sail yacht aquarius

• Yachting World
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Aquarius: Modern classic masterpiece makes for a surprisingly sensible superyacht

• August 27, 2020

Named for the sign of astrological quality, this stunning 186ft world-cruising ketch is the result of serious sailors challenging the best of the best to produce something elegant, fast and seaworthy. Rupert Holmes reports

A demanding brief for Aquarius from experienced sailors has produced a masterpiece from some of the most experienced and talented brains in the superyacht world. Within five months of handover she had already clocked up 11,000 miles.

It’s often tempting to sum up new yachts with a short phrase describing their key characteristics. The brief for Aquarius included that she should be, ‘an elegant, muscular sailing yacht with a classic profile for family enjoyment’. But that barely scratches the surface of the main requirements for this giant ketch.

The owners also wanted a yacht that would combine good seakeeping characteristics with performance, reliability and quality. Essential features included relative simplicity, robustness of systems and a contemporary interpretation of elegant, classic lines, with a clean and uncomplicated appearance.

Aquarius ’s graceful lines and timeless shape belie a rugged world cruiser configured to be self-sufficient for extended periods when voyaging well beyond the popular Med and Caribbean circuits. In addition, the yacht is welcoming for family and friends, while providing sufficient performance to compete in superyacht regattas .

Designed to perform

“The owner loves sailing, so top performance was important,” says Dykstra’s Erik Wassen, who led the design team. “Not to the level of a racing yacht, but having the feeling of sailing well and being responsive like a smaller yacht.” A further stipulation was that the boat should not be experimental. The result is a sensible superyacht interpretation of a performance yacht.

With a whopping 50ft of bow and stern overhangs, there’s far less internal volume than might be expected for a yacht of this length. Also maximum beam is less than one-sixth of the overall length. Even so, any temptation to spoil the lines by raising the black-painted freeboard to provide more space for systems was successfully resisted.

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Considerable work and talent was therefore needed to fit all the requirements into the slender hull. The design team repeatedly honed the arrangements until everything would fit, including adequate space for crew accommodation and servicing of systems.

A fixed 4.8m draught keel fits with the theme of simplicity, while also freeing up the internal space that a lifting or telescopic keel would otherwise occupy. Wassen says: “If it was for optimum performance, you go to seven, eight, nine, ten metres.” The problem is that quickly stops being practical, so his aim was to: “try to get her in the same sort of harbours as the J Class yachts – you can still enter St Barth’s Bucket , for instance.”

Computational Flow Dynamics (CFD) work informed the final hull shape. “In our first hull design we noticed the centre of effort shifted when going from close-hauled to a beam reach to running,” says Wassen. “By optimising the hull shape in the CFD we could minimise that effect, giving much more equal rudder pressure on different points of sail.”

A sense of scale as the seemingly tiny figures prepare the mizzen staysail

The response and feel of a smaller boat was achieved “through having an ample sail plan – the boat has lots of sail – and giving her lots of stability,” he adds.  “We kept her as light as possible, which is always difficult because of the weight of the systems and of the ballast needed to provide stability.”

Aquarius ’s skipper James Turner has been very impressed with the handling so far: “With the correct sail plan Aquarius is a delight on the helm, responsive with weight to the wheel,” he reports. “Contrary to what her length and volume might suggest, she feels lively yet forgiving, almost playful on the wheel.”

A clean and uncluttered deck layout was a key priority, but was rendered more difficult by the lack of bulwarks. The profiles of both deckhouses were kept as low as possible, while individual sails are sheeted to similar points, which concentrates deck gear in discrete locations.

Despite her significant sail area, push-button controls mean Aquarius can be sailed by three

Clustering several different items into a single feature also helped to achieve this goal. For example, the boxes for vents and skylights ahead of the main deckhouse also form the backrests for the cushions when this area is used for sun lounging. In addition they house discrete B&G units that provide headsail and spinnaker trimmers with the key data needed for racing.

