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Marine

All hands on deck: Wally's new Ace yacht promises plenty of room to move

By Darren Quick
January 29, 2012
All hands on deck: Wally's new Ace yacht promises plenty of room to move
Wally says its ACE yacht boasts 30 percent more square footage than its nearest competitor
Wally says its ACE yacht boasts 30 percent more square footage than its nearest competitor
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The Wally ACE displacement yacht - rear
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The Wally ACE displacement yacht - rear
Enjoy a view with your meal on the Wally ACE
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Enjoy a view with your meal on the Wally ACE
The Wally ACE displacement yacht
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The Wally ACE displacement yacht
The Wally ACE displacement yacht
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The Wally ACE displacement yacht
The Wally ACE displacement yacht
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The Wally ACE displacement yacht
The first Wally ACE hull under construction
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The first Wally ACE hull under construction
The first Wally ACE hull under construction
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The first Wally ACE hull under construction
Wally ACE interior
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Wally ACE interior
The first Wally ACE hull under construction
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The first Wally ACE hull under construction
There's plenty of room to lounge around on the ACE's two decks
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There's plenty of room to lounge around on the ACE's two decks
Wally ACE interior
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Wally ACE interior
The Wally ACE accommodates four crew and six to eight guests
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The Wally ACE accommodates four crew and six to eight guests
The Wally ACE owner cabin
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The Wally ACE owner cabin
The Wally ACE owner cabin
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The Wally ACE owner cabin
The ACE's 441 square foot saloon
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The ACE's 441 square foot saloon
The ACE's 441 square foot saloon
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The ACE's 441 square foot saloon
The ACE's 441 square foot saloon
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The ACE's 441 square foot saloon
The ACE's 441 square foot saloon
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The ACE's 441 square foot saloon
The first Wally ACE hull is nearing completion
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The first Wally ACE hull is nearing completion
Wally says its ACE yacht boasts 30 percent more square footage than its nearest competitor
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Wally says its ACE yacht boasts 30 percent more square footage than its nearest competitor
View gallery - 20 images

While it doesn't boast the same kind of square footage as the Wally Island or the WHY, Wally's new Ace displacement yacht will still provide plenty of room to stretch one's legs while cruising the ocean waves. With 1,378 square feet (128 m2) of outside deck space spread over two decks and a 441 square foot (41 m2) interior saloon area contributing to a total square footage of 3,035 (282 m2), Wally says the Ace has 30 percent more space than its nearest competitor of the same length.

Designed as a true long-distance cruiser (its diesel engines can take passengers non-stop from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean) the Wally Ace is designed to be manageable without a professional crew. However, if you prefer some one else to take care of the sailing, the vessel has accommodations for four crew, in addition to six to eight guests.

The Wally Ace has an overall length of 86 ft (26 m), with the hull measuring 78 ft (24 m) long that displaces 207,234 lbs (94 tons) of water with a half load. The yacht's maximum beam length is 25 ft (7 m), and it features a 3,000 liter (792 gal US) water tank and a 14,000 liter (3,698 gal US) fuel tank. There's also an onboard garage for storing a 20 foot (6 m) tender.

Wally ACE interior
Wally ACE interior

The yacht is powered by two CAT C12 diesel engines producing 287 kW (385 hp) at 1,800 rpm, that provide a top speed of 12 knots (14 mph/22 km/h) and a range of 5,000 nautical miles (5,754 m/9,260 km) cruising at 9 knots (10 mph/17 km/h). The company says the ACE's hull design and gyroscopic stabilization combine to ensure a smooth and stable ride.

Wally says the hull of the first Ace is in the final stages of construction and is nearing launch for final fit and testing. Two further hulls also under construction are due for completion in the second half of 2012.

