SAY it with intent! SAY it in carbon…
by John Curnow, Global Editor, Powerboat.World 8 May 19:00 UTC
The very new SAY 52 © SAY Carbon Yachts
You know, you might also have to SAY it in epoxy. Get all that, and you are certainly someone who needs to know about SAY Carbon Yachts. Should you be a yachtie, the 7.5 metric tonne mass (lightship for the petrol version) of their very new SAY 52 will have you thinking GenIII/IV TP52, and that squares off the intent statement, well and truly.
You see, the last part is all about efficiency, acceleration, pace, and even more importantly, the amount of horsepower required to get there. In this case, the SAY 52 utilises Volvo-Penta D6 sterndrives (aka Z-Drive), delivering 440hp each. The 5.5 litre inline six gems are one of my favourites in their lineup, and the emphasis here is that you won't need the D8s or the D13s, with their significant difference in fuel consumption (giving you lower overall emissions), and weight to start with, to get the desired result. Note here that a sterndrive is going to be lighter than any other form of driveline... This is what low mass can do for you. Offer opportunities.
As for the petrol version, well it is a pair of Volvo-Penta's 430hp V8s, mated to the traditional rear facing legs for ease of transport and shallow water access. You can have the forward-facing legs if you wish, and select the engines of your choice (within reason), but they will always be sterndrives. At any rate, you'll be cruising in the mid-30s with either of the standard offerings, with WOT much more than that. Like 50 knots.
Back to the build of the SAY 52, which is 15.95m LOA, 14.12m at the waterline, with a 4.4m beam, and the keys come in the form of the following. The hull and deck are one-shot infused with the king of resins, epoxy. Not the cheapest by any means, but tensile strength and durability are guaranteed. A full load will take you into 11 metric tonnes, but there are so many craft out there in the same size bracket that will be double that, so one needs to be cognisant of that relative to the whole experience.
The late Colin Chapman of Lotus fame was arguably the doyen of the lightweight/speed mantra, and the automotive analogy is important here for a company that has roots in hypercars and F1. One of the key differences between SAY and Lotus is quality. There'll be no window winders falling off here. The product is entirely German made. Wangen im Allgäu to be precise, and that is near the shores of Lake Constance in the Southwest of the Teutonic masters' homeland. Porsche and Mercedes-Benz not all that far away, either...
Now it is only around 14 months ago that the company had to go through a major restructuring, but that allowed fresh blood and cash to come in. Cue Danish entrepreneur, Martin Pedersen, a superyacht owner and 'apasionado', as well as the team assembled under him. The result is the new model SAY 52, with offerings down to 32 and up to 70 something just waiting to be announced. SAY Carbon Yacht's intent is not only real, but also ultra-clear. Make an experience like no other. When you're a 'boutique' builder of say 10-15 units per annum, you are going to need a unique selling proposition with scalpel like precision, and diesel/electric locomotive type momentum.
Let's get techy
We'll certainly come to that in a moment, but for now, we need to see where the scalpel is cutting, and the tracks for the loco are going. Some further technical points will serve as the 'cardinals' for our journey. Being light is one thing. Being slippery is another!!! I had expected a flat-bottomed 'lake' boat, but 18.5 degrees of deadrise at the transom can only indicate the likes of a modified V. However, it is actually a Petestep® System, which you can see in action below, with four deflectors to induce air and therefore lift, which speaks to slippery like a master to their beloved dog.
Best to consider these as a set of four 'deltas' (think jet fighter wings) that triangulate all the way back to the stern, and each of them passes the water down and back, which delivers additional lift. Effectively it makes the spray from the hull a byproduct, not a waste product, much like a sugar refinery uses the pulp after extraction to power the plant. As the hull re-enters the water after a wave, these deltas slow the progress and deliver additional lift, unlike the traditional keel that will slice in marvellously.
A bonus out of the latter would also have to be a softer, or gentler ride, which you are most certainly going to need when you have a carbon/epoxy hull. Anyone who has raced a carbon yacht knows all about beating the drum - boom, boom, boom. Carbon is about the only thing that I can think of that makes an aluminium plate boat sound quiet. Chief Technical Officer, Karl Wagner, responded to this point by saying, "Unfortunately there is no secret answer, but with the right layout and damping it is well under control."
Other wins come in the form of enhanced stability, and reduced consumption. Offshore racing powercats attest to this format, albeit that they don't really care about the juice, but the controllability, tractability, and cornering are essential to them.
Another thing we need to talk about is cooking. No. Not on-board cuisine, for SAY Carbon Yachts are more in the day/party boat/weekender category, and internal volume is not the primary objective. This is about the monocoque structure itself. Remember, it has to be rigid all on its own. No massive ringframes or stringers here. Deck and hull are 'cooked' or cured to a transition temperature of greater than 90 degrees C, and structural and interior components to more than 80 degrees C.
This is what gives strength, and if you live in a sunny/warm place, you might even ask them to oblige you with a double cook. She no move no more, mate!
Zap
Seeing as we are talking cooking, we may as well get into the Colonel's 11 secret herbs and spices with SAY Carbon Yachts. The engine room is a GRP/FRP liner, and the reason for this is carbon conducts. Stray current is no good on a boat, and you can literally watch metal components fry and sizzle up before your eyes. Wagner's answer alludes to their IP, "Electric conductivity is a critical issue on CFRP boats, but there are smarter solutions to implement isolating than just bonding." Good news for owners is at least they have a plan, and with the aforementioned pedigree in high-end cars, it will be one that works.