Project manager Godfrey Cray was keen to use halyard locks to reduce the number of winches around the mast base – the final arrangement has just two winches here instead of the usual four. Attention to detail extends to the cowl vents that have a protection ring of black composite below the polished stainless steel caps so that there is no chance of lines snagging.

The large mizzen was a feature from the inception of the project and provides a powerful configuration for fast reaching and downwind sailing with the mizzen staysail set. A further advantage of this sail plan is that no compromises were needed to keep air draught below the Panamax limit.

Optimised hull shape and big sail area means Aquarius has the response and feel of a smaller yacht

Doyle Sails New Zealand was involved in the project from an early stage, which gave time to tweak the sail plan and for aerodynamic and finite element analysis work to optimise the deck layout and improve overall load predictions. Aquarius is a fast enough boat for the apparent wind to often be forward of the beam.

A 1,580m2 running asymmetric spinnaker is included in the inventory and is clearly important when racing. However, optimisation of the reaching sails was also a priority to enable Aquarius to realise her enormous potential. In addition to the main and mizzen a 460m2 mizzen staysail and 770m2 Code 0 boost the sail area to an impressive 2,200m2 when reaching.

Rondal performance furling booms are a key means of simplifying sail handling , without compromising performance. They allow control of the foot tension of the sail, while providing a very practical means of reefing and stowing the sails.

“Typically, these systems are getting more and more reliable,” says Wassen. “There are hardly any boats that are not specifying them, except for some that go all the way to more racy slab reefing systems to reduce weight aloft.”

Square-top sails were shunned because of the difficulties of handling the top batten. However, the large roach main and mizzen still require running backstays, which are handled by captive winches. “They take more space and are heavier,” says Wassen, “but the captive winches mean you always have the opportunity to ease the runners under load if you have to make an unexpected tack or gybe.”

The twin wheels are positioned far enough outboard to give good sight lines to the bow and the rig. Key sail controls are also located at each helm station to facilitate easy handling. A drawback to this, though, is that you can’t always see the function you’re adjusting.  “It’s something we don’t often do,” says Wassen, “and making it look inconspicuous and classic is difficult.”

The solution was a more modern style console with a lot of controls that are fully concealed by hinged teak covers when not in use. This enables the boat to be sailed with only three people on deck.

Key challenges

While the brief for Aquarius deliberately avoided pushing hard against the boundaries of engineering and materials technology, there were still many challenges to overcome before the owners’ vision and dream could be realised.

In particular, a huge effort was needed to fit the accommodation and systems into the low-volume hull. This involved an iterative process between four parties – naval architect, interior designer, the engineers at Royal Huisman, and the owners – to ensure systems and adequate crew quarters could be accommodated, while leaving enough space for the owner and guest accommodation to meet the brief.

There is plenty of relaxation space split across Aquarius’s three cockpits

Interior designer Mark Whiteley initially presented two concepts – one for a relatively dark panelled interior, the other with mahogany furniture and trim balanced by white wall spaces. After the two had been mocked up at full scale for a section of the boat, the owners chose the lighter option. Whiteley subsequently described his challenge as creating, “a light and contemporary classic feel, rather than a more sombre and historically referenced one”.

While this early decision informed the big picture, he says the finer details needed careful judgement to give the boat its unique feel. The final coat of white paint on the wall panels, for instance, was brushed by hand to provide additional character and interest. He says: “This added to the relaxed informality and chic, understated quality you might associate with a house in the Hamptons.”

The main cockpit is the primary social hub of the boat, so considerable effort was put into refining it. This extended to the folding arrangements for the tables and to the design of the additional fold-away seats that face the main U-shape seating areas.

Mahogany joinery is balanced by white trim

The owner wanted a single floor level in the deckhouse, without a higher level for the seating areas, while retaining a view through the windows when sitting down. The lower edge of the windows therefore needed to be brought down as far as possible, which in turn provides a lot of natural light. The skylights also help to flood the interior with natural light.

Two versions of the magnificent owner’s suite were mocked up full-size to ensure every aspect was optimised to the maximum extent possible. There’s ample natural light from the large oval fan light around the mizzen mast, plus four port lights.

