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Selfishly Explore the World Year-Round With the Cape Hawk 690 Expedition Yacht

When several teams undergo a collaboration, the first example of their works is often the best one. That seems to be the case with the Cape Hawk 690 motor yacht, the first of a capable family.
Cape Hawk 690 Motor Yacht 19 photos
Photo: Laurent Giles/Hawk Yachts
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One of the very first designs ever to come out of a collaboration between world-renowned Laurent Giles and limit-breaking Hawk Yachts is the Cape Hawk 690 motor yacht. The reason why this yacht design is so important, aside from being the first from this collaboration, it’s because it showcases the absolute pinnacle of what a vessel is supposed to do.

To understand a bit about what is in store for an eventual buyer, Hawk Yachts is led by Captain Matthias Bosse, an adventurer who has covered over 1,000,000 sea miles over the last 30 years. Having sailed all seven oceans and numerous rivers, including the Amazon, Captain Bosse decided to found Hawk Yachts to challenge the industry status quo.

As for Laurent Giles, it is a team that has been involved in yacht design and building since the 1920s. This company sprouted wings when Jack Laurent Giles, a graduate student in Engineering Science from Cambridge University, set out to pioneer the next generation of scientific yacht design. Initial designs from the team were more geared towards gentlemen-style yachts, but performance and speed were always in sight. Today, this team is still at the top of the yachting game, and projections into the future bring with them designs like the Atlas, considered the world’s largest sailing yacht design.

Cape Hawk 690 Motor Yacht
Photo: Laurent Giles / Hawk Yachts
The 690 showcases the expertise of these two teams and ends up combining massive range, mind-blowing interior design and styling, performance, and above all, a place to entertain and truly explore without boundaries. It may not be the largest of the vessels spawned from this collaboration, but it is the one that includes the most experience-oriented design.

As it stands, the 690 was designed back in 2018, and since then, no one has stepped forward to claim it, even though it’s ready to be built right now. Conceptual designs from companies and builders like Giles and Hawk have seen all production stages except the actual build.

That means that the 690 has undergone structural design, including 3D modeling, classification submission and appraisal, docking and launching calculations, and finite element analysis. The hull design has undergone extensive development, including hull type selection (key in efficiency and stability), modifications to exiting hull styles, stabilization optimization, and large-scale tank testing analysis. All this is done to maximize range, efficiency, spaces, comfort, and arrangement of components.

Cape Hawk 690 Motor Yacht
Photo: Laurent Giles / Hawk Yachts
The final stages of design include weight estimates, speed and range estimates, intact and damage stability assessment, machinery layout, power requirements, and even helicopter operations.

All this work yields a craft that is suitable for 12 guests and 11 crew members while offering a range of 6,000 nautical miles. Why is such a range important? Well, it makes this craft suitable to cross the Atlantic Ocean, to alternate between the Mediterranean and Carribean. That is also key if you’re looking for a vessel on which to live your life year-round.

For propulsion, the 690 will be using two Caterpillar C32 engines with an output of 1,790 kW (2,400 horsepower), allowing it to cruise at a speed of 11 knots and reach a top speed of 15.5 knots.

One focus of the vessel is that of being able to cruise beyond normal yachting zones. The ability to travel through Arctic regions is made possible by the vessel's compartmentalization and a massive boiler system meant to warm the entire vessel. If you’ll be passing through the tropics, equally impressive cooling systems are effective even in 35-degree Celsius (95-degree Fahrenheit) water.

One of the most discerning features on the 690 is the observational deck aft. Encompassed in glass and offering a 270-degree view of surroundings, it’s the one place you’ll find most fitting for extending your horizons.

Cape Hawk 690 Motor Yacht
Photo: Laurent Giles / Hawk Yachts
The remainder of the interior design is ultimately in the hands of the owner, but Hawk and Giles have put together a layout that they see most fitting for the overall comfort and services the vessel can offer.

One feature I recommend holding onto, in case you do become the eventual owner of the 690, is that of the unfolding hull sides that allow access to the tender and toy garage but also act as lounging decks; then there are the deployable sea-level decks meant to take water fun to the next level. Oh, that trick with the unfolding hull is also featured for the dining hall, allowing you to step out over the sea and dine on a whole new level.

What more could you want from a vessel that’s meant to explore the seven seas year-round? It's got brass, style, and the luxuries you’ve never dreamed of, not to mention the ability to go anywhere there’s a body of water.
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About the author: Cristian Curmei
Cristian Curmei profile photo

A bit of a nomad at heart (being born in Europe and raised in several places in the USA), Cristian is enamored with travel trailers, campers and bikes. He also tests and writes about urban means of transportation like scooters, mopeds and e-bikes (when he's not busy hosting our video stories and guides).
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