design Archive - Hightide

BOOT Düsseldorf / Nautors Swan 54 + Mock-up

1. Februar 20182. Februar 2018Alex Beck

When you think about a yard in Finnland than every sailor thinks about Nautors Swan. A name with magic, history and always a step ahead. Since decades they produce super yachts, high-end cruising yachts and carbon performance sailing boats. Last year the launched the CLUB SWAN 50 at the BOOT Düsseldorf and it gets the title yacht of the year in 2018. This year we get another high-light; SWAN presented the SWAN 54. A real blue water cruiser for gentle sailing. With its 54ft it has a ideal and moderate size. It´s better in the water than the 45ft boats and not too big. Perfect handling, perfect size. It can be sailied by a couple or a family. Of course I´m biased, cause I had two milestones of my Life on a SWAN 51.Which was quite the same size.

Back to the boat. We have a classic design with a modern look and a carbon rigging. Yes that´s right and yes it´s not a bargain. No worries we don´t get lost in details right now. A SWAN is more than that.

Nevertheless there are a few specs of this stunning yacht we would like to mark. The carbon shrouds, the carbon mast and the fast 3D sails from North Sail and at least the big cockpit is awesome.

The interior is a harmonious mix of modern and traditional. I like the light wood and the pure interior. The only thing which I don´t understand and what I just see in contemporary Swans are the chairs in the saloon. If you are sailing you have to pack it anywhere and for having dinner they are always a handicap. I don´t get them.

I would like to sit here with the family or also with a few girls. Yes you can also use that yacht as a players mansion. It´s not just nice and cool, no it´s also very sexy and made for that.

The booth of SWAN was placed at the same place like 2017. The Layout was a little bit different. Instead of two yachts they had the SWAN 54 and a Mock-up of a SWAN 65.

I´ve never seen something like that on a fair, not to mention anywhere else. That´s really amazing to see how the designer will work on the boat. It ist a 1:1 interior scale mock-up of the new Swan 65 at the BOOT Düsseldorf boat show.

After the walkthrough I understand the philosophy of Swan much better. It´s so cool to see the different materials and ideas which are possible. The owner can decide together with designer, which is the best layout for his semi-custom-build yacht.

That´s awesome to see how a yacht like that will build and designed. Above that the stand is very welcoming as always. You can feel the luxurious mind of Swan, combined with performance. Everything is real in spite of luxury, but not posh and bling bling. That´s the thin red line which this yard from Finnland makes it so relevant and gives humility to all the sailors on the oceans of that planet.

BOOT Düsseldorf / Domani Yachts

24. Januar 201824. Januar 2018Alex Beck

The DOMANI S30 Yacht is a mixture between an design icon and a sailing yacht. Made in Belgium is it made for the cool places on that planet blue where style is essential. Sounds like we have many joint possessions.

In the run-up to the fair BOOT DüDo I talk to many other sailors and they all said; the DOMANI could be HighLight, especially for HighTide. Therefore I was also excited to see it live at the fair. Unfortunately I didn´t make an appointment at the stand. I just went to the BOOT and I get a very warm welcome at the stand by the sales and design guys of DOMANI including a very specific walkthrough.

The boat is a different daycruiser. Yeah, for sure it´s a performance cruiser in a cool size for coastal trip or cool lakes like lago die Garda or Lake Genova. For the Bavarian Lakes it´s a bit to big in my opinion.

Inspired by the legendary Riva Aquarama, the DOMANI S30 is shaped around a large central social area and a sun bed aft with easy access to the sea. This is perhaps the first impression you will get on that boat and the most impressive. There you can see that Lifestyle&Design combined with performance is the major idea of that sailing boat. A kind of a Grand Tourismo for the water; fast, fun and luxurious for gentle sailing.

At the end it´s the boat for those who enjoys to be on the water on a cool yacht without chatter. Less components, less maintenance. On the other hand you get aboard the chance for individualism. Everything on that boat could be made for you. Individualization ist the keyword, but at the end it´s stylish when you just order it. The inside looks like direct from the WALLPAPER Magazin. You see, there are many reasons for a DOMANI Performance Cruiser.

Borne Béton – Ein Poller gibt Licht.

