Last Updated on 29 September 2021 by Eric Bretscher
Paradise Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, from the deck of the sloop Yarra
Nordkyn Design is presently the home of two featured marine design projects: the 13-metre (43′) alloy sloop Nordkyn and the 11.2-metre (37′) cruising launch Wild South.
Both these projects embed the key guiding concepts on this site:
- Exceptional attention to hull design
- Seaworthiness
- Purpose
- Efficiency
- Simplicity
The sloop Nordkyn was designed as a high-performance offshore expedition cruising yacht, specifically with the intent of voyaging in remote latitudes. It is spacious, comfortable, extensively insulated and easily heated. It is light, strong, extremely resilient with multiple watertight bulkheads and phenomenal under sail.
The underlying philosophy is travelling far, staying and exploring there before finally getting back out.
It was a personal project and no effort or time were spared to obtain an exceptional result throughout design and construction.
The launch Wild South was designed for coastal cruising, going fishing and living aboard at the bottom end of New Zealand, a relatively cold, windy and rough part of the world. An accent was placed on effective usability: it is a boat that goes out a lot.
It is a boat to enjoy the voyage as much as the destination, a boat for spending time at sea with a huge steaming range and excellent fuel economy. It is not an expensive boat to build either.
Both vessels were designed to go to sea before anything else. They have been extremely successful.
Over time, those interested will also find here various resources related to the dynamics of small vessels at sea, seakeeping, efficiency and propulsion considerations for power craft, the dynamics of small craft in heavy weather, marine electrical engineering, construction in aluminium and foam core as well as other technical matters.
Besides projects such as above, Nordkyn Design operates as a design office and consultancy in the fields of:
- New designs for series production and development of ranges for commercial boatbuilding firms
- Development and optimisation of manufacturing processes and shop floor practices in aluminium boatbuilding
- Refits and transformations of commercial crafts: design, planning and project management as required
- Stability analysis and other requirements for commercial operation under survey
- Hull optimisation and propulsion efficiency improvements