BMT’s Latest Collaboration Inspired by Polynesian History
BMT’s latest collaboration with Oceanco and Lobanov Design Studio has taken inspiration from Polynesian history dating back thousands of years and been applied to the modern-day superyacht.
James Roy, Yacht Design Director at BMT, explains: “1700 years ago, the Polynesians decided to move and settle in a new land. This presented an unimaginable journey, which today would take five hours by jet. From the Marquesas Islands sailing thousands of miles north, using nothing but the stars and the birds for guidance, they discovered the Hawaiian Islands. Their mode of transport? A Canoe. This simple, yet robust design, sitting at around 18m long and about 5m wide, would carry up to 20 people and all their possessions and food including animals.”
It is no surprise that Lobanov has designed another masterpiece, following the success of Jubilee in 2017. BMT’s hull development has enabled Lobanov to draw upon the famous curves familiar to the canoe. Tuhura will have an unprecedented presence wherever she may be moored due to her elegant design. This elegance is matched brilliantly by Achille Salvagni’s interior design, which takes inspiration from East Asia and the Pacific Islands.
BMT not only innovatively developed the canoe-like hull of Tuhura but has also developed the propulsion system. Naturally, the canoe presented very little problems when it came to hull development – due to its simple design, the canoe offers low overall resistance, good seakeeping and excellent manoeuvrability, however, integrating a modern propulsion system presented some challenges.
Having assessed various possibilities, the team selected the ABB hybrid Azipod® CRP (contra-rotating) propulsion system, which provides fuel efficiency, excellent manoeuvrability and silent operation.
James Roy, Yacht Design Director at BMT, comments: “The hybrid CRP system, is inherently efficient and perfectly suited to the canoe form. There is a synergy between the efficiency of the hull form and that of the propulsion system, leading to a yacht which marries a simple evolutionary hull with an evolutionary advanced propulsion system.”
The propulsion system is perfectly aligned to Oceanco’s philosophy behind this project. Offering the owner the possibilities of entering uncharted waters, often prohibited to large motor yachts. Reminiscent of the journey undertook by the Polynesians those many years ago, allowing new exploration to whomever Tuhura’s owner may be…