Superyachts and space travel do not seem to have much in common . Yet the Dutch shipbuilder Royal Huisman has succeeded in building the Sea Eagle II, the world’s largest aluminium sailing yacht. The yacht was designed using the same techniques employed in the development of ESA space missions.
Superyacht
Quite recently, the 81-metre-long luxury Sea Eagle II was transferred from Royal Huisman's shipyard in Vollenhove to the company's Amsterdam location. Here, the yacht was fitted with a carbon composite mast before it can begin trial runs. These will take place over the coming period leading up to delivery later this year. This seems routine for the world's seventh largest sailing yacht, but behind the polished finish of the metal hull, several aerospace techniques are employed.
Concurrent design
According to ESA, the Sea Eagle II stands out for its design and development using 'Concurrent Design Facility' (CDF) techniques in Noordwijk. The traditional way of designing and developing in different steps thereby gives way to concurrent development. Different teams can thus be informed of problems and solutions as work progresses.
Satellites and superyachts are both complex products. By carrying out engineering phases simultaneously, cost savings can be achieved. The basic idea is simple: bring all the necessary experts and design tools together in one space to work as a team on a shared software model that is updated immediately whenever changes are made. This allows the feasibility of the design to be assessed much more effectively and reliably . Naturally, ESA’s focus is on the engineering work it carries out itself. However, there is also considerable interest in ESA’s work from within the industry. The use of CDF technology has a positive impact on time, costs and efficiency.
Saving time and improving quality
To build the Sea Eagle II, a design and engineering team from Royal Huisman was trained by ESA. Yacht building is not a complicated science but it does involve a complex, multidisciplinary system where many trade-offs are made during design, development and production. The traditional 'over the hedge' design method - where one field of knowledge does its work and then hands it over to the next team - requires a lot of checking and feedback resulting in possible design adjustments. A time-consuming process, for which there is really no room in modern yacht building.
For Royal Huisman, however, it is not just the time saved but above all the quality of the final design that is decisive. This is better and more comprehensive, allowing the next step towards the construction phase to be taken with confidence. Royal Huisman uses the CDF design technique for all its new projects, as well as for the refurbishment and maintenance of older vessels.
