The new Reichel/Pugh sw90 superyacht
The RP-SW90 is a creative, collaborative blend of the owner’s vision paired with the passion and decades of experience in creating race winning designs by the Reichel/Pugh team. Built by Southern Wind Shipyard and launched in Cape Town, South Africa, Design No. 251 is an ultralight Fast Performance Cruiser with detail-oriented, world-class accommodations. She is a result of thousands of hours spent by industry leaders and will be as at home on the race course as she will be on long ocean passages.
The RP-SW90 is a new generation project, characterized by a strong focus on performance, flexible sailing setups, radical design and advanced construction and systems technology. She is the brainchild of a passionate owner who asked for, “a very fast yacht with the comfort and safety standards typical of a cruising yacht but versatile enough for both fast cruises with family and excellent performance in the most renowned offshore and inshore superyacht regattas,” says Willy Persico, Southern Wind founder and CEO. Reichel/Pugh’s goal was to create the fastest yacht that could still meet the client’s cruising requirements; to this end particular care was taken throughout the project to avoid unnecessary weight. In the hull design we developed a shape where the heeled form provides power while reaching and sailing upwind, but with a narrow upright waterline that still allows for good light air performance. The hull form was crafted to minimize wetted surface while preserving enough displacement to provide for cruising amenities all while achieving a powerful ballast-to-displacement ratio. Ballast-to-displacement ratio relates the weight of the keel to the total weight of the vessel. For a sailing yacht, it is one of the primary metrics that distinguishes between a full cruiser and a racer.
The interior arrangement was designed by Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design to accommodate three crew and six guests. The design eliminates the need for non-structural partitions by using the major load paths of the boat. Interior design was completed by Nauta Yachts, who worked closely with the client to develop their vision for living space aboard the RP-SW90. “Our challenge was to design interiors that were intriguing and innovative but with ergonomics that could function within the structural and dimensional constraints that the performance aspects of the yacht’s design imposed,” state Massimo Gino and Mario Pedol, founders and co-heads of Nauta Design. “These constraints led us to show, and not hide, the yacht’s shapes and its main structural elements. The RP-SW90 respects a series of safety parameters typical of a real bluewater cruiser,” says SWS CEO Willy Persico.
The interior paneling and upholstery that veils the structure of the RP-SW90 is held in place with fasteners that allow for easy inspection and maintenance of systems throughout the yacht. Nonstructural interior paneling and furniture is primarily made of light carbon-skinned honeycomb-cored panels, veiled with thin wood veneers. The interior is lit with high efficiency LED lights that consume less power, which in turn means lighter electrical wiring. The end result is a finely crafted interior that reflects the vision of the client while preserving sailing performance.