8. November 20179. November 2017Alex Beck

Maritimes Design begegnet uns of im Fashion Bereich, eher selten im Bereich Architektur und Design. Daher sticht dieses Leuchtobjekt besonders in´s Auge, das mich als Segler an einen Poller erinnert. Pur, nüchtern und aus Beton. Bahnbrechend in seiner Zeit der Entstehung.

Gerade im Kontext der Brutal Architektur der 60er und 70er Jahre waren die die Franzosen schwer damit beschäftigt krasse Architektur- und Wohnlandschaften zu formen. Ich denke hierbei nicht nur an das urbane Umfeld, sondern auch an Freizeitorten wie La Plagne oder Port Carmague. Angefangen hat Le Corbusier schon Ende der 40er mit neuen Wohnkonzepten wie dem Unité d´habitation in Marseille zum Beispiel, der Mutter aller Plattenbauten, oder eben Brutal Architektur wie es heute genannt wird. Für diesen Wohnkomplex gestaltete er eine Lampe für den Außenbereich, der den Charakterzug eines Pollers hat und in Kombi mit dem Sichtbeton Look natürlich auch gerade heute wieder fasziniert.

Gesehen habe ich die Lampe im Oktober diesen Jahres auf einem Designabend der Firma NEMO in München. Die Firma entwickelt eigene Lampen und Leuchten. Parallel dazu widmet sie sich aber auch der Neuauflage von Designklassikern. Die BORNE BÉTON ist eine aus der Serie dieser Master-Kollektion, die an diesem Abend in den Räumlichkeiten der Agentur Markenkultur gezeigt wurden.

BOOT Düsseldorf / MORE55 is the eyechatcher of the fair.

30. Januar 201731. Januar 2017Alex Beck

I was in between two appointments when I crossed the booth of MORE Boats. I don´t know anymore if I first saw the yacht or the corresponding hostess of the display. Both were exciting.

First of all the hosts were the most stylish on the fair and that should be an extra post. Back to the boat. The colour in light blue looks different to the rest of the yachts in that price range. On the first view you can see that it is a performance cruiser. Sporty lines, a low greenhouse and the tables in the cockpit are easily to restore complete. That´s a bid. Above that the deck is quite clean and promises racing. You see a lot of skylights which makes the cabin very light. The sheets are running under deck; looks great, but I´m afraid of it. Just in case something happens. At that point it is difficult to replace them.

With about 16m length and 5m wide you have also enough space in the cabin. The interior was too dark for me. There are other boats on the fair which are more modern in the cabin. But they told me that you can get a lot of different kind of wood and colours. We have to see. The Details are not clever and the colour matching is not really conservative maritim, but also not modern. That´s a pity compared with the exterior. Whereupon especially for the fair they made a plexiglas floor where you can see the stainless-steel frame of the boat. That´s a highlight. Also the different door handles, they look strange but they feeling good in your hands.

Another cool thing is the dinghy garage. Cause of the wide stern you can store the dinghy crossways. That´s cool but difficult to get in I think. In the version on the BOOT the yacht also had a skipper´s berth in the bow which is quite small, but everything is there. Fair enough.

The MORE55 is build in Croatia. Therefore you will find a big fleet there and above that MORE is also offering a charter fleet there. I know I will BOOK it. I´m really taken with the MORE55. It is a true performance cruiser. You feel the passion of the team. Their idea was to build a fast cruiser and they had a few meetings with different wharfs and no of them could realise their idea. Therefore they build it by their own. Good story!

BOOT Düsseldorf 2017 / CNB, that´s performance cruising.

29. Januar 2017Alex Beck

CNB was on my radar for the last years, but I hadn’t the chance to look at them. The days at the BOOT were always to busy. In 2017 it was my goal to look at them. That viewing changed my life.

I get on the booth for my appointment with Vincent. Unfortunately he was not available at that time and the CNB team was very sorry that he wasn’t available. They were very committed and asked me if it is OK when another colleague will show me the yacht. For sure it was fine for me and I met Cedric Beaumont, he´s not just a expert of CNB, he is always the skipper of the wharf. He´s a real genius in sailing. He startet his Ocean Career four years ago. He was at a point where he asked himself what to do? He had a save life, but he decided to do something with passion. Chapeau. He did, what all of us wanted to do. Right now he´s the skipper for CNB and for the owners of CNB yachts who needs his support on the oceans around the world. From my point of view CNB get´s the right man for that job. He has the skills and the passion you need for that job. Perfect conditions to get the boat explained by him. With his expertise, I get the info I need.

