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ARCADIA 115 : FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

The Arcadia 115 offers a delightful surprise with her combination of efficiency and speed

 “Probably not necessary to point out that you haven’t seen a motor-yacht quite like this before. But if you can see from the outside that she offers something different, it’s not until you step aboard that you can appreciate just how radical she really is. Imagine the most ice-cool modernist apartment ever conceived and you’re getting some idea. But this one floats, and moves”  this is how Ugo Pellegrino – President of Arcadia introduced Arcadia 115.

Her unique appeal runs deeper than interior design, though, to fundamentals such as light and space as shown to such memorable effect in those floor-to-ceiling windows. Headroom is more than 7 feet on the main deck, and well over 8 feet in the private saloon upstairs. The sense of space is enhanced by limitless views through those transparent exterior walls except when the two amidships balconies are folded down, and there are no walls at all.

The 115 doesn’t just feel improbably spacious for her length. Thanks to her beamy, round-bilge hull, she really does offer more internal volume than a typical 115-footer. The 115’s hydrodynamics are key to the Arcadia concept, combining a broad performance envelope with fuel efficiency and seakeeping. Her semi displacement hull form, adapted by Arcadia from designs originating at Britain’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL), allows cruise speeds from 8 knots to almost 17 with little change in running attitude. Plus, the hull’s full sections add more interior depth than a typical planing hull, giving the 115 internal headroom without external height.

From the wide-open spaces of the upper deck to the broad and bright deck saloon, the 115’s entertaining areas are spectacular, with plenty of seating and dining space. Floors and bulkheads on our yacht were finished in oak, with cabinets of contrasting ebony and lacquer, reflective, high-gloss deck-heads, and dark marble in the bathrooms.

The interiors also featured furnishings by Poltrona Frau, although of course Arcadia would be happy to listen to a prospective owner’s ideas for an interior scheme. The glass used on the boat, incidentally, is not the stuff they use for greenhouses: it’s German, double-glazed, and filled with encapsulated, inert gas, which reportedly gives it the insulating qualities of a 20cm brick wall.

From the various layout options, the standard is a four-cabin version of the lower deck, two doubles and two twins. At the upper deck Arcadia 115 offers a jolly cabin (back to the wheelhouse area) that may be assigned to Captain or Vip guests as extra accommodation.

With the spectacular full-beam owner’s suite on the main deck, and four cabins down forward in the well appointed crew’s quarters, the yacht’s full complement is 10/12 guests and 8 crew – ideal in case of yacht charter. The three-cabin lower deck layout features a full-beam VIP suite aft in place of the two doubles. The tender garage can accommodate a 14-foot RIB and two Personal Water scooters.

Loaded as we were with something like 9 tons of fuel and water, not to mention 8 tons of lead ballast in the lowest part of the hull, the 115’s progress through the water was reassuringly determined. Applying 10 degrees of helm revealed a surprisingly tight turning circle and a modest angle of outward heel, which increased as more helm was applied. Long, fixed, roll-dampening fins have also been added in front of the stabilizers.

Arcadia claims that the 5-kilowatt photovoltaic panels (overall of 60 sqm) give the superstructure’s roof glass not only a futuristic look but also provide sufficient power on a bright day to run the refrigerators and freezers, plus lights, fans, and pumps, without the need for a generator, which will make sitting at anchor a whole lot quieter and more environmentally friendly.

For serious passage-making owners might choose to cruise at 8 knots or so to maximize the yacht’s range, but it is at 12.5 knots that the 115 really comes into its own as a luxury cruising machine. At that speed, to be achieved with the 12-cylinder MANs ticking over at a relaxed 1570 rpm, the miles slip by at a satisfactory rate but at a comparatively modest cost in fuel thanks to the yacht’s immense diesel capacity you should manage over 1,200 nautical miles at this speed.

In a yacht that impress for her concept, design, and performance, and also for her sheer presence on the water – that alluring mix of competence and confidence – it was this eerie silence onboard that perhaps made the strongest impression. So while you might not have seen a motor-yacht quite like this before, you certainly haven’t heard one like it.

BRIEF SPECIFICATIONS

Builder: Arcadia Yachts

Exterior/Interior design: Francesco Guida Design + Engineering

Model Year: 2012

Generator 2/45-kW Kohler 50Hz

Air Conditioning 240,000-Btu Condaria

LOA: 114’80”

Beam: 26’6″

Draft: 8’6″

Displacement: 180 tons

Gross Tonnage: 265

Standard Power: 2/1,224-hp MAN V12s

Optional Power: none

Fuel Capacity: 5,710 gal.

Water Capacity: 1,050 gal.

Flag: Marshall Island

Class: R.I.N.A. Charter Class – Malta Cross – Hull · MACH

Compliance: LY3

Solar Panels: 5KW approx

Base Price: 10.500.000 Euros

The Numbers

Arcadia 115

RPM KNOTS GPH RANGE dB(A)

600 5.5 2.6 7,545 42

1000 8.2 9.0 3,250 43

1250 10.1 17.4 2,070 43

1500 11.9 29.7 1,429 45

1750 13.4 48.6 983 44

2000 14.7 73.4 714 46

2250 16.2 106.7 542 54

2350 16.7 124.7 478 48

Sound levels measured at the helm. 65 dB(A) is the level of normal conversation.