Purple Rain
The Purple Rain project was created by Oversee Yachts LLC amidst the downturn in the economy and is designed to appeal to a new social context. The aim was to develop a versatile, Explorer-style yacht that reflects changing lifestyles without omitting the core values of what yachting is all about. Designer Christina Norris explains...…
The Purple Rain project was created by Oversee Yachts LLC amidst the downturn in the economy and is designed to appeal to a new social context. The aim was to develop a versatile, Explorer-style yacht that reflects changing lifestyles without omitting the core values of what yachting is all about. Designer Christina Norris explains.
We believe that today’s generation of very wealthy individuals has created a different concept of the yachting lifestyle. This involves exciting and dynamic ways to travel to and explore remote locations, more physical and healthy activities on board, as well as a desire to get closer to Mother Nature. This new breed of yacht owner is socially and environmentally aware and expects these values to be reflected in the design of his or her yacht.
It’s no longer just about the tender that ferries you to and from the shore: it’s about bobcats and wave runners, game fishing and scuba diving, kayaking and kite surfing, sailing and even underwater exploration in mini submarines. These items have to be available on board and easily deployable. The challenge today for designers is how to accommodate and store all these high-tech toys without dramatically increasing the size of the yacht, whilst incorporating eco-friendly measures for recycling and reducing emissions.
Using the Petrobrás high-speed service boat as a base model, we started to research innovative products and materials from companies whose mission statements focus on sustainability and social awareness. These products had to reflect yachting’s core values, but also recyclable (or have some pre-consumer recycled content), energy efficient and cost effective. From a designer’s perspective, they had to be durable, lightweight, functional, low maintenance and enhance visual interest or meaning by displaying a range of colour and textures.
With these factors in mind, we decided to combine a working deck and social deck aboard Purple Rain. The ‘working’ deck is used during transit to transport the various toys, but on arrival it can be transformed into a magnificent social gathering area. We took the notion one step further by integrating ‘art’ into the design, by selecting Esthec composite decking, which allowed us complete freedom in form, colour and pattern. The design itself was inspired by studying the symbolic art of the Haida, an Indian tribe from the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Dependent on the ocean’s food chain for their survival, the Haidas were among those to study the behaviour of whales and compiled the earliest records of their migration.
The striking Haida-inspired deck has strategically placed umbrellas with bases set into the deck to provide shade and diffused sunlight, while leaving the deck surface smooth and free of bumps from the umbrella bases. It also features built-in water and mist spouts for fun and cooling. Placed around the swimming pool and superstructure is Marine Bean furniture covered in Sunbrella fabric. Again, all these products are ecologically sound.
Innersource LED technology was employed for the lighting design. At night, a nuanced purple spectrum highlights the yacht’s name and the helipad. LEDs are resistant to vibration and thermal shocks, consume low levels of energy, contain no heavy metals and remain cool to the touch. The latest LEDs do not change their colour tint when dimmed and create no frequency interference.
For the stairs, swimming pool and doors, we used translucent panels from 3form, made from eco-resins to create a wide range of colours and textures. It is lightweight, robust and has a high recycled content and the company prides itself on its strong sustainability programme.
Interlux Yacht Paint was selected for the exterior. Their Product Stewardship programme is systematically reviewing the raw materials contained in products, while the impact on the environment is considered from the outset during the development of new products. In accordance with the IMO rulings regarding harmful anti-fouling paint systems, International Paint/Interlux was the first major supplier to formally announce that it would be ceasing the production of anti-foulings containing TBT.
Other eco-friendly systems under development include the water makers and ways to conserve water such as grey water recycling, low emission radar, solar power, DC scale removers, biological sewage treatment, dry ice cleaning systems, water-based and bio-degradable detergents and using carbon dioxide as a solvent for cleaning. Blue-TEC Diesel main engines help reduce emissions, especially nitrogen oxides, while hybrid auxiliary propulsion also serves to reduce sound pollution.
