Bill and Me

This is a new concept in motor yacht design, produced for a client making the transition from sail to power who had previously owned a 72ft yacht and sailed around the world with her.

His brief to Mani was for a motorboat that would be both seaworthy and quiet as a sailing boat. Additionally, it had to be fuel-efficient at slow and high speed.

The design incorporates a large pilothouse and a spacious salon connected to a generous aft deck to accommodate his guests. Only two crew needed and an aft garage fits a 4.5m tender.

The usual solution to fuel efficiency across a wide speed range is to draw a boat with a high length to beam ratio, but narrow hulls tend to roll badly. The breakthrough with the Frers 78 is that she has the width and volume of a modern motor yacht. On the other hand, she needs an underbody shape and powertrain that promote good sea-keeping qualities. The result illustrates that the yacht is extremely fuel-efficient at 5 and 25 knots – and most importantly – it is very quiet!

“The unique aspect of this design is the strong crossover between sail and powerboats” says Mani Frers. The shape of this design is in fact more alike to a fast-sailing yacht than the usual deep-V or displacement motor yacht.