Expedition class yachts
Built for reliable travel
An Expedition Class yacht or Explorer is an ultra-reliable yacht capable of cruising even in extreme conditions, combining the luxury of a superyacht with the reliability of an ocean-going yacht and a long range. When buying an expedition class yacht, you should make sure that the yacht meets all the necessary requirements.
Motor expedition yachts
Six main factors to be aware of
Project
When wanting an expedition class yacht make sure that the yacht has been designed properly. Your safety in possible extreme weather conditions should be a priority in the design. The yacht design should be calculated by competent marine engineers, tested and approved by a European classification society. For example, yachts designed by our design bureau are approved and certified by Italian RINA. Length and beam compliance, displacement, properly designed watertight bulkheads, seaworthiness, stability and many other parameters must be taken into account and calculated by a specialist in order for the project to really comply with category A - unrestricted navigation area.
Hull material
Steel and aluminium is the most commonly used hull material for expedition yachts. This material shows extremely high strength characteristics. It is not for nothing that expedition yachts are assigned the so-called "ice class", which indicates the reference reliability and safety of the vessel. A steel displacement hull for an ice class expedition motor yacht is a "must have" if one of your priorities is safety and reliability. It is also not uncommon to use aluminum alloys when building a hull. Adherents of aluminum talk about such advantages of this material as weight reduction, increased seaworthiness, reduced fuel consumption. In our experience, the best results are obtained by combining these materials. Reliable steel hull and aluminum superstructure allow you to achieve optimal weight, excellent seaworthiness and economy. For example, a 27.6 meter long BSY 90 expedition motor yacht with a cruising speed of 10 knots consumed only 60 liters per hour.
Equipment
When making a list of equipment with shipyard specialists, you should realize that reliability, ease of operation and maintenance are the key to your comfortable and safe cruising on an expedition yacht. When choosing equipment for your yacht, you should trust the shipyard specialists and the staff of the classification society. Your knowledge and experience of "I did it in my country house" cannot always be adapted to the operation of the yacht at sea in different weather conditions.
Comfort and safety
What distinguishes an expedition class yacht from a large yacht with a good fuel reserve is its ability to operate in a wide range of weather conditions, sometimes even extreme. Beautiful design interior should be combined with yacht practicality. All elements of your interior should be adapted to the possibility of traveling through stormy seas. All furniture must be secured, all drawers, cupboards, doors and lockers must have appropriate stops. Literally everything on an expedition class yacht should be designed and equipped so that even after a storm your vessel will look the same as it did before. You should also pay attention not only to the air conditioning system on the yacht, but also to the heating system. The yacht should have a heating system that works effectively in good "minus" temperatures.
Fuel reserve and range
This is a very important point. Speaking of an expedition yacht as a displacement vessel on which you travel at a comfortable cruising speed, it is worth remembering that fuel reserves in this mode should be sufficient for 3500 nautical miles. More if the design allows (for example, one of Black Sea Yachts' BSY 98 expedition yachts was designed with a range of 5000 nautical miles), but 3500 is, in our opinion, the necessary standard that every expedition yacht should meet.
Life preservers.
Your safety must come first. Anything can happen at sea, so no matter how reliable and safe your yacht is, it should be equipped with life saving equipment according to special regulations. Not only life jackets, but also satellite communication systems, special signaling buoys that activate when in the water, a self-opening life raft and much more.
Reliability, safety, comfort - these are the three qualities that a real expedition class yacht should combine. And then your voyages will be full of new impressions and wonderful rest.
Expedition sailing yachts
When choosing an expedition class sailing yacht you should be guided by the same criteria as when choosing a motor yacht (see above): design, hull material, equipment, comfort, safety. On sailing yachts such a huge fuel reserve is not so important - the volume of fuel tanks to pass 1000 nautical miles under the engine will be quite enough for you. But it is worth noting that on an expedition class sailing yacht you need to have an additional set of storm sails designed to work in extreme conditions.