By combining these eco-friendly measures we can help to conserve the marine environment on which yachting depends: the oceans and shorelines. Purple Rain has a meaning, a function, a purpose—always a winning formula when combined with technology and performance. We are entering a new era of meaningful lifestyle design in which the emergence of new technologies and materials, computerised fabrication and production, is changing the way we work.
Related Links:
Oversee Yachts LLC - company profile | company website
We believe that today’s generation of very wealthy individuals has created a different concept of the yachting lifestyle. This involves exciting and dynamic ways to travel to and explore remote locations, more physical and healthy activities on board, as well as a desire to get closer to Mother Nature. This new breed of yacht owner is socially and environmentally aware and expects these values to be reflected in the design of his or her yacht.
It’s no longer just about the tender that ferries you to and from the shore: it’s about bobcats and wave runners, game fishing and scuba diving, kayaking and kite surfing, sailing and even underwater exploration in mini submarines. These items have to be available on board and easily deployable. The challenge today for designers is how to accommodate and store all these high-tech toys without dramatically increasing the size of the yacht, whilst incorporating eco-friendly measures for recycling and reducing emissions.
Using the Petrobrás high-speed service boat as a base model, we started to research innovative products and materials from companies whose mission statements focus on sustainability and social awareness. These products had to reflect yachting’s core values, but also recyclable (or have some pre-consumer recycled content), energy efficient and cost effective. From a designer’s perspective, they had to be durable, lightweight, functional, low maintenance and enhance visual interest or meaning by displaying a range of colour and textures.
With these factors in mind, we decided to combine a working deck and social deck aboard Purple Rain. The ‘working’ deck is used during transit to transport the various toys, but on arrival it can be transformed into a magnificent social gathering area. We took the notion one step further by integrating ‘art’ into the design, by selecting Esthec composite decking, which allowed us complete freedom in form, colour and pattern. The design itself was inspired by studying the symbolic art of the Haida, an Indian tribe from the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Dependent on the ocean’s food chain for their survival, the Haidas were among those to study the behaviour of whales and compiled the earliest records of their migration.
The striking Haida-inspired deck has strategically placed umbrellas with bases set into the deck to provide shade and diffused sunlight, while leaving the deck surface smooth and free of bumps from the umbrella bases. It also features built-in water and mist spouts for fun and cooling. Placed around the swimming pool and superstructure is Marine Bean furniture covered in Sunbrella fabric. Again, all these products are ecologically sound.
Innersource LED technology was employed for the lighting design. At night, a nuanced purple spectrum highlights the yacht’s name and the helipad. LEDs are resistant to vibration and thermal shocks, consume low levels of energy, contain no heavy metals and remain cool to the touch. The latest LEDs do not change their colour tint when dimmed and create no frequency interference.
For the stairs, swimming pool and doors, we used translucent panels from 3form, made from eco-resins to create a wide range of colours and textures. It is lightweight, robust and has a high recycled content and the company prides itself on its strong sustainability programme.
Interlux Yacht Paint was selected for the exterior. Their Product Stewardship programme is systematically reviewing the raw materials contained in products, while the impact on the environment is considered from the outset during the development of new products. In accordance with the IMO rulings regarding harmful anti-fouling paint systems, International Paint/Interlux was the first major supplier to formally announce that it would be ceasing the production of anti-foulings containing TBT.
Other eco-friendly systems under development include the water makers and ways to conserve water such as grey water recycling, low emission radar, solar power, DC scale removers, biological sewage treatment, dry ice cleaning systems, water-based and bio-degradable detergents and using carbon dioxide as a solvent for cleaning. Blue-TEC Diesel main engines help reduce emissions, especially nitrogen oxides, while hybrid auxiliary propulsion also serves to reduce sound pollution.
By combining these eco-friendly measures we can help to conserve the marine environment on which yachting depends: the oceans and shorelines. Purple Rain has a meaning, a function, a purpose—always a winning formula when combined with technology and performance. We are entering a new era of meaningful lifestyle design in which the emergence of new technologies and materials, computerised fabrication and production, is changing the way we work.
Related Links:
Oversee Yachts LLC - company profile | company website
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