The bed is positioned to give a view towards the stairs to the private aft deckhouse, which opens onto its own cockpit. Attention to detail extends to secure stowage for water carafes and personal items.

Natural light floods into the owner’s suite from large fanlights around masts

Guest accommodation includes two double suites, plus a further flexible cabin that’s primarily configured as a twin. Two extra berths can be provided here to accommodate a larger number of children, via a Pullman on the inboard side and a recessed bed that drops down from the deckhead on the outboard side. A great deal of effort was expended to ensure there is no evidence of these extra beds when the cabin is in its normal mode.

There’s also a fully equipped gym, plus a lower saloon, with a huge cinema screen and top end concealed sound system. Quarters for up to 10 crew are provided in five cabins forward. This area has its own access from the foredeck, while guest areas can also be reached from the galley.

What does Whitely like most about the accommodation? “The relaxed feel and the balance between the classic and the contemporary, it really works. I also like the owner’s suite a lot: it’s a fantastic living space.”

The owner’s suite includes private aft deckhouse

Aquarius is the latest addition to a very distinguished lineage of modern classics produced in the past decade by a collaboration between Dykstra and Royal Huisman, including Kamixitha , Meteor and Pumula .

It’s a stunningly successful partnership that, with Aquarius , has produced another beautiful new superyacht that combines the ultimate in elegance with superlative comfort, style and performance.

Specification

LOA: 56.18m (184ft 4in) LWL: 41.17m (135ft 1in) Beam: 9.51m (31ft 2in) Draught: 4.80m (15ft 9in) Displacement: 264 tonnes Mainsail: 520m2 (5,597ft2) Mizzen: 440m2 (4,736ft2) Blade: 430m2 (4,628ft2) Air draught: 58.50m (192ft 11in) Spars: Rondal carbon with Rondal/Carbo-Link continuous standing rigging

First published in the July 2019 issue of Supersail World.

PROJECT 408 UNVEILED AS 65m AQUARIUS II

It is a great compliment when owners value the experience of their yacht so highly that the only material change they want is to build a larger version, with exactly the same team. Yet that is the story behind the decision of the experienced husband and wife owners of the world cruising ketch AQUARIUS (56m / 186ft, Royal Huisman, 2018) to create a stunning new 65m / 212ft ‘big sister’, AQUARIUS II.

The team (described by an independent commentator as “some of the most experienced and talented brains in the superyacht world”) comprises owners’ project manager Godfrey Cray, Dykstra Naval Architects, interior designer Mark Whiteley and superyacht builder Royal Huisman.

AQUARIUS at the St. Barths Bucket Regatta: ‘close to perfect’

The owners’ brief retains a strong emphasis on performance. AQUARIUS II will feature a state-of-the-art carbon rig and integrated sail handling from Rondal, structured luff sails, and a retractable keel for optimal stability under racing conditions. AQUARIUS was first in class at her St. Barths Regatta debut in 2019 and will be showing her pace once again this March. Hence the comment “After all, I want to keep winning Bucket races!” from her owner.

It is equally important for her owners to retain the elegance and family comfort of AQUARIUS, with her exquisite and timeless exterior styling, classic interior and harmonious layout – all to be enhanced in AQUARIUS II by significant additional space and volume to optimize a luxurious yet understated lifestyle.

“AQUARIUS has proved to be an exciting sailboat,” commented her owners, “and she sails gracefully and powerfully. Her layout has exceeded expectations, with ample opportunities for both privacy and socializing. She is a ship for everyone.”

Family enjoyment onboard AQUARIUS: one of many features that answer that role is the mid-deck lounge area with sun canopy, easily set up when at anchor.

AQUARIUS II will feature Royal Huisman’s industry-leading hybrid technologies for power generation and management. The benefits include ‘peak-shaving’ for optimum energy efficiency and flexible power generation.

The Royal Huisman team always takes it as high praise when clients – such as AQUARIUS’ owners – come to us for a repeat project or, equally, recommend us to friends, family or associates. We have been fortunate to receive this compliment on a regular basis over the years.

