Tuesday, January 1, 2008

With its marvellously proportioned form "Ability", hull number 119 of the CRN shipyard, is a 54-metre displacement mega-yacht, made of steel and aluminium. Large-scale volumes and a passion for all the different aspects of the sea provided...<br /><br />...the underlying inspiration for the creative talent of the Zuccon International Project firm as it designed this project, together with CRN technical staff.<br />Numerous spaces that open onto the sea characterise the layout of "Ability", whose distinctive personality is noticeable right from the stern. Unlike other boats, which use their stern for technical functions, the aft portion of "Ability" radically rearranges the rules of standard naval design, transforming the stern into a "VIP" area, with a full-fledged "balcony on the sea": a beach deck measuring roughly 19 square metres and providing easy access to the tender. A crystal panel opens onto a fitness area meant to function as a spa, with a Starpool sauna and Turkish bath and gymnasium, designed by the CRN engineering staff, with consulting assistance from the experts at the Technogym firm, plus the cutting-edge equipment of the Kinesis system.<br />From the beach deck, we move on to the main deck, where a comfortable conversation zone provides the prelude to the main deck lounge. A lobby with a parquet floor and a welcome bar greets entering guests. There is no mistaking the well developed taste of the owner of the ship, who provided the shipyard with input during every moment of the construction process, making painstaking decisions on even the smallest details. <br />A "reverse motif" would appear to be the implicit theme of the stylistic choices comprising the interior design, dominated by an art-deco look that includes features hearkening back to an imperial style. Veneers of precious woods (no fewer than 8 can be found on the vessel) add further lustre to the different rooms, which are already enriched by an abundant use of silk and velvet, furs and leather, plus exclusive, highly sophisticated accessories, such as Versace lamps. <br />Honey-shaded myrtle veneer lightens the dark tones of the Ralph Lauren couches and sofas in the main lounge, which holds a splendid Steinway baby grand piano at its centre. The interplay of the rich veneers also highlights the dining room seating 12, where the discretion of the dark oak veneer is brilliantly set off by maple inserts.<br />Leaving the dining room, the central lobby is to the right, providing a sumptuous passageway to the strictly private zone reserved for the shipowner. A glass elevator, holding a central position in the lobby, connects the three covered decks. On the pavement, engraved in the black and white marble, is the logo of the owner's company, a motif repeated on the elevator floor and throughout the rest of the boat, on the glass-coated silk screens of the push locks.<br />The shipowner's area starts with a private studio featuring an artful combination of skins and furs: crocodile-skin couches, luxuriant cushions made of mink, fox and hare, plus inlays of antiqued leather on the doors. A treasure-trove of opulent materials and facings can also be found in the massive central bathroom, featuring precious marble further enriched by inlays, geometric designs and facings. A Philippe Stark chaise-lounge completes the indoor relax area, whose outdoor counterpart is a large terrace that opens onto the sea, with a design as exclusively private as it is innovative. This feature presented the shipyard with a challenge unlike anything faced to date in the rest of the world, with proof of its successful resolution being the full approval of the Lloyd's Register of Shipping of London, as well as the MCA, which tested and certified every last construction detail of this innovation.<br />Also found on the main deck, with a double entryway from the dining room and from the outside, is a high-tech professional kitchen expressly designed for this vessel by Ernesto Meda, together with the shipyard's engineering staff.<br />The elevator ride from the lobby takes us to the guest area on the lower deck. The deck set aside for guests has four cabins: silks, velvets and leathers in shades of blue, gold, green and red lend distinctive personalities to two cabins with double beds and two others with twin beds. <br />Continuing along this deck, towards the bow, is the crews area, also designed with the utmost attention. A roomy crew mess with a dinette and 6 comfortably sized cabins, all with their own bathrooms, complete the area, while the areas for washing and dry storage, along with the cold room, are found in the sub deck below.<br />The Captain's quarters are in the centre of the vessel, on the upper deck, next to the radio room and the pilot house, which is equipped with all the latest navigation systems and instruments required by a modern pleasure boat.<br />The aft portion of the deck holds a sky lounge, offering a roomy zone for relaxation, complete with a L-shaped sofa. Here too the dark hues of the crocodile-skin and leather seats are lightened by exclusive Versace lamps, plus a pattern of steel columns that reflect and amplify the light from the amply sized windows. <br />The rest of the covered facilities of this deck consist of an additional VIP cabin and a pantry, while the outdoor portion provides an ideal spatial continuation of the design. A table for 12 makes for a delightful covered area astern, perfect for convivial moments, while 3 oval sofas in the forward portion create a highly pleasant area for relaxation.<br />While the large volumes of the "Ability" appear impressive from the moment one steps on the ship, it is on the sun deck that the vessel's impressive size can be appreciated in full. An area measuring 130 square metres holds a luncheon zone, bar, pool and sun-bathing area, equipped with cushions and chaise lounges that can easily be replaced with a platform on which to land a helicopter.<br />In the engine compartment, which has a control room of its own, are two Caterpillar 3512B engines that drive the vessel at a cruising speed of 14 knots and a top speed of 15 knots. To the aft of the engine compartment is a garage that holds a 6.80 m NOVURANIA tender, while two jet skis are placed in the technical area found in the forward portion of the main deck.<br />The building of this mega yacht has been followed by Nigel Burgess, who oversees for the whole management of the boat.