Now here’s something a little out of the ordinary for Cruising Odyssey, a 130-foot steel expedition yacht from the Hong Kong builder Cheoy Lee, also known as CL Yachts. The yacht, which will be built of steel instead of the company’s usual composite yacht-build method, will have transoceanic range so it will be capable of expeditions from the Arctic to the Antarctic and all points in between.
While we are used to thinking of CL Yachts as builders of private yachts in the 65 to 90-foot range, this much larger yacht is not a stretch for the 150-year-old family-owned boat and ship building company, now managed by the fifth generation. They already build steel and aluminum work boats, supply vessels and coastal patrol vessels, so they know their way around ship building. That makes sense because the new Explorer 130 is truly a small ship.
The yacht will have a crew of six who will look after up to 10 guests. It will be equipped to undertake a wide range of expeditions from recreational diving junkets to scientific projects.
While the yacht has the brawn of a small ship it will have the look and character of a true luxurious mega yacht. The interior has been designed and planned by Seattle-based Sylvia Bolton.
She in turn has worked with Cheoy Lee to commission Genesis Interiors in Italy to hand build all furniture, cabinets and interior finish work. Genesis has two shops, one in Italy and one in Ft. Lauderdale. By splitting the work between the two shops the company is able to cut production time in half.
This is an exciting project for Cheoy Lee and we will follow its progress until the new 130 is launched next year. Read more.