Design and engineering preparations for AQUARIUS II are now well advanced, with construction of the Alustar® aluminum hull and superstructures scheduled to commence this summer. Delivery is scheduled for 2024.

Royal Huisman CEO Jan Timmerman concludes: “We are very honored with the trust the owners of AQUARIUS have in Royal Huisman. The talented team is very motivated and delighted to be working on such a prestigious project.

Regular repeat orders and referrals are no coincidence. They show we must be doing something right. In truth, we need to get many things right to earn such confidence but that doesn’t mean we never get a thing wrong. The key factor is the effort we put into solving problems and learning from them. Clients give us different reasons for their repeat orders, but among the most regularly mentioned is client focus. This includes dedication to building what the client wants, with the greatest attention to the detail; high standards of customer service before, during and after the build experience; and a flexible, can-do approach to design, engineering and production, that drives innovation to resolve complex challenges and fulfil the owners’ dream.

As a result, we are able to consistently realize individually defined, highly regarded and reliable custom superyachts. And that translates into satisfied clients. None of this is easy. But it does give our team immense joy and satisfaction, especially when they have the privilege to realize a dream such as AQUARIUS II.”

Below: AQUARIUS truly defines what it means to be a ‘modern classic’: a stunning yacht of rare beauty, combining classic hull lines with a powerful modern rig and a clean, contemporary chic above and below decks. AQUARIUS is ‘close to perfect’: her owners simply want a larger yacht – and even more impressive performance.

Main specifications of AQUARIUS II

Shipyard project number: Project 408 | type: Performance Ketch | length: 65m / 212ft | owners’ project manager: Godfrey Cray | naval architecture + exterior styling: Dykstra Naval Architects | interior design: Mark Whiteley Design | construction: Alustar® aluminum | rig + handling: Rondal carbon rig + Integrated Sailing System | builder: Royal Huisman

The English press release with editor’s notes can be found via the following link  (opens in a new tab).

Various design mockups of AQUARIUS (I) months ahead of the start of the actual production: getting it right. Virtual reality can be very realistic as well, but ergonomics, interactions and a “physical live” experience cannot be 100% imitated with a Virtual Reality (VR) headset or a digital 3D-model. Curious to see and learn more? Please find the article “Design mockups” at this website: News > Inhuis stories & updates [ link ]

The core owners’ brief for AQUARIUS remains essentially intact for AQUARIUS II. The owners sought to create a stunning looking yacht, with a classic profile, for family enjoyment. The yacht should have favorable sea keeping characteristics that are ideal for world cruising as well as standing her in good stead for the occasional Bucket regatta. This should be:

“a modern classical yacht with a clean, uncomplicated look. Not a pirate ship but a modern, fashionable and chic looking yacht with performance, reliability and quality – a sailor’s yacht.”

The success of the project can be judged by these additional owners’ comments:

“We set out to build an elegant, muscular sailboat and the shipyard and the design team delivered a yacht that is both of those things and more. The build experience at Royal Huisman was a good one. The boat has exceeded our expectations and we are thrilled with what the shipyard built.”

“AQUARIUS is a joy to sail and a joy to live on and her collection of features makes her a perfect boat for our needs. It is a dream come true to own a boat like this, and to look at her and sail her with such a strong sense of accomplishment and appreciation.”

Curious to see and learn more of AQUARIUS? Please visit royalhuisman.com/aquarius [link]

St. Barths Bucket Regatta 2022

More and more superyacht owners have come to recognize that the thrill of the regatta circuit coupled with the relaxed social ambiance they can enjoy ashore with fellow owners, guests and crew at a regatta makes the perfect complement to their ocean cruising itineraries. The entry list for this year’s edition of the upcoming St. Barths Bucket Regatta – from 17 to 20 March – contains over thirty yachts of which seven are delivered by Royal Huisman including AQUARIUS. Curious to see and learn more? Please find the article “St. Barths Bucket Regattas: in pictures” at this website: news > inhuis [ link ]  

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This Sailing Yacht Is Designed to Circle the Globe

The 184-foot superyacht by royal huisman blends old-world design with modern technology., geri ward's most recent stories.

