Anatolia Article from Boat International Magazine (01/07/2001)
It is one of the anomalies of yachting that, while new boats become ever more streamlined and stereotyped, everyone seems to admire the look of vessels from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Today, huge sums are spent on the loving restoration of yachts of all sizes, both sailing and power, originating from as far back as the early days of the 20th century. Classic sailing yachts have a well-defined racing circuit, while elegant clipper-bowed motor yachts such as Rosenkavalier (now reverted to her former name of Haida-G), Savarona, once the presidential yacht of Kemal Ataturk, and Paul Getty's Talitba G are frequently spotted in the world's most fashionable anchorages, looking every bit as good as on the day of their first launch. In fact, these three vessels are living proof of the durability of their 'classic' style, as they were already retro' designs when first launched in the late twenties and early thirties, with their looks harking back to the days of clipper ships and steam powered motor yachts.
from the end of the previous century. Sadly, .so few classic motor yachts from either of these eras survived die ravages of war and recession that this fashion for the restoration of authentic hulls is clearly one with finite limits. The logical consequence is, of course, that interest in newly built yachts of classic-appearance should increase, but while new builds have often been proposed and preliminary designs drawn up on a speculative basis, so far only one such project lias actually matured this Ls Anatolia.
Anatolia's Turkish owner is a relatively new convert to the pleasures of yachting. His first vessel, the 17.68m classically-styled motor cruiser Melis was designed by the Istanbul-based naval architect, Tanju Kalaycioglu, as a Bosphorus commuter - a quicker and more pleasant alternative to the traffic chaos of Istanbul. He enjoyed the experience but when it was suggested that he should reposition his yacht in Gocek. Southern Turkey, for the summer months, he only did so on the basis that he would not have to live aboard. The cruising adventure broke his resolve, however, as he stayed aboard and loved it, and the natural progression was to acquire a vessel whose size could provide a similar lifestyle to his shoreside homes. Still, despite trawling the world's boat shows, he lound nothing ready built whose appearance and style satisfied his critical eye except, that is, for Savanma, which at 124 m in length was rather too large for his purposes. The only answer was to build from scratch, and for this he went back to Kalaycioglu, whose eye for beauty closely matched his own.
While the owner's needs for accommodation were much the same as any modern yacht four guest cabins and crew quarters on the lower deck together with an engine room, and the main deck carrying a combined saloon and dining area, plus a master cabin these had to be fitted into a hull that gave the outward appearance of a classically narrow beamed yacht. Kalaycioglu's approach was to create a cross-section with the minimum beam and then, dipping into his extensive reference archive of drawings and pictures from the required period, build a suitably classic hull to match the cross-section, before fine-tuning the overall length to fit in the desired accommodation. The result is a superb compromize between old and new, a steel hull of 43.6m LOA, with a moderate maximum beam of 7m and a reasonably deep draught of 2.4m. In terms of hull shape, she has a fine bow and deep forefoot, with plenty of flare forward, soft bilges and a wineglass-shaped skeg originating amidships and tecoming more prominent aft as it terminates in a good-sized balanced rudder. Above the waterline, great care was taken to create an authentic sheerline, while the final touch was to introduce a degree of tumblehome into her topsides amidships, increasing this in the run aft to her traditional counter stern. To maintain stability without incurring the disadvantage of additional draught, the main deckhouse frames are of aluminium, clad with panelled teak, while the upper deck structure is of teak clad composite, cored with Corecell closed-cell foam. Teak, steel, iluminium, carbon, GRP - her list of construction materials encompasses the whole history of shipbuilding, but the devastatingly elegant result clearly epitomizes the Golden Age of yachting.
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