After a successful Palma Boat Show, the Greifswald shipyard handed over the first Y7 with the name “Bella” to its owner. And is looking forward to further orders.
“Bella” is the construction number one of the Y/Yachts model Y7 and was developed in cooperation with the US-American designer Bill Tripp, who has already launched numerous yachts between 15 and 86 metres in length. Like all Y/Yachts models, “Bella” was manufactured in Greifswald by Michael Schmidt Yachtbau; as an endurance test, she mastered the transfer to Palma de Mallorca without any problems.
The aim in developing Y7 was to combine comfortable sailing behaviour with competitive sailing performance, also on the regatta course. This was achieved by consistently reducing the weight of the yacht during construction and her interior fit out as well as the dispension of a backstay – the profile of the mainsail (with Fathead) thus gets a better profile and more square metres. At the same time the carbon fibre mast can be somewhat shorter and the yacht gets more stable and significantly faster.
All halyards, sheets and stretchers on Y7 run hidden to the control columns. The helmsman can operate Y7 alone at any time – not a matter of course for a 70-foot yacht. With a weight of around 28.5 tons and a sail area of almost 300 square meters at wind, Y7 has sufficient propulsion even in light winds and offers corresponding sailing fun.
The furling system and anchor are elegantly integrated; the up to 3.45 metre long dinghy disappears into the rear garage. It is launched with a patent pending lift integrated into the carbon fibre boom.
Manoeuvring in the marina becomes child’s play with Y7. Two engines, a bow thruster and the joystick control even make it possible for the yacht, which is almost 22 metres long, to be driven transversely. The two Nanni diesel engines with 59 kW each drive Y7 very economically under engine.
The interior of the first Y7 “Bella” was designed by Norm Architects from Copenhagen, a newcomer in yachting. The Danish architects, who usually work in furniture and residence design, ordered the yacht to have a reduced design with few colour tones. The Nordic design is characterised by subtle restraint and maximum closeness to nature. An owner’s cabin in the bow area and two cabins aft of the saloon accommodate a total of six passengers; the crew of two sleep in another cabin in the stern. The layout can of course be adapted to any construction number. Y7 is built in eleven segments, which are variable in size and cut. Four guest cabins and a separate crew chamber with its own entrance can also be realised.
Following Y7 “Bella”, which attracted numerous visitors at the Palma Boat Show, Y/Yachts is currently building and planning further yachts up to 90 feet in length. “With our slogan to offer good and on the substantial reduced sail yachts, we buck fully the trend“, says Y/Yachts founder and owner Michael Schmidt. “We attract customers who are ecologically sensitive. And there will be more and more of them in the future”.