Many refits are primarily cosmetic surgery, intended to update the appearance of a yacht whose glory has faded. Such a facelift is often just what is needed to refresh the enthusiasm of the owner, ensure a sale or improve the yacht’s standing in the charter market.
In contrast, the refitting of mechanical and electrical systems is akin to major internal surgery. The results may be less immediately apparent but they cure problems, make life more comfortable and add considerably to the yacht’s productive lifespan and its value.
Improving performance
Among the obvious candidates for refit are:
The main propulsion system;
Generators and electrical system;
Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC);
Stabilisation; and
Exhausts.
These systems are often interrelated, so be sure to coordinate planning across the disciplines. The use of PERT (program evaluation and review technique), Gantt charts and other techniques, including critical path analysis, can help keep the project on track and preclude one job from impeding another.
For the propulsion system, modern diesel engines are up to 10 per cent more fuel efficient than older models, thus offering a combination of lower fuel use and increased range. They are also often lighter and smaller, resulting in reduced displacement with further fuel savings. As well as burning less fuel, additional carbon offset is often achieved through cleaner fuel burn enabled by new electronic controls.
Keep in mind, however, that new engines are only part of the formula for achieving better performance.
Custom-built propellers
Whether or not you are considering new engines, custom propellers can be well worth their cost. Nelson DuRant, owner of Palmetto Props in Charleston, South Carolina, says that $20,000 to $40,000 per pair is a reasonable price range if your yacht is a 25m sport fisher, but cost varies more with power and speed than with length.
Prop prices can run well into six figures for superyachts, because of the larger physical dimensions and the precise technical specs for low-cavitation wheels to control vibration.
The payback to using custom propellers are substantial gains in the propulsive coefficient and thus better fuel economy, with savings sometimes approaching 30 per cent. However, the ideal propeller may require a change in the reduction gear ratio, and that can mean new shafts, struts and bearings, so a compromise is sometimes more sensible if the yacht’s annual cruising hours are low.
You might also consider refitting the exhausts even if the other machinery stays the same. The conditions these systems must withstand are among the worst imaginable, often limiting their effective life. New technology mufflers lower noise, and many large yachts are being fitted with soot-arresting systems, mostly for dry-stack generator exhausts.
Improving electrical service
Changes to the ship-service electrical system are sometimes merely desirable, at other times dictated by the electrical demands of the growing number of modern conveniences aboard.
While basic generator design has changed little in recent years, accoutrements have. Better support systems, many incorporating air-bag mounts and intermediate mass-damping plates, minimise vibrations transferred into a yacht’s structure. Better electronics ease the control of multiple-generator installations.
What has not changed is the need for electrical load analysis before specifying a new generator. Many yachts carry oversized generators with too much capacity ‘just in case’. This can lead to maintenance issues and even the need for an energy-wasting load bank. Few activities are more blatantly ‘ungreen’ than burning fossil fuel unnecessarily, creating CO2 and heating the ocean just as a matter of convenience.
When evaluating a refit of the electrical system, consider the possibility of a diesel-electric drive train or hybrid system. These are still expensive but the wider availability of appropriate equipment and the resultant decrease in cost makes such systems attractive to owners with particular requirements.
Diesel-electric propulsion systems are particularly suitable for larger superyachts. Knight & Carver Maritime, in southern California and the venue for many superyacht refits, has been acquired by hybrid systems supplier Arc Lite Power with an eye to developing a major presence in such systems.
In a statement announcing the acquisition, Arc Lite notes: ‘The $30 million (€22 million) total investment will expand the capabilities of the combined companies to serve the emerging ‘green marine’ market.’
For other owners, changes to the distribution system are carried out at the same time as a generator refit. Automatic main and shore power panels make life easier both at sea and in port.
Multiplexed electrical power distribution systems, such as the OctoPlex system by Moritz Aerospace for air-conditioning systems, or the Czone system by BEP Marine for DC systems, allow every switch, fixture and appliance to be monitored and controlled for maximum convenience.
