November 17, 2008 Regular Gizmag readers may already be familiar with some of the elegant and ambitious yacht concepts to have emerged from the Wally design house. Both having made their debut at this year's Monaco Yacht Show, the two latest offerings do nothing to suggest that the standard is dropping. The 64" (19 meter) 64 wallypower is the first unit of a new line which sits between the WallyTender and the larger WallyPower yachts while the magnificent Wally 148 Saudade sloop is, at 148-foot (45-meter), the largest Wally built so far.
Finished in a gorgeous metallic blue and sporting the clean minimalist lines the company is making a name for, the 64 wallypower sold as soon as she arrived at the Monaco Yacht Show in September. The design seeks to combine "large interior volumes with high performance, excellent sea keeping, and wide open air areas". Features include a UV resistant double-glazed glass superstructure which houses four coffee tables and seating for seating 10-12 people and an expansive teak deck area including a forward deck which can be covered by cushions and converted into a sun bathing area and a rear swimming deck with an electrically-operated boarding passerelle that doubles as swimming ladder.
Pilots get custom designed seating and a carbon steering wheel and the choice of twin MAN V12 propulsion systems delivers 1360 or 1550 hp for a maximum speed of 43 and 50 knots respectively. Both engine options drive KaMeWa water-jets and provide 300-mile range at cruising speed.
The sophisticated control and navigation features include the interceptor system which controls the boat’s trim to improve even further performance and comfort while steering is via a Rolls Royce joystick control connected to water jets that allow the boat to be moved sideways a custom wrap-around fender helps simplify docking manoeuvres.
Various options are also provided for the interior layout and exterior and interior styling with 6 guests + 2 crew catered for by the 3 cabin version and 4 guests + 2 crew for the 2-cabin version. All the three interior layout options feature the forward cabin with double bed.
The production schedule provides for five units of the 64 wallypower to be launched in 2009.
Also debuting in Monaco, the sleek new Wally 148, Saudade was developed from the hull lines of the Wally 143 Esense and is described as "a traditional blue-water yet high performance mega yacht... with large volumes and full equipments for extensive round the world cruising".
The sloop has a medium-light displacement (150 tons – 308,647 lbs), a lifting keel (from 4.20 to 6.20 meters - 13’ 9” to 20’ 4”) and a sail area of 9000 square feet while the interior layout includes a guest quarter, master suite, master office and two double guest cabins aft, the 360 degree view raised saloon amidships and for crew quarter and service area forward.
Other notable features include a spacious central social cockpit incorporating two dining tables and covered by the rigid removable bimini, large long-distance water tanks and storage space for two tenders, with the one housed in the stern garage accessible via an opening transom that doubles as a swimming platform
Finally, when using the Caterpillar 600hp engine rather than sail-power, a well insulated central engine room keeps vibration and noise levels low - only 48 decibel in the main salon and the guest cabins.
Images: Wally.