Don’t try this at home. But Frank Kowalski, the head of Safehaven Marine, wanted to give his new Voyager T-2000 70-foot explorer yacht a good sea trial, so he took it straight out of Cork Harbour in Ireland in a storm with 70-mph winds and 13-foot waves (see the video below).
The Voyager, and Kowalski, escaped unscathed, and returned safely to the factory. The idea was to give the Voyager, a recreational vessel, the same real-world testing that Safehaven gives its commercial, military and search-and-rescue craft. Founded in 1998, Safehaven has made more than 160 vessels so far.
The Voyager T-2000 catamaran has a relatively narrow beam of 20’ 3” and starts with symmetrical semi-wave piercing hulls with inverted bows, to maximize waterline length, and topside flare, to deflect spray. The bridge deck is set 11’ 4” back from the bows to eliminate waves slamming back in a head sea.
Power comes from twin 1,550-hp MAN diesels with Twin Disc gearboxes and surface-piercing drives. Top speed is 47 knots, and the Voyager has a range of 1,000 nm at 30 knots, 1,600 nm at 16 knots, and 3,000 nm at 10 knots. The cat carries 2,900 gallons of fuel.
You can order the Voyager with a hydrofoil (not on this boat) to reduce drag and increase the top speed and range. Kowalski says the foil would give the cat at least a 50-knot performance.
Not surprisingly, the Voyager is meant for long-range voyaging. It has three cabins below. The owner’s cabin is amidships in the starboard hull and runs across the bridge deck; it has a double bed and en suite head. A VIP double cabin and a crew cabin are in the port hull.
In the wheelhouse, two pilot seats face the helm, while a lounge is on the starboard side and the galley to port. There’s enough storage capacity to support a comfortable ocean crossing.
Base price for the Voyager T-2000: About $3.7 million.
Read more at http://safehavenmarine.com and see the video below:
