Back in February this year, we brought you a not-so-automotive news about what is possibly the most expensive, most luxurious, most exclusive, yacht-extraordinaire, the WHY. In that piece of news, hidden in the fine print, we also promised to come back on the subject with a cover story. And guess what... We did.
As you know by now (and if you don't, we'll tell you right away), the future of the WHY yacht has in the meantime become as blurry as the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The immense cost to manufacture it, the huge scale of the project and the uncertain future of the rich who would have purchased it have kinda' pushed the WHY into the realm of dreams.
The WHY was supposed to be built by French luxury brand Hermes and Monaco-based yacht maker Wally. In March, one month after we jinxed the WHY by running our story, Hermes elegantly pulled out, saying they'd rather see the project in the hands of only one decision-maker.
With an estimate price tag of in between $68 million to $137 million (50 million and 100 million Euros), the WHY has so far secured billions of "wow-s" and exactly zero dollars. This is why, currently, the WHY (easy wordplay, we know) has sailed into a mist, with Wally hinting it will be built, without saying when and how.
Be it as it may, we still find the WHY to be perhaps one of the best ways to live out your days, so it's worth a closer look.
Why WHY?
WHY has been designed to be a man-made moving island. In the words of Luca Bassani Antivari, the CEO of Wally, the yacht is the embodiment of complete freedom, life without constraint and utter independence. WHY has been created to provide all the comfort a villa on an island can offer, with the main difference being this one can move, should the waters in one place no longer welcome you. In fact, this is exactly how Antivari describes the WHY: a moving island. An island which generates its own energy, tends to its inhabitants and spoils them with all the luxury of the modern age.
The Technical WHY
The manufacturer plans to offer the WHY in two sizes, designed to suit different needs. We will talk here about the bigger one, as the smaller version is, in essence, the same yacht, featuring the exact same features, but in reduced dimensions (37 meters long and 24 meters wide or 121/78 feet).
WHY is made of steel and is 58 meters long (190 feet), 38 meters-wide (124 feet) and has a displacement of 2,400 tons. It can accommodate no less than 16 rich Gilligans and 24 crew members, offering a total guest surface area of 3,900 m2 (41,979 square feet) – that's an average of 100 m2 (1,076 square feet) for each guest. The yacht is designed to have four decks (main, upper, owner's and wheelhouse), with the promenade on the main deck measuring 130 meters (426 feet) in length and 2 meters in width (6.5 feet).
WHY is powered by diesel electric engines which generate 2,400 kW (3,218 horsepower), with an optional SkySail system available. The units, which turn 2 fixed pitch propellers, give the yacht a maximum speed of 14 knots and a cruising speed of 12 knots.
In addition to the main propulsion system, WHY also benefits from 900 m2 (9,687 feet) worth of photovoltaic panels, as well as from 60 m2 (645 feet) of thermal panels. The energy coming from these panels is stored in a 2,000 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack (LiFePO4), which gives the inhabitants of the moving island 150 kW of renewable energy at any given time.
The reason behind the decision to pack the WHY with eco-friendly technologies is the goal Wally dreamed for itself when it set out to create the island: build a yacht which reduces the average energy consumption by 50 percent, compared to yachts similar in displacement.
Aside from fitting all those panels on top of it, Wally is trying to cut energy consumption without having to reduce the boat's power output. For that, a possible real life WHY will have to be insulated, store energy in an efficient way and recover the wasted energy. Physically, this means fitting it with ventilation by natural convection, ultra-low consumption air conditioning system, ultra-efficiency walls and windows insulation, low impact anti-fouling paint, waste purification systems and even garbage separator, compactor and grinder. All in all, these features make for 160,000 liters of fuel being saved every year.
WHY Comfort
You will be surprised to see that the list of comfort features offered by the WHY is way smaller than the one describing its technical specs. This is not because we ran out of time when writing this, but because, basically, the WHY can be built as the future owner desires. There are, however, a few default features every WHY will have.
Aside for the 25 meter long swimming pool, the yacht is being offered with a spa, a 100 square meters helicopter pad, sauna, gym and massage room, a music room, a dining room, a cinema, sun decks, suites, terraces, a lounge and five suites. The sixth suit, reserved for the owner of the boat, covers 200 square meters (2,152 square feet), or the entire third deck...
That's pretty much all there is to this dream boat. We must admit, we'd love to see it come together into a real life replica (and we'd love even more to be able to afford it) but, even if it doesn't, it was worth dreaming about it for a few minutes. We'll keep you posted on further developments on the subject as they become available.
The Technical WHY
The manufacturer plans to offer the WHY in two sizes, designed to suit different needs. We will talk here about the bigger one, as the smaller version is, in essence, the same yacht, featuring the exact same features, but in reduced dimensions (37 meters long and 24 meters wide or 121/78 feet).
WHY is made of steel and is 58 meters long (190 feet), 38 meters-wide (124 feet) and has a displacement of 2,400 tons. It can accommodate no less than 16 rich Gilligans and 24 crew members, offering a total guest surface area of 3,900 m2 (41,979 square feet) – that's an average of 100 m2 (1,076 square feet) for each guest. The yacht is designed to have four decks (main, upper, owner's and wheelhouse), with the promenade on the main deck measuring 130 meters (426 feet) in length and 2 meters in width (6.5 feet).
WHY is powered by diesel electric engines which generate 2,400 kW (3,218 horsepower), with an optional SkySail system available. The units, which turn 2 fixed pitch propellers, give the yacht a maximum speed of 14 knots and a cruising speed of 12 knots.
In addition to the main propulsion system, WHY also benefits from 900 m2 (9,687 feet) worth of photovoltaic panels, as well as from 60 m2 (645 feet) of thermal panels. The energy coming from these panels is stored in a 2,000 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack (LiFePO4), which gives the inhabitants of the moving island 150 kW of renewable energy at any given time.
The reason behind the decision to pack the WHY with eco-friendly technologies is the goal Wally dreamed for itself when it set out to create the island: build a yacht which reduces the average energy consumption by 50 percent, compared to yachts similar in displacement.
Aside from fitting all those panels on top of it, Wally is trying to cut energy consumption without having to reduce the boat's power output. For that, a possible real life WHY will have to be insulated, store energy in an efficient way and recover the wasted energy. Physically, this means fitting it with ventilation by natural convection, ultra-low consumption air conditioning system, ultra-efficiency walls and windows insulation, low impact anti-fouling paint, waste purification systems and even garbage separator, compactor and grinder. All in all, these features make for 160,000 liters of fuel being saved every year.
WHY Comfort
You will be surprised to see that the list of comfort features offered by the WHY is way smaller than the one describing its technical specs. This is not because we ran out of time when writing this, but because, basically, the WHY can be built as the future owner desires. There are, however, a few default features every WHY will have.
Aside for the 25 meter long swimming pool, the yacht is being offered with a spa, a 100 square meters helicopter pad, sauna, gym and massage room, a music room, a dining room, a cinema, sun decks, suites, terraces, a lounge and five suites. The sixth suit, reserved for the owner of the boat, covers 200 square meters (2,152 square feet), or the entire third deck...
That's pretty much all there is to this dream boat. We must admit, we'd love to see it come together into a real life replica (and we'd love even more to be able to afford it) but, even if it doesn't, it was worth dreaming about it for a few minutes. We'll keep you posted on further developments on the subject as they become available.
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