132m Yacht Design

[Chaogen]

Hi there.
I'm new to the site. Found the site when researching some of the mega yachts out there. Water going vessels, from motor yachts to aircraft carriers, have always fascinated me. So a few weeks back I started on designing this 132m (434 ft) yacht. I’ve gotten to a point where I could post a picture and I would appreciate some comments on the design. It is not yet finished. The next step would be to add furnishings. Hope someone enjoys it.

[daiquiri]

Hi, welcome to the forum.
Now... Is there some technical or functional justification for that bow?

[lazeyjack]

well all your front facing windows, are IMO too far forwards
in some places(aguillas current) that whole lot could easily be wiped out
But is ok, at least you can render, I cant

[TeddyDiver]

Impressive!
Esthetically the "cutout" like lines in the bow makes it look like she's going to nose dive any moment...

[Chaogen]

Yes, I thought someone was going to mention it. There is no justification for the bow design. I’m still working on that as well. I ‘m going for something that looks like the bow of the yacht SKAT. I’m building her in Solidworks as opposed to modelling it in some 3D modelling program. So it requires parts that fit together and the bow is quite a tricky loft, not to mention the bulbous bow below the waterline.
Yes the windows are very forward. I will consider that. I’m a mechanical engineer with limited sea vessel experience, so these are the type of comments I appreciate. I must mention that the scale is deceiving. You could still park a Eurocopter Dolphin/Dauphin on the front deck. I will post some more shots including from aft. Thanks for all the input.

[lazeyjack]

Originally Posted by Chaogen

Yes, I thought someone was going to mention it. There is no justification for the bow design. I’m still working on that as well. I ‘m going for something that looks like the bow of the yacht SKAT. I’m building her in Solidworks as opposed to modelling it in some 3D modelling program. So it requires parts that fit together and the bow is quite a tricky loft, not to mention the bulbous bow below the waterline.
Yes the windows are very forward. I will consider that. I’m a mechanical engineer with limited sea vessel experience, so these are the type of comments I appreciate. I must mention that the scale is deceiving. You could still park a Eurocopter Dolphin/Dauphin on the front deck. I will post some more shots including from aft. Thanks for all the input.

pm me I have some (spare software)
a full sized ship had her windows stove in in the Southern ocean not so long ago, by, a 100 foot wave, she lay broadsize on her engines stopped, they managed to gt her running again, , and turn around before the next one hit, windows are always an issue on any size yacht

[daiquiri]

Yes, Solidworks can be tricky when it comes to complex shapes like a hull, but nothing that can't be resolved.
Make it a nicely rounded bow. This one is a vortex creating machine.
Unless you intended to make some sort of planing hull, but you shouldn't even consider it for a boat of this size.

[schakel]

I agree about what people advice you on the bow but above the main deck it's a gorgeous yacht. Congratulations.

[Chaogen]

Some more pics.
Just as a matter of interest, the tenders are to scale to give some point of reference.
I’m definitely redoing the bow. The ship is designed in four sections. Changing the bow would not affect the rest of the ship. The bow itself is split in two parts to facilitate a loft. The problem is that my profiles were vertical and as such I will be redoing them horizontally. Got out the fluid dynamic textbooks so this will be resolve this sometime in the near future.
Yeah, maybe the ship should be restricted to the Gulf of Mexico in fair weather. Keep in mind this is just a design and will probably never make it to the water as is, unless some billionaire likes it and hires me to lead a similar design project, wink wink..
Thank you for all the advise. By the way before someone mentions the colossal waste of space on some of the rear decks, the space makes it easier to relocate the superstructure as advised.

[water addict]

Originally Posted by Chaogen

Yes, I thought someone was going to mention it. There is no justification for the bow design. I’m still working on that as well. I ‘m going for something that looks like the bow of the yacht SKAT. I’m building her in Solidworks as opposed to modelling it in some 3D modelling program. So it requires parts that fit together and the bow is quite a tricky loft, not to mention the bulbous bow below the waterline.
Yes the windows are very forward. I will consider that. I’m a mechanical engineer with limited sea vessel experience, so these are the type of comments I appreciate. I must mention that the scale is deceiving. You could still park a Eurocopter Dolphin/Dauphin on the front deck. I will post some more shots including from aft. Thanks for all the input.

Gotta smooth out that bow. It would be hell at sea. And the board flat hull sides- both the bow region and flat side would have wave slap issues. Also that knuckle at the waterline would be pretty bad for resistance.

Sorry to be so brutal! But on a positive note, your modelling and renderings look really cool.