Other options for modernising electrical systems include LCD lighting, which reduces both heat and power consumption, and variable-speed controllers on large motors to reduce startup loads and flickering lights.
Improving performance (continued)
Improving climate control
Variable speed controllers are common in new HVAC systems, as their pumps and compressors are powered by some of the largest electrical motors found aboard yachts. Bringing the motors up to speed slowly reduces peak electrical demands to the point that smaller generators might be possible, or conversely, more cooling capacity might be made available with the existing gensets.
Other choices in HVAC systems relate to the method of distributing heating and cooling to the various compartments and spaces.
Some systems, primarily on smaller yachts where space is at a premium and acoustic requirements are not as demanding, have fan coil units placed directly in each cabin. Central chiller units and tubing of relatively small diameter distribute chilled water to each unit.
Larger yachts with more space behind the joinery often have ducted systems. The air is heated or cooled by one or more central units and carried by ducts at low velocity to each cabin. Not only are these units inherently more efficient, but removing the fan coils from the cabins also reduces noise.
Heinen & Hopman Engineering (H&H) is a specialist in customising equipment for superyacht HVAC systems. Ton Weijzen, an H&H project manager who handles both new and refit installations, says it is often able to effect substantial upgrades to older systems without disturbing much of the existing piping and wiring.
New controllers enable temperature control to within half a degree, and Internet-capable monitoring allows factory technicians in Holland to troubleshoot many problems. Among H&H’s recent innovations is the inclusion of an active bacteria- and virus-removal filter in on-board systems.
The company also offers an extraction system that removes fouled air from the galley while drawing in fresh air to keep ambient pressures in balance. This ensures that food and cooking odours do not spread from the galley to other spaces.
Improving motion control
Active fin stabilisers are still the primary means of reducing rolling, but sophisticated electronic controls have done much to enhance the effectiveness of these classic winged wonders. Fins have been used under way for decades but now they can be used at anchor or while drifting, thanks to the new controllers.
John Venables, president of Naiad Dynamics, says that in some refits existing fins can be updated simply by the installation of a new controller. He cautions, however, that if the budget and yacht configuration allow, it is better to fit new fins and actuators in conjunction with the new controls. The new fins have a significantly different aspect ratio and the actuators are more robust to handle higher loads and actuation speeds.
In addition to foil-shaped fins, Naiad and other suppliers, such as Quantum Marine Engineering, offer a variety of motion control solutions. These include retractable fins, circular Magnus-effect rotors, and integrated motion control systems that manage the action of stabilisers, rudders and trim tabs to provide the ultimate in both roll and pitch control.
These suppliers offer refit options for most existing systems, including brands such as Vosper, Sperry Marine and Koopnautic.
Gyroscopic stabilisation has increased in popularity because of equipment advances in recent years. Systems are now offered by several manufacturers, Mitsubishi and Seakeeper being the most prominent.
Instead of having to carve out a large space for a single unit, several small units can be distributed throughout the yacht, so gyroscopes can be an excellent alternative for refits.
Project management
Returning to our original surgical analogy, you would not consider medical procedures of any sort without carefully vetting the credentials of the doctor and the hospital. Do they have the proven skills and necessary facilities to carry out the work? Are they members or, better yet, fellows of relevant professional societies? Can they provide references? And if things go wrong, do they have the financial and physical resources to put them right?
Perhaps the first people to consult when considering a major refit are the yacht’s original designer and builder. They will have plans and specifications and be in a good position to evaluate the areas considered for refit. They will not necessarily be the best choice to complete the work, but they can save you time in the initial planning stages.
The International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA) has a dedicated Superyacht Refit Group. Member companies pledge to a code of conduct that includes both technical and financial provisions. A pro forma refit contract is available online for downloading at no cost.
Many builders of new vessels now also offer refits, especially in the wake of the economic slowdown, but caution is in order. Some companies do not have refit experience, while others offer refits only for their own marques.