The CNB 76 is quite pure, the first impression is the flush-deck. There is nothing where your eyes get stopped. It´s all in the flow and a pleasure if you like it pure and simple. The lines are straight and elegant. It´s a unique styling of the yacht. One USP is the decksaloon. If you are insight you have a 360° view. That´s really awesome. Especially when you see the mega winches in Front. At the back you see the two outboard helms, which are at the right place. The finish of them is one of the best I´ve ever seen. A mixture between carbon-fibre and wood. Really awesome craftmanship. Back in the insight; the design is outstanding. There is no yacht which has a interior like that. It´s quite light and open. Above that you see a lot of good ideas. Most of them I like the sofa on starboard. You can combine it as one sofa, or you have two club chairs beside a sexy storage for your drinks. You have to see that awesome. The only thing which doesn’t match my style are the Philipp Starck lamp FLOS Miss K ALU. That´s a relict out of the 90ies.

CNB itself stands for Construction Navale Bordeaux and is part of the Beneteau Group. That makes them convenient to produce, in which convenient is relative. We are talking about luxury yachts. We don´t talk about the price. It´s enough. But much more importantly in this group construction is the way CNB can produce for that price. You will get a modular build scheme which make your yacht semi custom. Another benefit of that modular system is the time to build. You will get your dream within six month.

When you are aboard it takes no minute that you realise for what the boat is build. Yeah you can do races with it. Yeah you can do a show-off in St. Tropez. The real sense of the yacht is performance cruising and you can feel it. It´s not a yacht for posers. It´s a beautiful boat for connossieurs.

You can also see that in the daily needs aboard. There is for example a powerful pump in the storage for a fast inflating of the stand-up boards.

At the end I´m addicted to that yacht. I cannot understand why I haven´t been there before. For now on CNB is always on my radar. I´ve checked the charter possibilities today on MerexYachts. I have to be on one, sooner or later and than I will give you the cruising report.

Made out of wood, a rebirth.

12. April 201612. April 2016Alex Beck

At the last boat shows in Düsseldorf and Hamburg we saw one boat which was outstanding. The LA28 is a daycruiser with a very brave design combined with traditional craftmanship.

The LA28 is build by LA Yacht- und Bootsbau GmbH in Mürtiz / Germany. The concept of the boat is quite easy. It is a fast modern boat which is at home when it comes to racing or just by yourself as a performance daycruiser. It is also possible to be aboard a few days, cause it´s also possible to have a plumping unit aboard.

It´s a real coffeeracer, built for performance in a easy way. I like that. Unfortunately it´s more build for the coast an fro real lakes. It could be difficult on Bavarian lakes, cause of the draft. The keel needs 1,75 and it could be lift up for the trailer. Above that there is a inboard eMotor and Diesel available which shows you that the boat is more serious than other daycruisers in that size. The boat is made for 4 sailors, but at the end it´s ideal for 2 or 3 of them. But at the end 4 sailors could sleep inside and they also have a lavatory. The latter is just possible if you order the longer cabin structure.

At the end its´a perfect weekend racer with an outstanding design and a very luxury mood. It´s something for the connossieur. I would like to have one, cause it´s really the cool combination of Racing and Cruising. I would just be afraid of the care, cause I just see wood. That´s always a little more work. Nevertheless if you can afford that boat for about 115.000 EUR, you can also assign a wharf which can help you in winter with the boat care.

BOOT Düsseldorf / Marine Composite with a gaff sail.

22. Februar 201622. Februar 2016Alex Beck

There was one thing at the BOOT which was really amazing. I just walk through the exhibition hall and I saw that stunning hull in light blue. Cool lining and a wonderful wooden deck.

When I looked ahead of the rig I was astonished. I expected a cool Fat Head and spectacular spreaders, but I saw something different. There was a gaff rig. I´ve never seen such an old school rig in such a modern mode. Awesome. The sales man of Marine Composite told me about the advantages of that rig, which I couldn´t share. The main reason for the rig is that you get more power at the top with a lower rig; if I understand that right. Above that it´s something different, why not. Above that I saw about 3 manufacturers who had a gaff yacht in their programme.