-meter (246-ft) vessel incorporates not only a helipad, but also a hangar to accommodate your preferred flying machine. The design has actually been reduced in size from 85 meters (279 ft) to make it marginally less impossible to dock - a decision made easier by the omission of a second helipad in the bow, which was deemed impractical due to the bow movement typical of such vessels.
The presence of even one helipad and hangar presents significant challenges to the yacht designer, with extra attention given to onboard life-safety systems such as explosion-proof lighting and Jet A fuel storage facilities. The hangar itself would be housed in the NPe75's upper deck, and include the full compliment of helicopter-servicing equipment. The hangar is adjacent to the helipad, so there is the question of how the helicopter is moved inside. There's even accommodation for a dedicated flight crew along with the yacht's staff in the lower-most two of the yacht's five decks.
The upper three decks are dedicated to guests, with a total of six cabins located on the main deck, a 4.5 x 6 m (about 15 x 19.5 ft) swimming pool, bar, sky lounge, and movie theater. The owner's cabin has its own private exterior lounge and jacuzzi. The top deck includes a whirlpool, a covered space (perfect for a gymnasium, if the "wellness center" planned for the lower deck proves insufficient). 'Twixt-deck navigation is by means of a 5-person elevator or continuous stairway.
Air is not the only medium for getting guests aboard. The lower deck's garage has room for two large tenders, as well as four Waverunners (should their company prove trying once they're aboard).
Of course, yachts of this scale with incorporated helipads are plentiful enough. Helicopter hangars are a less common but, it seems, an increasingly-requested feature at the super-mega-giga luxury end of the market. As mega yachts go, the NPe75 is not all that outlandishly sized, so the incorporation of a hangar into the design is impressive.
The remaining facts and figures are these:
- Length: 75 m (246 ft)
- Beam: 14.20 m (46.6 ft)
- Draft: 3.80 m (12.5 ft)
- Displacement full load: 1,900 tons (1,724 tonnes)
- Engine: 2 x Caterpillar 3516-DI's rated 2,000 kW 1,600 rpm
- Stabilizers: 4 Quantum Zero-Speed
- Cruising speed: 17 knots (31.5 km/h)
- Max speed: 20 knots (37 km/h)
- Range: 7,000 nm (12,964 km) @ 11 knots
- Fuel tank capacity: 130 tons (118 tonnes)
- Domestic water: 40 tons (36.3 tonnes)
- Grey water: 6000 liters (1,585 US gallons)
- Guest accommodation: 12 persons
- Crew accommodation: 22 persons
- Guest cabins: 5 (plus 1 convertible owner's stateroom)
- Crew cabins: 10
- Construction: Steel hull, aluminum superstructure
Source: Gian Paolo Nari