Members of the Super Yacht Builders Association must meet standards of experience, longevity and stability, so its roster is a good place to start your search. In the US, the American Boat Builders and Repairers Association posts a list of its members online.
Cost-benefit analysis
Current owners may undertake a refit to update and keep their yacht suitable for private use, to render it more attractive to the charterers, to make it more saleable, or simply to maintain it to classification and regulatory standards.
New owners, on the other hand, may refit an existing yacht as a time-saving alternative to the lengthy process of new build. They may also feel the opportunities in the current resale market make this an especially economical choice.
Joint ventures or consortia approach refits strictly as business opportunities, but even here the costs and justifications are not entirely clear. In the current climate, brokers need sales, designers need work, yards need projects, and vendors need to sell equipment.
Even when margins have been cut to the bone and there is little or no profit, some carry out the work simply to keep the doors open and to retain core staff and talent. Others undertake refit work to maintain relationships with long-time clients.
Designer Douglas Sharp (Sharp Design) notes that if there has been any silver lining to the past few years, it is this: the evolution of ‘total yacht management’, including the professional management of major refits and the formation of loose consortia, will work to everyone’s benefit in the coming years. He and others caution against the ‘false economy of self-management’.
Regarding the cost of refits and whether they are worth it, sometimes the answer is straightforward. Mike Prado, director of marine products for Atlas Marine Systems, Florida, has sold and overseen some 1,800 shore power installations over the past couple of decades, so his database is broad. In the US, he says a 60kVA shore power system for a 30 to 35m yacht costs about $79,000 plus $13,000 for second-party installation. For a 90kVA system suitable for 40 to 50m yachts, owners should allow $103,000 plus $15,000 for installation.
Atlas also makes custom switchboards. A fully automatic main board with paralleling capability suitable for a 50m yacht costs about $100,000. Prado says the payback period for a shore power system can be just two years if it replaces the continuous use of a genset on a yacht that spends most of its life at the dockside.
Extensive refits
For other systems and for more extensive refits, the view remains less clear. Bill Blount, from naval architect and marine engineer Donald L Blount and Associates, Virginia, says: ‘The approach has to be flexible.’
The company undertook about 20 refit jobs in 2011 and expected 25 to 30 in 2012. He sees the single most important aspect of the business as building trust between the client (owner, captain or broker), the designer, the project manager, the yard and the suppliers.
The scope of the work may be well defined and even the technical specifications and pricing of the major items of equipment known, but class and regulatory demands are often a moving target. As one project manager puts it: ‘Those guys change their requirements more often than I change my socks.’
The other unknown is the spectre of hidden problems and obstacles that can result in delays and increased costs. Blount’s only advice on this score, and he is echoed by others, is to be sure the selected yard and designer have sufficient staff to allow for such increased demands, or risk postponing the re-launch.
Although a fixed price cannot be put on it, unanticipated work can be pre-contracted under an agreed time-and-materials arrangement to reduce disagreements later.
Miscellaneous factors
Finally, don’t overlook seemingly minor factors that can have considerable effect on the time, cost and difficulty of a refit.
Some countries have strict limits on visas for foreign nationals, so if the project overruns you may find your build captain and project manager being escorted out, just when the critical last weeks approach.
Material and equipment costs may balloon if it is necessary to pay disproportionate duties to bring them in for installation.
Also, environmental costs – dust containment, noise abatement, waste disposal – can be substantially different from one country to another; even from one city to another.
Be sure to allow enough time up front for careful planning. Though uncertainties always exist, rushing into the job without as complete a plan as possible will cost both time and money. Some say the most expensive words in any project are ‘while we’re at it’, while others cite ‘might as well’. In either case, the point is clear: change orders can be damaging to your schedule, your net worth and your peace of mind.
On the other hand, planning and the selection of the right team to execute that plan will yield an updated yacht sure to boost your pride, comfort and safety.
Originally published: May 2012