View gallery - 20 images

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MarineLuxuryYachtsMarine InnovationsWally Yachts
7 comments
Darren Quick
Darren Quick
Darren's love of technology started in primary school with a Nintendo Game & Watch Donkey Kong (still functioning) and a Commodore VIC 20 computer (not still functioning). In high school he upgraded to a 286 PC, and he's been following Moore's law ever since. This love of technology continues as Managing Editor of New Atlas.

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7 comments
Ct
Nice concept. Now, just replace the diesels with hydrogen powered engines feed from an onboard hydrogen generation plant that uses potable water, captured rain water, and desaliniated seawater and you have an unlimited cruising range. At the price of your yachts, your customers could afford this technology.
VoiceofReason
@ ctcsme Since it currently take more energy to make than to burn, you still need a power source for the boat.
Adam Flynn
@ ctcsme Did you really think that achieving an unlimited range yacht on a hydrogen engine was that easy? Like all of a sudden every nautical engineer and naval nuclear propulsion plant operator was going to smack their head and go \"I\'VE WASTED MY LIFE! All the degrees and busting my ass and this guy on gizmag just stumbles upon the answer! ARRRRRGH!\"
Seriously, have more respect for other people\'s work. Unless you have several PhD\'s or years of experience in related fields you\'re probably not to be right when you attempt to completely redesign years worth of work based on what you gleaned from a 3 paragraph overview in a public blog.
Ct
VoR- Yes you are right. My post was more a can you image it, throw it out there idea, than a it's a lets do it today reality. I hear there is a lot of research showing promise on ways to cost effectively produce hydrogen. I always believe in looking at what could be despite all odds. With all the research on producing hydrogen for cars, including onboard generators, I can easily foresee this type of onboard fuel generating system being adapted to propel mega-yachts.
Adam- You went beserk with that mindless rant over a simple "what if" post.
Ct
Wow Adam, look. Engineers who are doing what you said couldn't be done? This is their first attempt and they are already at 40%. Can you imagine where they will be in a few years with this impossible technology:
MONTGOMERY, IND. (WTHI) - A southern Indiana company turns to clean technology to fuel a new houseboat. Destination Yachts in Montgomery, Indiana is the first in the country to put a hydrogen fuel system into a marine engine. The company hopes to turn its green efforts into an innovative leader in the nation's houseboat business. A houseboat under construction at Destination Yachts will run on water in more ways than one. The engine will be powered by water through a new hydrogen system that will produce 40 percent of the energy to run the boat. "You're using water from the lake the boat is in," said Sheldon Graber with Destination Yachts. "Taking the hydrogen out of that water and putting the water that is left over back into the lake." You wouldn't normally expect a high tech propulsion system like this to be coming out of a boat from Montgomery Indiana but there's a good reason this company is going in this direction. "We hope to be leading the industry with a lot of things like this over the next few years and in today's economy if you aren't leading and setting the standard someone else is there knocking at you door and we're trying to sure we stay ahead of them," said Graber. Hydro-Phi Solutions developed the engine which adds $27,000 to cost. The total price of the houseboat with its three staterooms and custom galley with stainless steel appliances is $400,000, and the company isn't finished with trying new and better ways to hit the water.
christopher
Conspicuously lacking a Bulbous Bow... that\'s plain environmental vandalism in 2012.
Why is it that luxury craft manufacturers assume that rich folk all want to deliberately squander our resources and destroy our atmosphere?
If nothing else, they could increase their boast to 5750 miles just by booking another day in the CFD room or wave chamber...
Rafael Tarnawiecki
"ACE is designed to be manageable without a professional crew."
Don't make me laugh. Take it from one of those pesky profesional yacht crew: It is very unlikely that the kind of person who can afford something like this would be willing to invest the time and labor to maintain and operate a transoceanic yacht to an acceptable and safe level. If you think I'm full of it, then you've proably never lived on a boat. Even the finest yachts require a monumental amount of knowledge and labor to operate. Therefore, I'm trying to figure out how this large yacht will not need a crew or at the very least, a licensed captain for insurance reasons alone. Yeah, good luck with that.