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‘If you want a yacht of the highest pedigree, you have to go to Holland,’ says Keeping, who over the last three years has spent more time at the yard than at his home in the Bahamas. ‘The craftsmen at Kuipers performed excellently on the first Beothuk and have excelled again. Vripack, too, have been superb. We started designing the new boat in June 2004 and thought initially that we could adapt the Doggersbank 94. After a few meetings it became evident that this wouldn’t work so we started from scratch, examining all the options for maximizing space via drawings and mock-ups. We ended up with an astonishing boat that looks and feels as if she is at least 20 feet longer.
’At the heart of all this effort – the essence of Beothuk, if you like – is a desire for efficiency. Having the technical skills, Keeping aims to maintain the yacht himself rather than stop his travels while others come aboard. All the equipment is therefore top of the line and completely accessible. ‘I take a lot of pride in my machinery and if it’s difficult for me to maintain then it’ll be difficult for somebody else,’ he says.
A key objective in designing Beothuk was making the engine room as spacious as possible. A soundproof, neatly laid out 4 x 4 metres technical space in the centre of the yacht beneath the guest cabins contains the watermaker, pumps, sewage treatment plant, chillers, compressor, freezers, water heaters and all automatic pumps that make a noise, while the engine room itself is given the red carpet treatment, a reflection of how much time is spent there. To ensure that all his power requirements could be met in conditions ranging from the heat of the Caribbean to the cold of Canada, Keeping chose two large generators to port and starboard with a hydraulic pack in the centre.
‘Convenience is a key issue in the design,’ he explains. ‘The generators are built on ingenious sliders tucked into the tank tops, allowing them to be moved 30 centimetres for accessing the back. Fuel, exhaust and water are all flexibly mounted so you don’t have to disconnect them before sliding.’ The generator exhaust noise level is extremely low, and the small amount of steam is the only indication that a generator is running.
Also unique is the intercooling system in the engine-room, which has two large fans that can be disconnected and turned in all directions. To gain access behind, you close a couple of valves, disconnect the coupling and rotate. The engine room is cooled with air that is cooled by seawater, and the set-up requires 70 per cent less duct space. ‘Even at slower speeds, the engine room is always at seawater temperature,’ says Keeping. ‘This is better for both people and equipment. During the first Atlantic crossing the engine room temperature never exceeded 32 degrees.
’Efficiency is also the raison d’etre behind the use of LED technology throughout the yacht – a first in the superyacht world. From the hanging rails in the wardrobes to the bright spots on the mast, the only lights aboard Beothuk are LED. ‘Most yachts of this size have an enormous number of lights that people seem reluctant to turn off,’ says Keeping. ‘Further energy waste comes from the heat generated by halogen bulbs, which forces the air-conditioning to work overtime. We teamed up with Nigel Savage at OceanLED and spent two years researching different lights, heat dissipation, consumption, colours and many other factors. As a result, we have over 500 lights that can be on continuously, burning only a fraction of the power of conventional halogen bulbs.
’All the lights are hand made and consist of a solid block of aluminum with heat dissipation so that they can be run on full current. A circuit board on the back contains the LEDs and individual cooling ribs. Keeping agrees that the Beothuk system might be seen as prohibitively expensive, and his R&D efforts are continuing. ‘Once they can be injection moulded with heat dissipating products and built-in drivers, the lights will become very cost-effective,’ he says. ‘Our drivers also provide status monitoring, so we have linked them up within the Crestron system. Beothuk is fully automated with regard to lights and I can remotely turn them off anywhere in the boat.
’The LEDs are sophisticated in other ways too. Controlled by collimators (devices that narrow a beam of particles), they can be adjusted to any angle – especially important for the outside floodlights. The lights are also dimmable, which was complex to achieve. ‘It is one thing to organize the technology, but making the colours work well was another challenge altogether,’ says Keeping. ‘Our goal was to ensure that the relaxation areas on board were warmly lit by the LEDs.'
