Juan K is one of the most successful naval architects and yacht designers of our time. His projects have won three Volvo Ocean Races, two Olympic golds, seven World Championships, raced for the America’s Cup and shattered nine offshore speed records. I caught up with Juan at September’s Maxi Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo to talk design, efficiency and elegance.
The ClubSwan 80 ‘MY SONG’, is one of Juan K’s latest designs and she is competing here at the Maxi Rolex Cup.
How has it been, racing on My Song, here at the Maxis?
Racing MY SONG was exciting because we had all sorts of conditions. In the first days we had a lot of wind, and the boat was incredibly quick. And in those conditions, we won one race. Today we had a race in probably five knots and that’s a lot more complicated. We get both ends of the spectrum, but overall, it’s wonderful to be here.
And we saw the yacht’s full potential.
What makes the ClubSwan 80 special?
It combines a series of characteristics that makes the boat very healthy, very agile, and very fast in some conditions. That combination of the canting keel and the rotating canard at the front, basically makes the boat sail in a very specific way, very differently than a classical boat. The potential of the boat is tremendous. It makes it very exciting, because it’s a different way to go sailing. When you are reaching downwind, the boat lifts from the water and takes off. It’s a great feeling!
Talking about design, what is your design philosophy?
The design philosophy is to be efficient. Overall, whenever we do designs, we try to make things as efficient as possible in this transformation of energy between aerodynamics and hydrodynamics. On top of that, if we can make them good looking and elegant, then we do that too. Efficiency and elegance – I would define it as the perfect combination.
You seem to challenge limits and make the impossible happen. How did you get your ideas? Your new ways of working?
Ideas come by putting time into them. Ideas are nothing, if you do not challenge them, if you do not mature them. The key for that is to have a set of tools in a design process that allows you to test all those ideas, and not all ideas are good. You must test and analyze properly.
Picture: CFD – Computational Fluid Dynamics: is a very important testing tool. It simulates flow, whether it is liquid or gas. It simulates that around sails and hulls. It is to make sure that the concept will work, when proposing it to our clients. We implemented it in the office in 2005. The software was not friendly to use regarding sailboat, therefore we put a little work into it.
How did it all start?
I never really thought about doing anything else.
It started with my father being a sailor, getting me and my brother into sailing. I do not remember ever thinking about doing something different. It seems to me, that all my life, I just put my brain into yacht design and kept going.
My brother Gonzalo is now a fundamental piece of our office. He is more on the business side. He has an MBA in Business, and he is an engineer as well. We complement each other very well.
Your relationship with Nautor’s Swan began with the ClubSwan50 for their 50th Anniversary. How did you convince Nautor that your design was ‘the coolest’?
Mr. Ferragamo wanted to do a competition. We were lucky enough to be invited. First there were eight or nine designers, then we remained amongst four, then two. We came up with a different concept and refining the idea, I suppose they liked what we did.
It was the beginning of a wonderful relationship. I think Enrico Chieffi was a part of all that in the beginning. Our relationship was always very good, he is a dear friend, and we think alike. It was very fluid. When I showed them what I had in mind, they were excited. A bit scared, but excited.
The ClubSwans are resetting the parameters of performance. How is it to work for a brand like Nautor Swan?
It is tough because they put the barre very high. It is an honor for me, but sometimes it’s challenging. You do not have room to fail. You do have to do something that is extraordinary. As long they are happy, I am happy.
Talking about the high performance OneDesign ClubSwans, the existing ones are the 36, 50, the new 80 and the 125, which is a record-breaking machine. What about the CS28 and CS43, the newest addition to the ClubSwan fleet?
The CS43 is already being built and doing very well. The CS43 is a cruiser racer with an emphasis on ORC racing. ORC design is very, very challenging. It took us over a year to design. We had to review all the software and review all the concepts to make sure that we achieve a good rating. The CS43 will also sail OneDesign in a slightly different configuration.
And the CS28, we just launched as a concept and design, the prototype will be ready in February and hitting the water in Summer 2024. Hopefully we will take it to the Düsseldorf show. The CS28 is really a OneDesign, a full-on performance, exciting race boat.
You’re known for your sailing designs. Would you be interested in designing bigger motor yachts?
Yes, very much so. We got involved with a 165-metre motor yacht in the past, but only for the hydrodynamics. I would love to be involved in motor yachts. I think where I could contribute the most is on the efficiency and redesigning the way that the boats deal with the thruster propulsion, with the seakeeping, the movement and the drag.
The Omikron 60 Eco Cruise hull is an example for that. The hull and the propulsion are completely optimized for very low fuel consumption. At 12 knots of boat speed, the boat is superefficient. It only consumes max 2 litres per mile.
A sneak peek into the future of sailing: What are new design trends for you?
The answer is optimization and efficiency. That could be translated into many different things, because for a cargo ship, the efficiency is about less CO2 emission and reducing the cost of transport. That efficiency would happen at very low speed, or lower speeds than what they do now. For a sailboat, such as in the America’s Cup, the efficiency is different. At the end of the day, it’s all about the how efficiently we transform energy.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?
The most exciting project for me is always the next one. As long as the next project is the one that excites me, I’ll keep going. And in the meantime, I want to pass this on to my 15-year-old son, Noah. In 10 years’ time, when he hopefully will take over the office, I am going to be his mentor and his teacher. I am very much looking forward to it!
And about your team, your relationship with Philippe Oulhen?
Phillipe and myself are partners. We are a very good team. He keeps us in a straight line. Also, there is Gonzalo, my brother, and Rodrigo – my design right hand. We work together and they make sure that I have more time to think and develop new projects. I feel very lucky to have them.
We saw pictures of Argos, a 54m lightweight hull…can you tell us more?
Philippe Oulhen has just moved to Greece to oversee that new project for Omikron Yachts, Olympic Marine’s yacht brand. We have decided to go into the superyacht world: The 54m Argos is a long-term project. In fact, two of them are going to be built.
For the yacht to be lightweight it has an aluminum hull, and the best place to build was in Holland at Gouwerok, then we shipped it to Greece on a cargo ship. The 66m mast is on its way – full carbon, from Southern Spars.
We have an office in Greece, with a great team of Greek naval architects. Philippe is wearing the hat of design coordination, as we have over 50 designers working on it in the different departments.
This project is unique, because of the request for quality. Quality is about design and for us, regardless of the budget, quality comes with time. And we don’t have a tight schedule, we’re using this time to analyze, to improve and to build the best possible superyacht.