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The phrase “contemporary classic” is a bit of a cliché, but Royal Huisman’s 184-foot Aquarius is the embodiment of a timeless sailing superyacht integrated with the latest technology. The Dutch builder has become known for large, bespoke sailing yachts that have redefined that category, but Aquarius is a special design, reminiscent of a 1930s cruising yacht.

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The profile and hull by noted Dutch firm Dykstra Naval Architects and interior by UK-based Mark Whiteley Design met the owner’s mandate for an elegant yet muscular sailboat that would be used for cruising the world with his family along with racing in the occasional superyacht regatta.

“He wanted a sailor’s yacht with a clean, uncomplicated look,” says the owner’s representative, Godfrey Cray. “Not a pirate ship, but a modern, fashionable, and chic-looking yacht with performance, reliability, and quality.”

As experienced sailors, the owners wanted Aquarius to be able to perform well but with a simple-to-use sail management system. Royal Huisman, mast specialist Rondal, and a team of rig specialists from Doyle NZ created the carbon-fiber masts, rigging, and sail plans, with the maximum downwind sails measuring a mind-blowing 32,292 square feet. The team also used modern technology to simplify sailing handling, including remote units that raise and lower the massive sails.

That involved an intricate system of electric winches, carbon-fiber masts, forestays, custom deck hardware, and other high-tech rigging. The yacht looks absolutely stunning under sail.

“We needed to provide good performance for long passages, but also ease of handling,” says Erik Wassen, senior Dykstra designer for Aquarius . “We wanted to make it possible to get set up and sail off an anchorage in well under an hour, sail for a few hours, and then still enjoy an afternoon of relaxation or water sports.”

The open design and long length of the topsides gave the designers space to add in social areas like the large lounge amidships and rear area in front of the twin helms. The open decks are a sea of uncolored teak with subtle gray caulking, adding to the classic look.

Whiteley’s interior is open and light-colored, taking full advantage of the yacht’s wide beam. The long, rectangular windows of the superstructure provide excellent natural light, while the sofas and other areas sit against the bulkheads, leaving plenty of interior space. An aft staircase leads down to the owner’s suite and guest accommodations. Like the saloon, the guest staterooms are light-colored, with dark-stained wood decor. Aquarius also has a gym and cinema room, with a high-tech sound system embedded in the walls.

The owner’s suite, defined by a mast disguised as a pillar, is wrapped in dark wood floors and cabinetry, with a bedroom, large en suite, and side office. It also has a private balcony overlooking the water.

Aquarius has three tenders in different garages for water sports and access to land, as well as a stairway that folds out from the side of the yacht so the owners and guests can board easily.

Royal Huisman is truly a special yard (the “Royal” designation is reserved for a handful of companies that distinguish themselves in their fields), and Aquarius is a truly special yacht, showing that the most modern superyachts do not have to look like something out of a sci-fi movie. Aquarius puts a shape to the words “modern classic.”

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A Word from the Captain on Aquarius

By Catriona Cherrie

Fifty-six metre sailing yacht Aquarius was delivered in January 2018 by Royal Huisman and has since completed several trips, including winter cruising in the Caribbean and a summer in the Mediterranean. Her captain, James Turner, has sailed the ship from destination to destination and was an integral part of the design process. Captain Turner holds a special place in his heart for this Royal Huisman build and tells of his experiences onboard in the following interview.

What are the features of Aquarius that most impress you, as a captain? First and foremost, it is her striking aesthetic: her long elegant sheer, low, bold deckhouses and significant rig plan all stylishly combined with modern features that pair traditional with contemporary very well. Looking more closely and from an operational perspective, it is the layout of controls/screens and functions of the helm area and deckhouse. At the heart of Aquarius’ design and build was the desire of building a very capable sailing boat for family cruising to regatta racing: her power, handling and turn of speed to combine seamlessly.

How would you rate her sailing capability – in terms of both performance and sail handling? As can often be found, handling ease is a compromise to performance and vice versa. However, in Aquarius’ case, I believe her designers did exceptionally well to maximise both. With her very powerful rig and sail plan, her performance, power and capability are not something to underestimate – without anticipation, one can be surprised at her power. However, her systems, handling and control all aid to make her handle with relative ease. One thing that is immediately striking about Aquarius is the size and height of her mizzen mast with her high roach sails; as such the force potential of the mizzen cannot be underestimated.

From an overall, operational, point of view, how well has Aquarius met the objectives set by the Client team? I believe that Aquarius has exceeded the owners’ expectations. The client wanted something that was elegant yet muscular, a yacht that looked as at home on the race course as it does in a far-flung anchorage. They wanted to entertain their family and closest friends. The luxury accommodation had to be comfortable, stylish, yet understated and it had to boast light and space. At the time of writing, the owners have enjoyed only a few trips on board. However, they are exceedingly proud of what they have built and are most excited about what they will continue to achieve with Aquarius. To quantify the objectives set from the beginning, I think Aquarius has not only met but surpassed the brief.

How would you describe the experience of building a custom superyacht like Aquarius at the Royal Huisman shipyard? Being a part of the build of Aquarius at Royal Huisman is and will remain a highlight of my career. It is no wonder that Huisman has developed the reputation they have within the industry. It is not only their organisation and efficiency as a facility, but it is also above all their pride in what they do that shines through. Without wanting to sound cliché the bespoke construction of a yacht is the realisation of the client’s dream.  It is this unwavering understanding, through everyone involved that creates the realisation. This for me made the goal relatively easy to achieve as we were all on the same page. They just get it.

With that being said, we look forward to hearing more about the adventures of Aquarius and the future projects from Royal Huisman.

"As can often be found, handling ease is a compromise to performance and vice versa. However, in Aquarius’ case, I believe her designers did exceptionally well to maximise both. With her very powerful rig and sail plan, her performance, power and capability are not something to underestimate – without anticipation, one can be surprised at her power." Captain James Turner, Captain of Aquarius

"As can often be found, handling ease is a compromise to performance and vice versa. However, in Aquarius’ case, I believe her designers did exceptionally well to maximise both. With her very powerful rig and sail plan, her performance, power and capability are not something to underestimate – without anticipation, one can be surprised at her power."

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Royal Huisman Turns the Hull of 65m sailing yacht Aquarius II

Royal Huisman  has announced the hull turning of 65-metre Aquarius II . Still known as project 408, the in-build sailing superyacht is an evolution of the 56-metre  Aquarius,  built for the same owner. 

The performance ketch yacht features naval architecture and exterior design from Dykstra Naval Architects, alongside interior design by Mark Whiteley Design. Godfrey Cray is the owner’s project manager, with this being his third Royal Huisman build after  Ngoni  and  Aquarius .

The yacht will have a lifting fin keel with a draft of 7.6 metres, as well as a main mast of 67.5 metres and mizzen mast of 60 metres, resulting in a total downwind sail area of more than 4,500 square metres. Rondal and Doyle have collaborated with Royal Huisman to ensure optimal performance.

The owners’ brief retains a strong emphasis on performance. Aquarius II will feature a state-of-the-art carbon rig and integrated sail handling from Rondal, structured luff sails, and a retractable keel for optimal stability under racing conditions. Aquarius was first in class at her St. Barths Regatta debut in 2019.

It is equally important for her owners to retain the elegance and family comfort of Aquarius, with her exquisite and timeless exterior styling, classic interior and harmonious layout – all to be enhanced in Aquarius II by significant additional space and volume to optimize a luxurious yet understated lifestyle.

“ Aquarius has proved to be an exciting sailboat, ” commented her owners, “ and she sails gracefully and powerfully. Her layout has exceeded expectations, with ample opportunities for both privacy and socializing. She is a ship for everyone .”

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Aquarius II

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AQUARIUS II yacht NOT for charter*

65m  /  213'3 | royal huisman | 2024.