Right oh, well we are on the electricity path, so let's cover off hybrid. Again, Wagner holds the cards close, but informs me, "Our parallel hybrid system is currently in development with an experienced partner, and we will disclose this at a later stage."
Zing
Time for some sizzle, so let's wheel in Carlos Vassallo, Global Head of Sales at SAY Carbon Yachts. A boat owner himself, his enthusiasm might appear measured on the face of it, but it is more like meeting the spiritual leader you have paid good money to come to listen to. There's a calmness in the knowing, and an attentive ear. This may well stem from his love of SCUBA diving, just as it does his impressive career. "Martin Pedersen's vision is to take this a small, luxury craftsmanship, German engineering company into a worldwide reality."
In a market segment dominated by Italian, Dutch, and to some extent Turkish brands, Vassallo is clear about their USP. "We're not about the brand. We are about what the product is and what the product represents. There is enough difference between SAY Carbon Yachts and some of the others you have mentioned. It stems from being a truly handcrafted, German engineered and built masterpiece."
"It is in the design, both above and below the waterline, as well as the total performance package that encompasses not just pace, but nimbleness and ride. I have 20 years in the industry, and when I joined SAY Carbon Yachts last November, I jumped aboard one of our SAY 42 craft in Mallorca. All I can say was I simply said, 'Wow!' I fell in love with the product right there and then, and if I had not already joined at that stage, I would have done so immediately."
"The SAY Carbon Yachts experience at 50 knots is akin to an Aston Martin on the road. It is all about feel. We are selling passion here at SAY. We walk the line between enough technical information, and the joy of being on the water. Our buyers do have a level of experience themselves after 10 or so years on the water, and we are also seeing new-to-boating buyers keen to express themselves, and looking for the waterborne version of the very brands they drive around in. That's us," said Vassallo.
"We want to show that this experience is not about driving fast in a straight line. It's about being sporty. It's about having a gentlemanly racer experience, but also an elegant cruise in an aesthetically pleasing and appealing form."
Now in my experience, a lot of that only comes to pass when you have imbued a lot of the really cool stuff in the top section of this Editorial into the very item in question. It is why we asked the questions to find out. If you buy an Aston Martin Valkyrie, you may think you're Ben Collins or Chris Harris, and in reality you're probably not there, but you sure as hell want to know that people of that calibre have been all over it in development before you squeezed yourself in. It will be an epic fail on a super short YouTube video, if not.
Sell. Sell. Sell.
Speaking to the volume down below, Vassallo added, "We are not selling volume down below. We are selling performance. You won't find three cabins in our 4.5 metric tonne 42-footer, or even two. You'll find one. In this way, there is not so much going in to help deaden the noise, so it has to be done by the hull form itself. The upshot with the Petestep® hull is the way it returns to the water, and this is why it can be so much more than just a flat-water boat. With a complete liner for the engine bay, we have also reduced the transfer from the powerplants and drive line. All of these create the very experience we are seeking, and a gyro stabiliser tops it off."
Contemplating for a second, you can see that a SAY 32 or 42 can be aboard a megayacht, or the ghost ship, and the 52 can also become a great towable tender. With the kinds of production runs we're talking about it's like you're going to see yourself as you pull into Cala di Volpe. Now, is it?
Taking it one step further, and an explorer vessel might actually have a suitable crane to take any of the models on board. The bonus of mass, or lack thereof. I can say that there is a lot going on at SAY Carbon Yachts, with tooling well under way, so astute owners and skippers will want to speak with Carlos and the team at Palma, and shows thereafter. SAY will not be a two-horse offering for much longer.
Apart from more models, more amenity and choice is on the way. You may think that there will be one massive hurdle to overcome. Cost. Yet, this is not necessarily the case. Review where they are planning to land, relative to what is on these boats, and in some cases it could be as good as line ball. Me thinkey a drive for oneself is well and truly on the cards for anyone looking to buy a vessel in this space. Being who they are after the restructure (a 60-person team for starters) does allow them to be able to weave through the wonderful world that is the current geopolitical and macroeconomic malaise.
For what it is worth, Carlos is the only person in the company who does not speak German. This is very much part of the expansion mode. It means their core group of decision makers, five in total, hold meetings in English, and it also means Karl Wagner can go and do the things he's known for. "It's like a kid in a candy store," said Vassallo. He flatly refused to give me the elevator pitch on SAY, instead commenting that his sales approach is to listen. It stems from just one question, 'What do you have a boat for?' We have in-depth conversations."
"Yes. A basic comparison between a 30-foot centre console with outboards and us might be half price. Add in all that you get with us already, not optioned up to, plus the real efficiency of being all carbon, and across our three-boat range, the real number is maybe zero, or 10%, and no more than 30%. If I had to give you an elevator pitch it would be, 'It's about having a product that combines performance, elegance, experience, and is unique, with true craftsmanship at its core."
Thank you, Carlos. We extracted it from you in the end... Now if you have intent when it comes to your boating, and a Peugeot hatchback is not for you, but a Carrera GT is, then it is a fair bet that SAY Carbon Yachts is for you, too. You might just not give the keys back, however.
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John Curnow
Global Editor, Powerboat.World