It may have been the somewhat-orange color, or it may have been the idea of a helicopter landing on the top deck, but The Keys, a custom Valder Yachts 66-foot foiling catamaran, got a lot of attention at the Palm Beach show last week.
Built in New Zealand, the brainchild of offshore racer Wayne Valder, The Keys is designed as a fast, comfortable offshore boat powered by twin 1,300-hp MAN turbo diesels, ZF gears and custom five-blade props.
It has a foil about half way aft in the hull that lifts the boat up above the surface at 17.5 knots. Top speed is about 44 knots, and the range at that speed of 733 nm. The hull, decks and superstructure are all made of carbon fiber for light weight and strength.
The 450-square-foot top deck is strong enough to hold a small helicopter. If you don’t have one, you can store a large tender up there, waiting to be launched by a 2,200 pound davit. Or you can just use the deck as party central; it can hold a crowd.
The large cockpit, with a settee, table, chairs and bar, opens to the salon through wide doors. Inside, a full U-shaped cruising galley is on the port side; a bar with a 20-bottle wine refrigerator is opposite. Forward, three settees line the port side, and two chairs face the helm. Three Garmin MFDs are integrated in to a floating carbon-fiber display above the helm.
A Marex joystick provides fingertip control for low speed maneuvering and docking; there’s another one at an aft starboard wing station. As the speed increases, control transfers automatically to traditional throttle/shifters. The Keys comes with Humphree Interceptors for stability.
The fit and finish are superyacht quality. A diamond-stitched faux leather headliner is overhead in the salon; cork flooring is below.
On the accommodations deck, the master is forward, stretching across the cat’s almost 22-foot beam. The VIP and a smaller cabin are in the port hull; a guest cabin and a utility room are in the starboard hull. All the cabins have en suite heads.
The Keys is being sold in the U.S. by HMY. Price: $4,995,000.
Specs.: LOA: 66’6”; Beam: 21’11”; Draft: 2’8”; Disp.: 35 tons; Fuel: 2,499 gals.; Water: 556 gals.; Power: 2×1,300-hp MANs.
Read more at http://valderyachts.com and http://hmy.com and see the video below:
