ArtExplorer: World’s Largest Sailing Catamaran Is Here to Offer Both Luxury and Education

ArtExplorer has launched and will be making its public debut at the 2023 edition of the Monaco Yacht Show at the end of September, Perini Navi confirms. ArtExplorer is not only on track to becoming the world's largest sailing catamaran (not the world's largest catamaran, as previously reported) but also the world's most surprising luxury build, given that it was designed as a floating museum.

Perini Navi, which is part of The Italian Sea Group (TISG), has been working on this unique vessel for the past several years, with the initial launch date delayed at least once due to the unforeseen worldwide developments of 2020. But ArtExplorer is now on schedule: after the public debut, it will immediately start working as the world's first floating museum as part of the Art Explora event.

A cat like no other because of its dual purpose

Art Explora is an international, non-profit initiative by French entrepreneur Frédéric Jousset. Among its goals is establishing a frontiers-free cultural and artistic environment that will be free-for-all and with minimal impact on nature.

The latter aspect is in no way negligible since this environment will be traveling the globe, docking in the world's biggest ports, and welcoming thousands of visitors a day while there. Indeed, that "environment" is the ArtExplorer (which will probably be called S/Y Art Explorer). Again, all these visitors will be able to let themselves be educated free of charge, but prior registration online will be mandatory.

ArtExplorer will serve as a floating museum for at least the next two years, after which it will become a standard catamaran, offered for charter to the rich and used privately by Jousset himself. By offering it for charter, Jousset will offset the expenses of running it as a free museum, and he hopes to continue using it as such, if only sporadically.

The educational purpose has influenced the design of ArtExplorer, down to the way in which interior spaces are divided. Photos of the nearly-completed build are not available as of this writing but renders show an interior tunnel-like space that is actually a viewing gallery for virtual art.

This gallery is located on the flybridge and will double as a workshop and conference area, depending on the type of event hosted. There's a second art gallery, of the more traditional type, in the main salon. When ArtExplorer opens to the public later this fall, it will host an exhibit curated by Nomi Daucé from the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

ArtExplorer's environmental impact is minimal

With an exterior and interiors by French architect Axel de Beaufort and naval architecture by Guillaume Verdier Architecture and Nacira Design, ArtExplorer will be powered by twin Caterpillar C7 diesel engines backed up by e-power. It doesn't offer completely emissions-free cruising, but it's able to travel the world with minimal impact on the environment.

The ArtExplorer is able to sail at a top speed of 10 knots (11.5 mph/18.5 kph) even in very low wind conditions and features a fully automatic sail plan that allows operation by a single person for enhanced ease of use. To boot, the deckhouse features 700 square feet (65 square meters) of solar panels that produce 12 kW of energy, with a large lithium battery bank allowing for operation of more than six hours at full load.

All maneuvers in and out of the marina and in protected areas will be carried out in full electric mode, Perini Navi notes. Running hotel functions while at anchor will also be possible on solar, further reducing the vessel's carbon footprint.

The interior volume is 498 GT, but details regarding accommodation and finishes aren't available right now. Length overall is 154 feet (47 meters), with a beam of 55.7 feet (17.1 meters). The dual hull design of the catamaran ensures maximum stability and comfort even in rough waters as well as maximized volume in the same length category, and that's one of the main considerations why Jousset opted for a cat for his idea of a floating museum.

An innovation on a "technical, engineering and human level," ArtExplorer "represents a further milestone made possible by the continuous stylistic and technological research," Giovanni Costantino, founder and CEO of TISG, says in a statement. "[It is] is the result of continuous investment in the study and research of systems to reduce emissions and contribute to improving air quality and the health of our seas."

ArtExplorer is also the only luxury vessel offered for use to the masses for an educational purpose. For that reason alone, it's a build worth keeping an eye out for.