A Closer Look at the Turquoise Yachts 77m Superyacht Project

Speaking about the layout, the unique elements on board, the challenges faced, her design and the ultimate end product which will emerge from the shipyard, Mehmet Karabeyoglu told us how this project will be an evolutionary step for Turquoise Yachts.

A New Layout
“What’s different is that the 77m is a development of the Talisman and Vicky platform. There are major differences. First it’s wider, 700mm wider, as well as longer, as the first two were 72 metres when NB63 is 77 metres.”

“Another difference is how we approached the issue of the tenders. The first two, in Vicky and Talisman, had their tenders aft in the traditional manner. This project has the tender at midships. Then came the question of how big a tender we can accommodate on a 77 metre. We maximised the garage design for 3 selected tenders from the industry (a Pascoe, Compass and Hodgdon) which is another different approach. We said ‘okay’, these are the tenders that will fit so you’re welcome to use those, or anything that matches and smaller’. They’re heavy so we had the supplier design the davits in such a way, that they are capable of launching and retrieving these three tenders - normally on a 77 metre you don’t have a fully grown limo tender but this has one.”

“Where the garage was on the previous boats, we made a gigantic beach club, opening doors port and starboard and opening flush hatch which is unusual and expensive - giving us a completely flush swim platform with interiors. When you’re underway you can use it as another salon easily as it has windows and nicely decorated interiors, it’s not just a beach club. It’s another entertaining area.”

“Also. we managed to fit a human elevator which goes all the way to lower deck where the tender garage is and all the way to sun deck, wheelchair and user friendly. It’s quite an achievement on a 77m, on bigger boats its normal.”

“With all the knowledge we gained from the previous two, which are both successful, it was difficult to improve but we did. Furthermore, all guest accommodation is on the main deck and owners accommodation on the deck above - private use I believe we can have a total of 8 guest cabins.”

“The hull is finished already, we have now started on the superstructure which will be finished until the upper deck level next month. Delivery is a little less then two years.”

A New Design
“The design is extremely personal, so we approached Jonny Horsfield - who drew both Vicky and Talisman - to do this because originally it was going to be a three deck. We told him what we liked from Vicky and what we could change from Talisman. The layout of those two are totally different. Where the beach club is on Vicky, there are four guest cabins on Talisman. At this point Mohammed (Mohammed Al Barwani-new major shareholder of Turquoise Yachts) was heavily involved, he likes designs and he understands design with marketability very well.”

“We made changes and one client came up to us, nearly bought the boat and wanted the fourth deck. When we saw the outcome we agreed it was a good idea. The sale did not come together on their side, but it was good because the requirements made us think differently. With a 700mm wider beam and the style is very good, it’s nice and not over the top, and the styling will be good from 10 to 15 years from now.”

A New Lifestyle
“On the deck above we have a forward facing owners cabin with a private balcony, so it’s quite different, it’s spectacular to lie back and still see 360 degrees around you. The bridge is above that, so the layout it different to Vicky and Talisman. It’s close to 2000GT, it’s bigger and larger in almost every area.”

“For instance, depending on the owner of course, people tend to like their own space and life while they’re entertaining guests. With this layout they have an upper deck level dedicated to them, and they can have the guests using the main deck, lower deck and beach club - providing the option of separation - but they often don’t need to use it that way.”

“We don’t know who the owner will be, but this boat has a larger owner’s cabin, equally big limo tenders, being able to dock midship and go inside to go up to a level without needing to meet any body. It has all the advantages of a bigger boat in a smaller size.

“When you’re in the beach club, you’ll feel like you’re on a bigger a boat, even with the guest cabin, owner's cabin and tender garage. The void areas inside the hull are used up by owners spaces such as beach club, tender garage and crew areas so it’s all for guests and owners - the floor space you have for guests and owners are extremely large. What you get in return, you don’t pay as much for a larger boat for the same quality and facilities.”