The Most Eye-Catching New Exteriors of 2023

PINK SHADOW

Builder: Damen Yachting

A bold and powerful explorer yacht is exactly what has been achieved with Damen Yachting’s custom SeaXplorer 58 exterior design. Penned by Dutch yacht design studio, Azure Yacht Design, the 58-metre vessel is nothing less than eye-catching, with her sharp contours and moody green and black colour scheme.

Launched in January this year, the completion of the completely custom vessel marked a significant milestone for Damen Yachting. Not only the yard’s first full custom explorer vessel, the SeaXplorer 58 also became the first yacht from the SeaXplorer series to be constructed and launched at Damen’s Antalya shipyard in Turkey. 

In line with her explorer exterior, the SeaXplorer 58 also features a host of amenities and features including an ice-class hull, 30 days of ocean-going autonomy, and sustainable additions such a high-class synthetic teak deck and waste water tanks to ensure suitable operations in zero-discharge zones.

NILAYA

Builder: Royal Huisman

Dutch shipyard Royal Huisman revealed the stunning and revolutionary 46.8m sailing yacht NILAYA after plenty of anticipation in February this year. 

With exteriors from Nauta Design and carbon fibre mast and sail rigging from Rondal, NILAYA is a truly spectacular sailing vessel. She is characterised by a low and sporty profile with a straight bow, wide transom, and twin rudders. A 17.5m curved carbon composite coachroof come guest cockpit structure on her main deck and a recessed tender well at the foredeck also makes NILAYA not only stunning but also efficient.

Previously known as Project 405 and Reichel/Pugh - Nauta 154, NILAYA was the first aluminium superyacht built with Royal Huisman’s ‘Featherlight’ design and construction method: combining several weight-saving solutions to take a holistic approach to yacht building without sacrificing quality. She is also the first yacht of her size range to utilise structured luff sail design pioneered by Doyle Sails, which also makes for lighter cruising. She is the largest sailing yacht yet to be designed by Nauta. 

OBSIDIAN 

Builder: Feadship

Not only remarkable in terms of her sustainable build, OBSIDIAN is a stunning superyacht to enter the industry’s fleet this year. Launched in April, the Dutch yard showcased the 84m’s boxy, bold and modern exterior design; gloriously sleek and dark in nature, penned by RWD in collaboration with MONK Design. 

OBSIDIAN was built with the intention to be more energy efficient than SAVANNAH, Feadship’s 2015-launched ground-breaking hybrid yacht. She is fitted with an optimised hull, which is low and slim, alongside featuring weight control, advancements in electric propulsion, and the ability to run engines on HVO, a non-fossil diesel fuel which reduces carbon emissions by 90%.

Carbon fibre has also been effectively used for her weight reduction: a complex engineering method which offers new deck layout possibilities onboard.

PRETTY IN PINK

Builder: VisionF Yachts

In an industry first, PRETTY IN PINK is exactly what her name suggests. Taking the industry by storm this year, the 25m catamaran from VisionF Yachts boasts an entirely pink exterior and matching interior: extremely eye-catching against the common whites, blues and greys of the industry’s fleet. 

The custom shade of pink was chosen by her owner, greatly contrasting the third hull’s all-black exterior, which flows from the flybridge, with an exterior helm station, right to the aft deck. She is the fourth and last 24.6m hull in the VisionF 80 series, superseded by VisionF 82. 

Ali Tanir, General Manager of VisionF Yachts commented at the time of her delivery: ‘She is unique in many ways. The hull colour and a lot of design points were created with all the details thanks to Thurstan Design in London…It was a great pleasure collaborating with them and I hope you would all like the result as much as we do.’

CHARLEY 2

Builder: Echo Yachts

As the largest catamaran superyacht built in Australia, 56m CHARLEY 2 not only features efficiency, space, and functionality but also an eye-catching white super-cat design. 

Launched in August of this year, the 56m features naval architecture from Australian firm One2Three Naval Architects, with engineering, electrical and fitout design by the specialised in-house team at Echo Marine Group.

CHARLEY 2 was constructed with a full-custom designed aluminium hull for greater hydrodynamic efficiency, a large touch & go helicopter pad, alongside spacious outdoor entertaining areas, and a capacity to carry a variety of water toys and tenders: she is the ultimate explorer catamaran.