• Previous Yacht

Special Features:

• Brand new for 2024
• Lloyds Register classification
• Able to access shallow bays and coves

The 65m/213'3" sail yacht 'Aquarius II' was built by Royal Huisman in the Netherlands. Her interior is styled by design house Mark Whiteley Design and she was completed in 2024. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Dykstra Naval Architects.

Range & Performance

Aquarius II is built with a aluminium hull and aluminium superstructure, with teak decks. Her low draft of makes her primed for accessing shallow areas and cruising close to the shorelines. She was built to Lloyds Register classification society rules.

*Charter Aquarius II Sail Yacht

Sail yacht Aquarius II is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

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Cruising the Moskva River: A short guide to boat trips in Russia’s capital

There’s hardly a better way to absorb Moscow’s atmosphere than on a ship sailing up and down the Moskva River. While complicated ticketing, loud music and chilling winds might dampen the anticipated fun, this checklist will help you to enjoy the scenic views and not fall into common tourist traps.

How to find the right boat?

There are plenty of boats and selecting the right one might be challenging. The size of the boat should be your main criteria.

Plenty of small boats cruise the Moskva River, and the most vivid one is this yellow Lay’s-branded boat. Everyone who has ever visited Moscow probably has seen it.

This option might leave a passenger disembarking partially deaf as the merciless Russian pop music blasts onboard. A free spirit, however, will find partying on such a vessel to be an unforgettable and authentic experience that’s almost a metaphor for life in modern Russia: too loud, and sometimes too welcoming. Tickets start at $13 (800 rubles) per person.

Bigger boats offer smoother sailing and tend to attract foreign visitors because of their distinct Soviet aura. Indeed, many of the older vessels must have seen better days. They are still afloat, however, and getting aboard is a unique ‘cultural’ experience. Sometimes the crew might offer lunch or dinner to passengers, but this option must be purchased with the ticket. Here is one such  option  offering dinner for $24 (1,490 rubles).

If you want to travel in style, consider Flotilla Radisson. These large, modern vessels are quite posh, with a cozy restaurant and an attentive crew at your service. Even though the selection of wines and food is modest, these vessels are still much better than other boats.

Surprisingly, the luxurious boats are priced rather modestly, and a single ticket goes for $17-$32 (1,100-2,000 rubles); also expect a reasonable restaurant bill on top.

How to buy tickets?

Women holding photos of ships promise huge discounts to “the young and beautiful,” and give personal invitations for river tours. They sound and look nice, but there’s a small catch: their ticket prices are usually more than those purchased online.

“We bought tickets from street hawkers for 900 rubles each, only to later discover that the other passengers bought their tickets twice as cheap!”  wrote  (in Russian) a disappointed Rostislav on a travel company website.

Nevertheless, buying from street hawkers has one considerable advantage: they personally escort you to the vessel so that you don’t waste time looking for the boat on your own.

Prices start at $13 (800 rubles) for one ride, and for an additional $6.5 (400 rubles) you can purchase an unlimited number of tours on the same boat on any given day.

Flotilla Radisson has official ticket offices at Gorky Park and Hotel Ukraine, but they’re often sold out.

Buying online is an option that might save some cash. Websites such as  this   offer considerable discounts for tickets sold online. On a busy Friday night an online purchase might be the only chance to get a ticket on a Flotilla Radisson boat.

This  website  (in Russian) offers multiple options for short river cruises in and around the city center, including offbeat options such as ‘disco cruises’ and ‘children cruises.’ This other  website  sells tickets online, but doesn’t have an English version. The interface is intuitive, however.

Buying tickets online has its bad points, however. The most common is confusing which pier you should go to and missing your river tour.

“I once bought tickets online to save with the discount that the website offered,” said Igor Shvarkin from Moscow. “The pier was initially marked as ‘Park Kultury,’ but when I arrived it wasn’t easy to find my boat because there were too many there. My guests had to walk a considerable distance before I finally found the vessel that accepted my tickets purchased online,” said the man.

