5 design solutions that make us ask: is silence the ultimate luxury?

If you can buy a superyacht, it goes to reason that you could buy nearly anything. So what does the superyacht owner who has everything desire most?

At the Cannes boat show, we noticed an increase in yachts offering something simple, yet elusive in this ever increasingly busy world: the luxury of silence.

And this week,  Heesen Yachts released its teaser video for the Monaco Yacht Show, which espouses this sentiment exactly.

The video, below, shows typically stressful scenes of modern living, then segues to a beautifully quiet view over the bow of a Heesen super yacht and the words, “In a world full of noise, silence is the ultimate luxury.”

The video hints to the quiet that can be found on the new Heesen yacht Project Nova, which features an innovative hull and is currently in build. The 50 metre yacht will be the first Fast Displacement Hull Form yacht from the Dutch builder to boast hybrid propulsion, making it an extremely quiet superyacht.

But Heesen isn’t the only builder to be focusing on quieter yachts. Literally at the same time Heesen released its new video on Project Nova, Boat International sat down with the owner of the Cantiere delle Marche Nauta Air 90 Noga. The owner of the explorer yacht said his biggest priority for building his new yacht was to have it be as quiet as possible, because “silence is the ultimate luxury to me.” We can’t help but notice a trend here.

The proof is in the performance on Noga. CdM put a huge focus on noise and vibration levels and sound proofing, as can be seen in their new launch. “When we cruise at 10 to 12 knots, not more than 40 decibels is recorded,” the owner of Noga told Boat International. “That is the advantage of this boat. The quality is excellent.”

At the same time that Heesen and Cantiere delle Marche are touting yachts with a focus on silence, Centek Industries is presenting its exhaust noise reduction systems. Sure, that might not sound very sexy, but the aim is the same: to provide yacht owners with the ultimate luxury of silence.

Centek's engineers collaborate with builders and designers on solutions to reduce noise as much as 40 per cent. Its systems can be use on yachts just as well as the yacht’s tender or ski boat, so even while an owner is out playing on the water, they can enjoy peace and quiet.

This is appreciated anywhere in the world, but especially when a superyacht guest wants to wakeboard in stunning and icy waters, like SuRi's did during her adventures in Antarctica.

Italian yacht builder Wider goes above and beyond by offering absolute silence – even the generators are silenced while at anchor.

Genesi, features diesel-electric propulsion combined with Azimuthal pods. Thanks to a sizeable battery bank, the diesel-electric powered Wider 150 can be self-sufficient for eight hours with all hotel systems running.

Alternatively, the battery power can also be used for six hours of silent propulsion, while even running the air conditioning. Owners can bask in the utter silence with no sound of shafts turning or generators running, hearing nothing but the ocean and feeling the breeze – that’s luxurious indeed!

Proving silence can also be speedy is Silver Wind – electric power never looked so fast on this silver-hulled beauty from ISA. She has a sparkling paint job, lines by Andrea Vallicelli and can run fast or slow depending on your mood and needs.

Run at a brisk 32 knots or in silence with electric power at eight knots on the 43 metre  Silver Wind, which is currently for sale. This speed will still get you where you need in style, but be luxuriously quiet. Heaven.

The 66 metre ISA superyacht Okto is also sublimely silent, so this builder must have a knack for focusing on the on-trend luxury item of silence.