Zefir-76: new horizons

Each period of the history has its own features, traditional and technological, it refers to any field of human activity, whether it be electronics, automobiles or aircraft, but naturally we are talking about sailing yachts.

An interesting and in some way the paradoxical situation has developed, the budget mainstream tightly filled all possible gaps, professional racers and sponsors went “on wings”, very rich people tightly took their place in superyachting. But there is another group of very worthy people who want to have a yacht for the soul and can afford it both in time and in finance, it is for them that custom-built yachts are built according to an individual author’s project, or as they say now “caste”.

Today I want to present a new project of precisely this sailing yacht Zefir-76, which is being implemented for Russian customer. The project is truly international, the concept project was developed by Alexander Morozov (Morozov Yachts), marine architect and rendering Olivier van Meer Design, general contractor and builder Spanish shipyard 360a3 Yachts in cooperation with Dutch company VMG Yachtbuilders. The project involves the specialists from Russia, Spain, Ukraine and the Netherlands.

Usage model

The most important point in any new project is the definition of so-called “usage model”, a description of how this or that item, device or software, in this case a sailing yacht, will be used. This is a very important and difficult stage in the creation of any new facility. Why is this important and difficult? It is important, depending on the assigned tasks, to determine the initial technical parameters under which suitable technical solutions and equipment are already being selected, and all this still needs to be written into the concept of “nice” and “liked” and should be agreed with the customer. It is difficult to convert the clients wishes and fantasies into an acceptable state in the form of technical assignment for the design and construction of the yacht.

The yacht Zefir-76 is an initially thought-out concept with clear and specific purposes. The yacht will be used in the appropriate season in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands or in the Caribbean region, usually for several months a year by the owner of the yacht.

The rest of the time the yacht will be rented in charter with crew, for a family or a small company. The captain and sailor cook are included in the full-time crew; for the charter, the assistant captain and stewardess will be additionally invited. The combination of private use and possibilities for charter initially were taken into account in the project and influenced the layout and equipment.

Technical project

This is the most important stage in the entire project for the construction of any yacht, large or small.

It doesn’t matter if you build a yacht in a garage or at a professional shipyard, the project is the only element of the project where you can’t cut the costs.

The creation of a technical project for the construction of the yacht is a multi-stage process. First, on the basis of the concept project, a preliminary project is made, when the general details of the hull, layout and specification are specified, then the working project is already being prepared and is concluded with the construction documentation for the shipyard. On average, the development of technical project can take from 4 to 12 months, as sometimes changes are made to the project, and this significantly shifts the time frame.

The famous Dutch yacht designer Olivier van Meer, who specializes in design of classical and neoclassical sailing and motor yachts, was invited to prepare technical documentation. I already had a long work experience with this designer, in particular on the project of motor neoclassical yacht LB-74 Acico. High professionalism and great experience of design helped solve all current issues with the best result, everything was thought out and weighed to the smallest detail. The shipyards will be easier to build on a good project.

Hull

The Zefir-76 hull will be made of marine aluminum alloy 5083, the cockpit and the wheelhouse partially will be made of composite. The yacht keel is welded into the hull, there are no keel screws, the lead ballast is poured inside the keel. The steering wheel is balanced on a powerful skeg, this configuration has several advantages. The protection of the propeller and steering wheel, improving the maneuverability due to the flow from the propeller, improving stability on the course at the expense of the area of skeg, a place for the placement of aft thruster. Five watertight bulkheads: steering compartment, engine compartment, forepeak and anchor locker.

The yacht has two thrusters with 24 volt electric motors, which guarantee good maneuverability in the port and allow to turn around on the spot and turn broadside.

The engine, fuel and water tanks, accumulators and generators are concentrated in the engine room, near the center of gravity of the yacht, this significantly reduces the pitching on the wave. In the engine compartment there is also a spare parts box and a workplace with a workbench. In a large forepeak there is plenty of space for storing additional sails and mooring lines. In the aft garage there is a place for a large dinghy with aluminium bottom and outboard motor or water cannon, hydraulic aft bathing platform and retractable ladder.

Layout and interior

The layout takes into account all the tasks set by the customer. A large master cabin with a workplace, large closets and a toilet with a separate spacious shower where a sauna can be installed. Two guest cabins, fore and aft, with separate toilets and showers. Crew cabins for 4 people with separate toilet and shower. A full-sized galley with all the necessary equipment, with an elevator to serve ready meals in the cockpit, from here it is also convenient to serve in the main salon in the wheelhouse.

The engine compartment is placed in the central part, it has waterproof bulkheads and a sealed entrance door from the galley. Enhanced sound insulation of the engine compartment using the most advanced soundproofing materials and technologies makes this yacht very quiet, such solutions were tested on the project LB-74 Acico and showed their high efficiency. When underway and when stationary you will hardly hear the engine or generators working; it feels like it will be a real “quiet” sailing yacht.

Deck

The main salon is placed in the wheelhouse with a circular panoramic view and this is one of the “highlights” of this yacht, there is also a retractable bar and an internal control post, the chair of which is rotated and transformed into a place for coffee and private conversation aside from the common table.

A large spacious cockpit and a side sofa can freely accommodate 8-10 guests, in the aft part of the cockpit there is a grill and a small fruit wash.

Interior finish

The interior design and its finish are made in “modern classic” style and corresponds to the design of the exterior of the whole yacht. The light panels imitating wooden boards and teak finishing elements create a light and, at the same time, warm atmosphere of the view salon and individual cabins. The quality of materials and elements is of the highest level. In addition to the yacht exclusive tableware and linens with yacht logos are supplied.

Equipment

Main engine Volvo-Penta D6-300, 300 hp with 3 control posts, two in the cockpit and one in the wheelhouse. The electric system consists of two 1500 rpm diesel generators Kohler of 18 kW each one, which are controlled by an automatic monitoring system BMS, the kit includes isolation transformer, charging units and 230/24/12 volt inverters Victron.

The water system is equipped with a fresh water purification and disinfection unit; there is also a powerful desalination unit. The fuel system has equipment for preparation and purification of fuel.

A complete set of navigation equipment Simrad/B&G and comfort equipment: washing machine and dishwasher, refrigerator, freezer, induction stove, oven, microwave, coffee maker, ice maker and more.

To provide a comfortable environment on the premises a climate control system has been installed for cooling and heating the air, as well as a forced ventilation system of cabins.

Sailing rig

The yacht employs essentially a unique sailing rig, previously not used on yachts of this size, the B&R system, masts without backstays, this allowed the use of highly efficient sail with a large hump and through battens.

In addition to improved ship performance in light winds due to upper wind it is also possible to adjust easily the most effective twist and, on the other hand, there is an ease of reefing due to through long battens on carriages.

For downwind two furling gennakers can be added, which significantly increase the total area of sails.

The modern electric windlass, headsail furlers, hydraulic boom vang allow you to steer this quite fast yacht with crew of only two people.

Well-calculated hull lines and highly effective sailing rig make sailing on this yacht not only pleasant and comfortable, but also quite fast.

Technical specifications

• Length – 23,95 m
• Width – 6,28 m
• Draft – 2,50 m
• Displacement – 50 t
• Sails – 247 m2
• Fuel – 2000 l
• Water – 2000 l
• Motor Volvo-Penta – 300 hp
• Class – RCD CE A(Ocean)
• Concept – Morozov Yachts
• Naval architect – Olivier van Meer Design
• Builder – 360a3 Yachts

Alexander E. Morozov