axis CNC milling machines. No problem there for Persico.
Ultim Gitana
Team Gitana also presented some interesting challenges for Persico with commissions to build a deckhouse for their Ultim class trimaran Edmond de Rothschild, containing its nav station and accommodation, and also a very complex set of rudders and elevators. The deckhouse was a spatial challenge, with more holes and openings than the rest of the yacht’s composite structure. The rudders and elevators on these giant flying multihulls require constant development because the boats themselves are evolving rapidly. Persico Marine was selected to build Gitana’s next set of rudders and took the opportunity to deploy a wide range of hi-tech processes and machinery that it has developed in recent years. The build process started with ply-by-ply computer- generated files fed into plotter cutting machines, then curing in sophisticated autoclaves. CNC machining at various stages throughout the process ensured the highest quality, lightest weight and most accurate shaping of exterior hydrodynamic surfaces. The rudders and elevators have just been successfully load-tested at Gitana’s base in France, and Persico’s production team is very pleased with the results.
P65 cruiser-racer
Persico is also proving to be very adept at building and fitting out large, complex, high-performance cruisers. One recent example is the awesome P65, a very unusual yacht born of a collaboration between Persico and the Italian designer Umberto Felci, which has been aptly described as a seagoing Ferrari. The exacting commission came from an Italian client who wanted a dual-purpose yacht: one that he could easily handle himself without any crew to assist him and cruise with his family in luxurious comfort, but that could also compete on an equal footing against purpose-built racing yachts in long-distance offshore events – either as a singlehanded racer or with a professional crew on board. The
Above and right: the
all-Italian P65, built by
Persico and designed by Umberto Felci, is a remarkable and radical new cruiser racer that redefines the genre. Its 18.5-ton displacement is almost unbelievably light for a 20-metre offshore
yacht with a fully fitted cruising interior.
The carbon sandwich hull uses variable densities of foam in the core, giving maximum stiffness where it is needed, and boasts a resin density that is almost as good as a comparable pre-preg panel. The interior layout is carefully designed around the yacht’s main structural members to reduce the number of extra panels needed to subdivide the accommoda- tion. All of the interior furniture is made using the lightest possible composite materials
initial design process involved extensive hydrodynamic research and modelling, comparing the form stability and wave resistance of seven different hull forms to identify the optimal canoe body. The result was a remarkably streamlined, powerful and sleek hull with very low freeboard, a flush deck with cleverly concealed deckhouse windows and an elegantly chamfered reverse bow. Cup-shaped sections deliver the required form stability at high angles of heel while wave resistance is reduced to an absolute minimum when the boat is on an even keel. The design has also been optimised to give the most comfortable motion possible at sea and to be agile and easily driven under power. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this unique yacht is its displacement, which at just 18.5 tons is almost unbelievably light for a 20-metre offshore yacht with a fully fitted cruising interior. This was achieved by leveraging all of Persico’s considerable expertise in producing and optimising Grand Prix racing yachts. The carbon sandwich hull uses variable densities of foam in its core, depending on loading and was formed in a five-axis CNC-milled female mould, using a specially designed three-step infusion process that can almost match the resin density of pre-preg carbon panels. The P65’s interior layout is carefully designed around the hull’s structural members to reduce the need for extra panels to subdivide the accommodation. All interior furniture is made of ultra-lightweight composites. To further reduce the yacht’s all-up displacement, an extremely deep lifting keel can put its 6.2 tons of ballast 4.25m under water. The 24-volt DC hybrid propulsion system with 1,000 amp hour lithium-ion batteries weighs less than a comparable marine diesel. Also remarkable is that all of this weight reduction has been achieved while keeping a tight control on the overall cost of the project, which
could enable Persico to put the P65 into production as a competitively priced semi-custom yacht.
Wally 145
The largest yacht that Persico has ever built is currently taking shape in the Massa-Carrara shipyard. The commission to build the Wally 145 offers a unique opportunity for the yard to apply all of its technology, experience and recent innovation to a ship-size performance cruiser. As with the P65 and previous builds such as the Wallycento Tango, an enormous effort has been made to reduce the weight of the yacht’s composite structures and all of its systems. Attention to detail is crucial. Every component of every system has to be carefully optimised to ensure that the yacht achieves its ambitiously low target displacement. The inherent challenges and complexities of this mammoth project are sure to drive Persico’s innovation to a new level. The Wally 145 will be fitted with a hybrid propulsion system, with two MAN diesel engines capable of driving the yacht at a maximum speed of 16 knots. For quiet running under electrical power, retractable shaft lines will connect the two fixed- blade propellers to a pair of 60kW electric motors. This setup is designed to generate enough electrical power to charge the huge batteries that power all the systems when the yacht is under sail. With all of these innovations and more, Persico keeps raising the bar higher. In the last few years, it has demonstrated not only leadership at the cutting edge of composite manufacturing and racing yacht production, but also a remarkable ability to produce very large and complex high-performance cruising yachts, where systems engineering and project management can be at least as challenging as Persico’s original core business of high-end structural composite manufacturing.
www.persicomarine.com
q SEAHORSE 67
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