With so many hi-tech aspects to Beothuk it is easy to overlook that she is a sumptuous yacht in her own right. One of the many luxuries is an abundance of stainless steel, which is most obvious in the oval hand rails and the pipes, clips and cleats. But this metal is a trademark of the yard and decorative stainless steel inlays are everywhere, from around the bar to the mullions around the windows. Even the towel racks are fully stainless steel and each took many hours to make. The stainless steel also has the benefit of unifying the exterior with the interior.
Having three decks in the 30 metre range can be a tall order for the design, especially as the explorer style tends to make boats even higher visually. Vripack has succeeded in creating a fine looking yacht, especially when you examine the detailing and the way that features blend together.
Beothuk perfectly illustrates the benefits of 3D design,’ says Bart Bouwhuis, Vripack’s director of design. ‘This allows us to optimise the shaping and proportions of all parts, how a railing sweeps around the bulwark, how it emphasizes the rest of the design, how a door turns, how the passerelle unfolds – in other words, all the viewing angles of the yacht. And because Vripack was also responsible for all the detailed engineering, this 3D philosophy was continued into the detailing. You can see the added value on, for example, the sundeck, which contains lots of features that all sweep around the spa pool and have the right proportions.
’Vripack also had the brief for the overall interior style, which centres on the use of madrona veneer and stained cherry wood and is sophisticated yet modest. The amount of detailing is high, with especially impressive carvings in half rounded angles. The style reflects the feeling of exporation and is complemented by superyacht luxuries such as heated floors, rare marbles, fine fabrics and exceptionally comfortable furniture. ‘The touches of stainless steel ensure that things don’t get too classical,’ says Bouwhuis. ‘They brighten up the wood both literally and metaphorically, while also bringing sparkling details into the boat.
’No distinction is made between the level of finish in the guest and crew accommodation areas. ‘I have a comfortable room so my crew has the same,’ says Keeping, who sails Beothuk with his long-time captain, Joe Berger, and a stewardess and deck hand. Family members frequently join the party. ‘They all have to chip in,’ says Keeping with a grin: ‘Polishing stainless steel and washing down the boat are part of the daily routine. I’d rather refresh the oil.
’The social centre of the yacht is the superb wheelhouse and lounge on the bridge deck. Designed in a split-level configuration without a dividing wall, it is where everyone congregates when at sea. Of course, this being Beothuk, the bridge itself integrates every alarm and monitoring system into one efficient unit. Custom-built by DMP, it includes touchscreens with custom software for the operation and monitoring of all onboard functions. These include over 900 individual monitoring points, redundant electronics, the charting system, radars, the Internet and communications systems.
Another unusual layout feature of the interior – again based on the experience gained on previous voyages – is the forward dining room/bar on the main deck. While many owners would have their cabin here, Keeping knows the value of having a place to gather in cooler climates. Guests seated at the dining table have excellent views of the water and the horizon through the 270 degree windows – and the vista will never be blocked by storm shutters as the glass is made of four reinforced and laminated layers.
Superyacht attributes are everywhere. The main-deck lounge has both a traditional games table and the latest plasma screen (concealed in a cabinet to port) operated by a Crestron panel that also governs the blinds, iPod, DMP system, Internet and lights. In fact, every function is remotely controlled where possible, using intuitive software to ensure ease of operation.
The main deck aft area can be closed off to create an extension to the lounge and add another large social area even in cold and wet climates, but Beothuk also has much to offer when sailing in warm areas, including a spectacular sundeck spa pool. A hideaway wingstation on this level, and another steering area forward, allows two people to sit and guide the yacht when exploring.
After the shakedown cruise from Holland to Newfoundland, Keeping reported that the yacht had covered about 3,100 nautical miles in 300 hours at an average speed of 10.2 knots. Overall fuel consumption, including the generator, was 120 litres an hour. ‘The trip went very well and the boat performed to our expectations … this really is a pleasant boat to run and to sail,’ he said.
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