On board the 42m Bilgin explorer Kasif

That first sketch was for a yacht of around 26 metres, which soon stretched to 28 and then 30. When work began in earnest on the engineering design package, the yacht was nearly 35 metres and it grew further still. In the years leading up to Kasif’s build, the owners’ budget improved, as did their understanding of what they were looking for in a vessel. That’s how the project eventually landed at the sweet spot of 42 metres.

Kasif means “explorer” in Turkish, and the key to the owners’ brief was that the yacht be designed with the looks, heart and seaworthiness of an explorer vessel. Owners Tolga and Selin Vural envisioned merging the concept of a floating office – to visit their farms in the Med and Aegean seas – with a luxurious home on the water for their young family.

Kasif has an expansive owners’ suite forward on the main deck, but the couple are more likely to use the amidships VIP on the lower deck as their bedroom, at least for now. “It’s cosy, comfortable and I like that the faint engine noise helps lull me to sleep,” he says. This location also puts them close to the three guest cabins and the children.

Kasif has a thick steel hull balanced by an aluminium superstructure and it meets the owners’ needs for efficiency and safe seakeeping. “We required a vessel that is not only rugged but also safe for travel to our farms situated at least three miles from the coastline,” Vural says. “In heavy weather, the boat is really stable.”

This project is the eighth collaboration between Unique Yacht Design and Bilgin Yachts, who worked together on projects such as the 80-metre Tatiana and the identically sized red-hulled Leona (a BOAT Design & Innovation Award winner for outstanding exterior design in her category). But Unique Yacht Design created a brand-new profile for Bilgin Yachts with this rugged explorer.

“Breaking new ground in both design and performance, Kasif is a testament to our dedication to pushing boundaries,” Bilgin Yachts shipyard director Mehmet Şengün says. The yacht also marks a milestone as the first to emerge from the builder’s Antalya facility (Bilgin Yachts started in Istanbul and has a large facility there as well.)

“Kasif embodies the sporty and dynamic appearance that we cherish [in other Bilgin yachts],” says Bilgin’s commercial director Berkay Yilmaz, who notes that Kasif shares design cues with the builder’s new Bilgin 163 series yacht (the first of these, Eternal Spark, debuts at the 2024 Monaco Yacht Show).

“We spent a lot of time on the design process for the 42-metre, which was very helpful for creating the new 50-metre [163] series,” Özgün says. The familial styling between the two is evident in the angular features, asymmetrical windows in the forward portion of the hull and the vertical rectangular windows on the lower deck.

Kasif’s owners wanted their yacht to evoke exploration through her design, which blends the high bow and stocky build of an expedition yacht with modern exterior lines and geometric shapes that add a sense of dynamism. The high bulwarks feature a cut-out with stainless-steel handrails at the midsection to allow views from the main saloon.

Side decks disappear behind an expanse of glass on either side as the interior stretches to the full beam forward on the main deck. On the port side, the glass hides an entrance to the light and bright galley; on the starboard side, a staircase connects the main deck with the bridge deck. Up there, the superstructure bulges out to create wide side decks and enhance the sight lines for manoeuvring.

Beneath the surface, a defining feature of the displacement hull is the pronounced bulbous bow. “It works like a wave breaker,” says Özgün, who was also the naval architect. The bulb cuts into the waves, pushing the water alongside the boat for a smooth ride. The 80-metre Bilgin yachts that Özgün designed inspired the hull form, which was optimised for the shorter length.

“The bulbous bow shape, aft end and propeller locations is very similar to our 80-metre, so we don’t have any question about the efficiency,” Özgün says. Kasif burns as little as 60 litres per hour at 10 knots, giving the yacht a range of more than 5,000 nautical miles at that speed. “At eight knots it’s very interesting because the fuel consumption drops down to 30 litres,” Özgün adds.

An interior motif that evokes the sea goes hand in hand with the yacht’s explorer soul. An architect herself, Selin Vural worked closely with interior designers Hot Lab on the interior concept for Kasif. “She had her tastes and preferences clearly in mind, even if she always asked for our advice and relied heavily on our suggestions,” says Antonio Romano, commercial director of the Viken Group and co-founder of Hot Lab.

With a shared language of design and architecture, the meetings between the owners and Hot Lab were “more like discussions than presentations”, Enrico Lumini, partner and head of design at Hot Lab, says. “From a professional point of view, it has certainly been one of the most fun and stimulating projects that we have had in recent years.

The brief was for a modern, near-contemporary interior style with interesting materials and personalised elements referencing the owners’ fish-centric business. The entryway to the main saloon is framed by an arch constructed in a burgundy-coloured lacquer.

This is punctuated by fish-shaped cutouts inlaid with fish skin from the giant Amazonian pirarucu. At the forward bulkhead of the main saloon, the wall behind the dining table is aglow with a backlit sculptural work of art depicting a circling school of fish. Other art on board gives a subtle nod to the sea, such as the abstract sea scapes in the guest cabins.

Curves and organic shapes define Kasif’s interior. “We wanted the interior to be fluid, like a wave,” Selin says. In the main saloon, the curved sofa, round coffee table and kidney-shaped chaise sit on a circular carpet. It’s hard to find a single sharp corner on board.

Even the stained oak wood walls are formed to create the illusion of a single fluid piece of wood, with curves negating any harsh corners. The tray ceilings above, layered in asymmetrical forms, also give a sense of movement.

Pieces from Italian brands Minotti, Opera Contemporary, Poltrona Frau, Paola Lenti, i 4 Mariani, Paolo Castelli, Giorgetti, Tribù and Poliform, punctuate the interior. Lighting also comes from Italian brands such as Cantalupi, Vistosi, Fisionarte, FontanaArte and Occhio.

The interior colour palette morphs to define the various spaces on board. The bold burgundy accents on the main deck transform to lighter pastel shades in the lower deck cabins. “Finally, we move on to more masculine shades for the saloon on the upper deck, dedicated to the owner’s office,” Lumini says.

Fittingly for a yacht intended to function as a floating office, there is a space dedicated entirely to a private office (on the upper deck). This, the owner notes, is his favourite area on board. A custom black marble-topped desk with a stainless-steel base seems to grow out of a wall of curved shelves.

Meetings can be hosted on the round sofa, or perhaps out on the aft deck. The office can also transform into a cinema in the evening, with a television dropping from the ceiling. “Televisions are not a focal point – we don’t really need televisions when we are here,” Selin says.

“It’s the notion of exploration, not just of the Earth, but of the self, encapsulating a lifetime’s journey”

When the family is on board, they prefer to be outdoors, feeling the breeze on the lofty sundeck, which hosts a second helm station, or playing by the water’s edge in the beach club. Here, a blue-and-green sofa sits under an undulating piece of resin artwork that evokes the sea. It was made by artist Alex Turco, one of the several commissioned pieces found on board.

For the owners, Kasif’s name has a deeper meaning than literal exploration. “It’s the notion of exploration, not just of the Earth, but of the self, encapsulating a lifetime’s journey,” Vural says. “With Kasif, we have found the perfect balance, enabling us to cherish moments of solitude while savouring the companionship of loved ones aboard this remarkable vessel.”

Kasif also marks the culmination of a shared design journey – and long friendship – for her owner and designer. At the launch, both Vural and Özgün cried happy tears. “It’s a long story for us. We’ve known each other since we were 18, and now we are in our 40s,” Özgün says. “I promised him I would design the best boat for him, combining his ideas and mine, and we succeeded.”

First published in the September 2024 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.