Super Yacht Hydraulics

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These days, anyone can tell you that even the smallest of yachts is comparably large to the days of yore, and at 15 metres and some 30 tonnes even the “tiniest” yachts around can prove tricky to control.  Spend a lot more and increase to a modest super yacht at “just” 30 metres and you are up to a typical displacement of 180 tons. All of a sudden, everything starts to get big. The yacht towers over the quayside. A gangway quickly shifts from a luxury to a necessity. Should the height be adjustable on that? Naturally. If the yacht has a tender that needs to be stowed on board, this itself will be heavy, particularly if a reasonable number of people want to travel on it.

Very quickly, the super yacht becomes super complex.

Where there is an exciting idea, super yacht engineers will bring it to fruition. The results on these vessels are just stunning.

With the global population of super yachts growing and growing, the creativity and ingenuity of designers goes from strength to strength. Dream of the perfect marine holiday on the Mediterranean, sit back and relax as Sarum Hydraulics steers you through our top 5 picks for this summer’s super yacht hydraulics essentials.

1. Deck Crane

First things first. You are probably going to need a deck crane to lift your tender onto the deck. The boom will raise and lower, extend to give a longer reach and the crane will turn or “slew” to bring the land back on deck. Hydraulic cylinders make easy work of this functionality, as demonstrated by this rather slick deck crane from Hydromar.

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2. Gangway

A gangway onto the stern of your super yacht or a side boarding ladder is another necessity. Mooring up stern-to on a Mediterranean Quay tends to make the stern gangway fairly complicated as the optimum design will be telescopic, self supporting and adjustable in height. Stylish designs are available from Yacht Tech here.

3. Bathing Platforms and Jet Ski Garages

Similarly essential is the inclusion of bathing platforms and tender garages.  Platforms are usually hidden away behind discreet doors ready to be extended and dropped down when you and your guests are ready to take a dip in the Mediterranean Sea after a hard day afloat. Phoenix Marine Solutions, based in Peterborough, have some excellent hydraulic bathing platform offerings.

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When you don’t feel like swimming, why not take out your tender, stored (naturally) in your onboard hydraulic garage. On “smaller” vessels, these are easily be hidden under a stern deck, but for those of you with a myriad of toys, garage doors can simply be placed onto the side of the vessel instead. Stylish, chic and very James Bond.

4. Balconies.

A drop down balcony from the owner’s stateroom is a must-have aboard any of today’s self-respecting super yachts. At the push of a button, watch as the wall of your master cabin folds down, opening up into a hydraulic balcony upon which you are free to sit and gaze out at the high seas.

5. Helipad

What would Sarum Hydraulics pick as the “must -have” for our own super yacht? The folding hydraulic helicopter platform aboard Alfa Nero built by Oceanco looks particularly slick to us. We can imagine that having the perfect yachting experience spoilt by an unused helicopter pad must be very tiresome, so having one which simply folds away, transforming it into a swimming pool is the obvious solution.

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Cool factor aside, there are some very serious hydraulic systems being used by super yacht engineers to control large lumps of metal. Whilst most of these will be one offs or at least extensively modified to meet a custom requirement, safety standards remain stringent, and it is clear to see that some very thorough engineering has to go into making super yacht toys.

Sarum Hydraulics loves super yacht hydraulics. To find out more about us, or to buy us a super yacht, head over to www.sarumhydraulics.co.uk