Welcome to the special “20th Anniversary” section of Top Yacht Design. Here, day by day, we present the best stories, yachts, and personalities we’ve covered over the past 20 years of Top Yacht Design, from 2006 to today.
Taken from Top Yacht Design no. 29/2022, pp. 82-89.
Majesty 175: the world’s largest composite yacht
Stretching 56 metres in length, the Majesty 175 is the world’s largest composite yacht. It is also the poster child for Gulf Craft’s ambitions to conquer the European and US markets.
AIthough she is 100% Made in the UAE by Gulf Craft, she definitely has quite a bit of Italian in her pedigree also. Serenity is the largest composite yacht ever built and she took shape in the Umm Al Quwain in the UAE. However, the Majesty 175’s naval architecture and semi-displacement keel are the work of Massimo Gregori of Yankee Studio, and her interior and exterior design are by Cristiano Gatto. With over 1.200 employees and two yards (one in the UAE and the other in the Maldives), Gulf Craft has big plans for the future. “According to a famous financial newspaper we are already one of the top ten shipyard in terms of output volumes, explains Gulf Craft president Mohammed Alshaali. “However, our dream is to keep growing and to do that we are focusing on foreign markets such as Europe and the US. That’s why we commissioned Cristiano Gatto to give our craft a more international slant”. During a conference a while back, however, Mr AlShaali had also been very clear about one thing: “The Italians are our direct competitors and to compete with them, we’ve hired Italians”.
There is no denying either that Serenity is most definitely a leap forward in design terms. «At the preliminary meetings, they asked me to create a design that wasn’t just for the home market like their previous yachts,” explains Cristiano Gatto. “So I came up with a very balanced craft that would be easy to modify to suit the needs of different owners”. But this was no cakewalk. It took no less than 14 mock-ups to achieve the perfect stylistic balance and adapt the Middle Eastern construction canons to those of Europe and America. «For the exterior, I tried to design an elegant modern boat without losing the Gulf Craft family feeling,” continues Gatto. “The interiors are elegant but not over the top and we used special materials by Alpi made from wood fibre from fast-growing trees to improve sustainability”.
Décor-wise, the colour palette is all warm greys and muds with the Veneto designer’s signature splashes of burgundy. The Middle Eastern owner of this first on-spec vessel did ask for certain changes such as the addition of decorative borders for the marble floor in the main saloon and brighter colours in the upper deck saloon. That said, Serenity still retains a very international feel. Stretching 56 metres in length and spread over four decks, the Majesty 175 has an unusual layout. There is no fly – it has been replaced by a bridge deck with a captain’s cabin. This allowed the entire upper deck to be dedicated to the owner, a luxury rarely afforded by craft of this size. Aside from a central stateroom with breath-taking views and a private saloon, the lucky owner also has a pool and an aft cockpit, both with private access. Two VIP staterooms lie forward on the main deck with a further four double cabins are located centrally on the lower deck. The 1o-person crew have their quarters forward of the latter.
Serenity’s guests will also enjoy a large beach club and a gym to starboard on the main deck – needless to say the views are fabulous. Powered by twin 2012 hp MTU engines, the Majesty 175 makes a top speed of 16.5 knots and cruises at 1o. Thanks to fuel tanks of almost 70,000 litres, Serenity also has an ocean-going range of 4,000 nautical miles – more than enough to get her all the way to Europe.
by Giuliana Fratnik