There are two main boarding piers in the city center:  Hotel Ukraine  and  Park Kultury . Always take note of your particular berth when buying tickets online.

Where to sit onboard?

Even on a warm day, the headwind might be chilly for passengers on deck. Make sure you have warm clothes, or that the crew has blankets ready upon request.

The glass-encased hold makes the tour much more comfortable, but not at the expense of having an enjoyable experience.

Getting off the boat requires preparation as well. Ideally, you should be able to disembark on any pier along the way. In reality, passengers never know where the boat’s captain will make the next stop. Street hawkers often tell passengers in advance where they’ll be able to disembark. If you buy tickets online then you’ll have to research it yourself.

There’s a chance that the captain won’t make any stops at all and will take you back to where the tour began, which is the case with Flotilla Radisson. The safest option is to automatically expect that you’ll return to the pier where you started.

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VESSEL REVIEW | Sinichka – Electric commuter boats designed for Russia’s Moskva River

A series of three new electric monohull commuter ferries have already begun operational sailings on the Moskva River in the Russian capital Moscow.

Built by Russian shipyard Emperium, sister vessels Sinichka , Filka , and Presnya – all named after rivers in Moscow – are being operated by the Moscow Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development (Moscow Deptrans). They are the first units of a planned fleet of 20 vessels that will serve the capital city and other nearby communities. The new ferry system will be the water transport system to be operated on the Moskva River in 16 years.

Each vessel has a welded aluminium hull, an LOA of 21 metres, a beam of 6.2 metres, a draught of only 1.4 metres, a displacement of 40 tonnes, and capacity for 80 passengers plus two crewmembers. Seating is available for 42 passengers on each ferry, and the main cabins are also fitted with USB charging ports, wifi connectivity, tables, toilets, and space for bicycles and scooters. The cabin layout can be rearranged to allow the operator to adjust the distances between the seats and to install armrests of varying widths.

An open upper deck is also accessible to passengers and is the only area on each ferry where smoking is allowed.

The ferries are all of modular construction with each ferry’s wheelhouse, main cabin, and other structural elements being built as complete, separate components. This enables the ferries to be easily dismantled for transport to anywhere in Russia by rail and then quickly re-assembled within seven days.

The ferries are also ice-capable. Recently completed operational trials on the Moskva showed that the vessels can also easily navigate under mild winter conditions with broken surface ice, though year-round operations are planned for the entire fleet.

The ferries are each fitted with 500kWh lithium iron phosphate battery packs that supply power to two 134kW motors. This configuration can deliver a maximum speed of 11.8 knots, a cruising speed of just under 10 knots, and a range of 150 kilometres.

Emperium said the transfer of rotation of electric motors to the propeller is carried out by direct drive. As a propulsion installation, a pulling rotary propeller-steering column with double screws is used. The installation of double pulling screws, with similar power, allows an operator to increase the efficiency of the propulsion system to deliver a slightly higher speed or to reduce energy consumption. This arrangement also provides the ferries with enhanced manoeuvrability necessary for navigating in close quarters.

The batteries themselves have projected service lives of 10 to 12 years and are fitted with safety features such as built-in fire extinguishers and gas vents. Quick-disconnect features allow the batteries to be easily removed for replacement or maintenance.

Some of our readers have expressed disquiet at our publication of reviews and articles describing new vessels from Russia. We at Baird Maritime can understand and sympathise with those views. However, despite the behaviour of the country’s leaders, we believe that the maritime world needs to learn of the latest developments in vessel design and construction there.

Click here to read other news stories, features, opinion articles, and vessel reviews as part of this month’s Passenger Vessel Week.

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Tags: Emperium Filka Moscow Moscow Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development Moskva River Presnya Russia Sinichka WBW newbuild

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Gold:  The State Hermitage Museum / Peterhof: Park and a historic Cottage

Platinum:  The State Hermitage Museum (Early Entrance!) / Gold Room / Peterhof: Park and a historic Cottage

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Platinum:  Faberge Museum / Catherine’s Palace / Amber Room

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