Design
Remarkable weight savings were achieved in the build of the SW105 GT Taniwha, which is the most performance- focused of the 105 mini-series
initially built in one piece, fromchipboard and plywood – low-costmaterials with a small carbon footprint – with old resin that would otherwise have to be thrown away. After fairing and checking dimensions the mould is cut into three pieces that fit back together with amore perfect alignment than a CNC-produced three-partmould. ‘It was Stefan’s idea,’Micheli recalls. ‘He presented it toMarco Alberti and theymade amock-up to explain the concept toWilly Persico, founder of SouthernWind. That model lived in the board roomfor years and was used inmanymeetings with clients.’ Quality assurance is taken well beyond
the requirements of classification. Independent surveyors from QI Composites conduct non-destructive ultrasound testing (NDT) on each boat, two or three times during its build. On a typical visit they might check the bulkheads of one boat, the outer skin of another and the inner skin and deck of a third. ‘But we also conduct our own internal NDT checks on a weekly basis so that when we have a QI Composites check, this is mostly a formality,’ says Yann Dabbadie, SW technical manager,
‘and we ask the mast maker to do the same. All of the findings are compiled into a report that forms part of the owner’s manual so the client has complete visibility. We think this level of transparency is very important but it is absolutely not standard in the industry.’ Inside the hull, the construction
‘The furniture is made with paper core panels’
innovation continues. Cabins are built as modules on the factory floor, which is amuch more efficient way to do it than building inside the
hull. But while other yards tend to simply hoist finishedmodules straight into the boat and fix themin place, at Southern Wind they are taken apart after completion and then re-assembled on board. There are several reasons for this, Dabbadie explains. Themodules can be built a lot lighter because they don’t need to support their own weight while being craned into the yacht. And because they are designed for disassembly, it’s easy to access everything behind and inside them– chainplates, systems, cables, pipework, the hull itself – formaintenance and repair. The furniture is made from paper-cored
panels that are very nearly as light as Nomex (which is an alternative on highly
Above: the SW ‘recipe’ includes three- part female hull moulds, modular cabin construction and composite structures
customised builds), and half the cost. These are set in solid timber and covered with carefully grain-matched veneer which the shipyard buys in rolls, rather than pre-bonded to plywood panels, to save a bit more weight. Southern Wind’s main focus in recent
years has been ‘smart custom’ builds, which are one of its unique selling points. The smart custom approach has been developed to offer most of the key advantages of a full custom build while eliminating most of the risks. In these projects the owner has almost complete freedom of choice for the internal layout and interior design (as well as the coachroof, cockpit, deck plan, rig and more), with just the constraints of a pre-designed and engineered hull. There’s now an alternative to smart
After the hull is infused in a three-shot process, the internal structures are bonded in place. Nomex is used strategically
82 SEAHORSE
custom builds, although those will continue to be a mainstay of the yard’s production. The latest model, the 100X, is a semi-custom build where the owner selects froma wide range of pre-set options for layout, interior design and deck plan, rather than having complete free rein. The benefit for them is a faster, more efficient and sustainable build at a lower cost. And crucially – whichever way they choose to have their boat built – Southern Wind’s signature composite construction and build quality are exactly the same.
www.sws-yachts.com
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