Posted by sabine7
Other | 06 Aug 08 | Comments (1) | Stumble
The Shaka yacht, designed by Lazzarini Pickering Architects and Farr Yacht Design for Wally, was yet another winner of the ADI Compasso d’Oro 2008 Award. It is a flush deck, canting keel, three-cabin cruise and regatta yacht. On deck, a vast teak plane, is a social cockpit that seats up to ten people at two sleek folding tables (removable for racing). Down below is a salon for lounging and dining, nicely lit by a long skylight. The stateroom is full of built-ins, and the hanging leather wardrobe is a great idea. Guest cabins have two twin beds, the galley comes with two fridges and two freezers. All the high quality materials (stainless steel, carbon, sunbrella upholstery, etc.) are well-suited for practicality and aesthetics, right down to the lycra cushions that can be used indoors or out.
This is a very nice looking boat, unfortunately it's also horribly impractical, and doesn't seem to be in any way designed for actual sailing.
The interior looks very nice but imagine trying to maneuver your way through the sharp edged rooms and corridors at 20 degrees of heel. There are no handholds anywhere, the beds are useless, the kitchen is useless. This would be a very difficult boat to live on, or even use in any sort of weather or wind.
Up on deck, the designer placed 2 winches in front of each wheel. The winches are so close together it looks as if you'd only be able to use one at a time as the removable handles would hit each other if one tried to use both winches at once.
The deck/cockpit offers no shelter at all. This boat would be every uncomfortable and potentially even dangerous in anything but the finest weather.