DLBA YACHTING NEWS
Palmer Johnson Sportyacht Series
JUNE 9, 2021
DLBA was proud to be involved with the Palmer Johnson Sportyacht series back in 2005. This was the first large project that DLBA Director, Jeffrey Bowles, had the opportunity to lead for the company. There were two models developed and built – the 150’ (45m) raised pilothouse version, and the 135’ (41m) version with a single deck and a flying bridge. It was a pleasure to work with the Palmer Johnson team and renowned design team Nouvolari & Lenard to crease these high-performance yachts. As we approached the project, as with most, cost control was important. But the project team decided that the marketability of the vessels as semi-custom platforms was equally important to the project’s success. This presented us with a unique challenge of maximizing the flexibility of, and commonality between, both platforms.
In the end, the collective team worked together to achieve the goal in a pretty unique way. Our team quickly recognized that if we could manage to keep the beam the same on both boats, then we had a shot at achieving the goal. We were successful and delivered the first platform, the 150’ (45m) version, in a build time of 16 months, and the second boat (135’ (41m) version) only three months after that. Regarding commonality, both hulls and their internal structure were the same forward of the engine room bulkhead.
The structure was designed in a way that the bulkheads and portlights could be installed after production was essentially complete, without designating the vessel’s length in advance. That’s flexibility in itself! However, the real balancing act was in the layout of the machinery spaces and tankage. Both the 135’ (41m) and the 150’ (45m) yachts were offered with twin or triple, 12-cylinder or 16-cylinder MTU engines. The wide range in propulsion options had an associated wide range in propulsion plant weight that needed to be addressed from a hydrostatic perspective. By identifying the range of flexibility desired, and by committing to design both versions at once, these steps gave our team the ability to develop an adaptable design meeting the project objectives.
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