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Design Ethos
Creating yachts with film star appeal and the ability to turn heads, both under way and at rest, begins on the virtual drawing board
Through computer aided design to manufacture (CAD/CAM), lines on screen and paper become reality via high technology and advanced engineering, not to mention a great deal of help from traditional boat-building skill, using hand, eye, spokeshave and smoothing plane.
CAD allows designers and naval architects to juggle at will with sheer lines and flybridge profiles, configure spaces until the ergonomics are right, play with the quality of light, and even experiment with the texture of the soft furnishings.
Building a Sunseeker may well start with hi-tech vacuum infusion moulding, whereby resin is injected in precisely controlled conditions, but it will invariably finish with classic cabinetmaking and polishing techniques.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) allows the designers to experiment with variations of hull shape, length, beam and deadrise angle before a single mould is made or five-axis milling machine programmed. They can then assess sea-keeping, fuel economy, and ride quality, try different drive systems and powering options many months before construction begins.
The design stage is crucial, leaving nothing to chance. Keeping weight to design parameters ensures every Sunseeker performs as predicted, taking heavy seas in its stride and without intrusive vibration. Noise attenuation has long been a goal at Sunseeker. Every generation is quieter and smoother than the last, and the search for ever-better efficiency is ongoing.
