UK boatbuilder Oyster Yachts has announced that one of its new 35m Oyster 118 sailing superyachts is currently on order and negotiations are under way for at least two more.

The new yacht, created in cooperation with Humphrey’s Yacht Design, is the result of three years’ development work. Construction of the first Oyster 118 will start this spring and is planned to launch in December 2017, with handover in May 2018 after sea trials in the Solent.

Oyster CEO David Tydeman told SB: “The 118 has developed over three years since the first approach for a 115 custom project. The first 118 is for an international owner and the other two potential clients include a British owner.

“The exterior profile of the 118 is likely to be similar, but the interiors will be custom. For example, of the two other potential buyers we are talking with, one wants five cabins and the other wants three including a large owner’s stateroom.

“With these discussions,” Tydeman adds, “we are hopeful of more than one contract for the 118, which is why we have an extra shed available in Southampton to build these superyachts. This is a rented shed in line with all our facilities.”

Tydeman says the facility will enable overlapped building of two Oyster 118s at a time, bringing the potential to complete four yachts before summer 2020. He adds that Oyster is making female tooling based around the initial interest in the custom one-off project, but also the confidence that comes from discussions with other potential buyers.

The 118 design is the largest yacht built by Oyster to date in the UK and it maintains the company’s presence in the sailing superyacht market. The Oyster 118-01 will be the 358th yacht from the Oyster-Humphrey partnership, and will reflect the extensive superyacht experience within Oyster’s Southampton base.

A new evolution of the Oyster-Humphreys plumb bowed, soft-chined, twin rudder designs, the Oyster 118 has naturally evolved from the initially planned Oyster 115. The resulting profile is even sleeker, with a modest freeboard gently sheered and dressed with Oyster’s signature seascape hull windows and G5 teardrop glazing to the deck saloon.

It provides an impressive 700m3 interior space for her 12 guests supported by six crew. That’s 10 times the volume of the Oyster 475. The 118’s entertainment space alone is almost 11m x 7m, including the 4.5 metre square guest cockpit.

Built to DNV classification and MCA LY3 coding, specification and engineering is to the highest standards, and there’s much interesting innovation including the mid-boom, single-point mainsheet penetrating the bimini top to run down through the glazed but carbon reinforced saloon entry bulkhead to the captive winch deep in the boat.

The sail plan for Hull 01 is a single headstay, with additional removable inner forestay for jib, and asymmetrics tacking to the anchor strut prodder. For eased handling, captive winches number four, tending mainsail halyard, then main and headsail sheets.

The rig is four-spreader carbon with roller boom, and the nine-person Williams Dieseljet 565 is launched from its foredeck pit by lift-pole homed on the mast, the pit then doubling as a cushioned rest and relaxation area.

Source : www.superyachtbusiness.net/news/oyster-yachts-unveils-largest-project-to-date-6195#bS2vefweVt4SOSc8.99