[Chaogen]

With the recommendations I’ve changed two major things. The Superstructure has been moved back and the Bow has been redesigned and stream lined.

I’m not a naval architect and my experience with ship building are restricted to 1:350 Scale models. My engineering experience only really covered 2-dimensional fluid dynamics and does not involve fluid waves splashing over the windscreens. I know that the best solution to design and build a ship (or most any commercial product for that matter) is not found by one person alone. That is why I posted the design to get expert advice and refine it to something that might just be viable. So any criticism is welcomed.

As lazeyjack mentioned, waves coming over the bow could take out the forward facing windows, so besides moving them aft, is there any other ways to protect them. Obviously making them smaller would strengthen them, but I’m looking for an alternative solution.

I also know the hull displacement is far too deep at this stage but that will be adjusted when the final weight of the vessel can be assed more accurately.

Thanks all.
AJ

[daiquiri]

I have few quick observations (see the attached pic), three of them based on just my personal aesthetics standards:
1) and 2) I think you should make the inclination of superstructure surfaces more continuous. It looks like every surface is inclined in it's own way, regardles of the rest of the structure.
3) I keep not liking the sharp-point bow. I prefer it nicely rounded. But you can really call it my problem. Is that a trace of the old hull visible in the rendering?
4) This bulb looks very odd to me. The design of bulbous bow is a tricky stuff and requires a lots of study and towing tank tests. Just for the purpose of 3D rendering, you could search around for some common form and put it here.
I'm curious to see how will Solidworks perform with the shape of the bulb.

Take these as just my suggestions, not criticism.

[Chaogen]

Thanks daiquiri. I’ll try and explain my method of design. See each of the upper decks is a separate assembly and for all intentional purposes independent of each other, other than the support running vertically. The last rendering was just to show the ship with the new bow and relocated superstructure. The angles of the railings definitely will have to be adjusted. But I first want to sort out the window designs before settling on a definite angle. Also the two lower deck railings at the aft still needs to be inclined to ensure the angles match up. Small changes. I noticed that Photoworks does change the perspective of an object quite a bit when it is rendered.
I’m designing this thing from a manufacturing point of view. Keeping all dimensions rounded and using sizes that would enable a shipyard to use standardized section profiles. Also the windows of each deck could have a more flowing aesthetic, but that means different sections and window moulds for each deck. By keeping them the same you can reduce cost of manufacturing and replacement costs. (I know when one is talking about building such a thing, cost would probably not be a factor, but I like to keep some things simple. Occupational habit)
I saw that error on the upper bow there after I posted it. Turns out a I –beam used to support the deck was sticking out.. The previous bow covered it up and I missed it. Included are the lofts used for the upper and lower parts of the bow.
And I must say I certainly do not mind taking pointers on aesthetics from someone based in Italy and I don’t take any criticism personally. Otherwise I would not have posted it. I only wish to better my design and skills by having the input of people who know something about the topic.

[navarchboy]

As for your forward windows, one solution is to specify a double glazed unit, with an air gap between. This provides some redundancy for a freak wave. The basis for design is that you calculate required glass thickness for the expected wave loading using ISO standards. Each pane should be able to withstand the design pressure from the standard. Alternatively you could use a laminated construction with PVB layer separating each glazing laminate, this is very strong and performs well under impact, the main advantage being if you lose the first laminate, the PVB interlayers generally hold everything together.

To meet statutory requirements of the country where the yacht is registered you would be expected to fit some sort of storm protection anyway, either portable internal deadlights or external storm covers.

I note that you are hoping to standardise this design - difficult for windows, each tier is subject to different design pressures, and consequently have different levels of required strength.

[Chaogen]

That’s what I thought. Double glazed panes does offer other advantages such as dramatically reducing solar heat gain thought the windows when you consider air conditioning and sound proofing for what it is worth.

I do note that the window strengths may differ from level to level. Making the windows all the same is probably wishful thinking, however the standardization is not only restricted to the windows panes itself but to things like wall sections, window frames, seals, trimmings etcetera. Please note that I only refer to the superstructure windows. Obviously those below that would require a different approach. I would anyway advise the design of all the windows with quite a decent safety factor.

Unfortunately at this stage my computer is running out of memory, which makes any further tweaking and adding of details rather difficult. So I would probably need to change software if I were to pursue any further development.

Thanks for all the support.

A quick off topic question.
I am just wondering, what are the rules and regulations regarding the arming of a yacht or ship for self-defence purposes, in light of the pirate high-jacking of the Ukrainian ship off the coast of Somalia? It has received quite a bit of attention here. I’ve tried to look it up, yet I could not find a strait answer.