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Performance Yachts Liara

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Sparkling

It’s hard not to admire the gem-like qualities of Liara, the PY-100 from Performance Yachts, designed by Bill Dixon and built by Southern Ocean Marine in Tauranga, New Zealand.

Performance

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Performance Yachts Liara

“This is an exceptional yacht that has already demonstrated an impressive turn of speed during sea trials conducted in New Zealand. She will soon be in England to contest the Round the Island Race, Cowes Week and the

Fastnet Race.”words: John Julianphotos: Courtesy of Performance Yachts

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in the clean sweep from there to her trim hind quarters are the five oval portholes level with her cove stripe on either side. The pilot house or coach-roof is a sleek, low-profile affair and there is no clutter to be seen on deck bar a neat semi-circle of Harken winches immediately aft of the mast. She is by no means austere; rather she looks like a well-dressed athlete and, perhaps more importantly, she appears to be the result of a great deal of thought and the combined experience of people who have sailed and raced together for many years. Tony Todd is her owner and she is in many respects descended from his previous Liara, also designed by Dixon and built by Southern Ocean Marine. Tony, a CHS Division Fastnet Race winner, his captain Ross Appleby, Adrian Nicolle of Performance Yachts and other key members of the team have logged a lot of sea miles together during the last 20 years, and it shows.

Furthermore, as Adrian will tell you, Performance Yachts specialise in the creation of custom-built vessels such as Liara, whose owners also enjoy the benefits of a class association such as brokerage and charter marketing, crew recruitment and insurance services.

Step onboard via the bathing platform that folds out of the reverse transom and the first thing you notice are the fine tolerances, or shut lines in automotive parlance, around the small panel that conceals the passerelle, for example, or the central surface of the transom that is the platform and the rest of the carbon composite hull. Walk around the teak deck and you will find evidence of the same superior quality and attention to detail with cleats that invert and fit flush with the toe rail and cleverly concealed vents around the inner forestay stowage at the forward end of the stylish, streamlined superstructure.

Once in a while you happen upon something that looks exactly right, be it a fighter aircraft like a Supermarine Spitfire or a Hawker Hunter, or a competition car like an Aston Martin DB4 GT or a Ferrari 250 GTO. The age of

these machines may give readers a clue to this writer’s own vintage but the point is that they looked wonderful when they were new, between 50 and 70 years ago, and they still do today. Furthermore, they performed accordingly and this was largely because they were designed and built by some very clever people, using the best of contemporary materials and technologies, who could also exercise the artistry required to achieve such a striking appearance.

There are yachts that belong in this category too: the original winner of the America’s Cup with her clipper bow and raked masts looked as

though she was doing 15 knots standing still. The great ‘J’ Class cutters had (and still have) a unique aura of power and purpose about them along with sweet lines as yet undefiled by computer simulation and tank testing. Looking at some bigger boats these days you could be forgiven for thinking that it just isn’t possible to combine aesthetics with speed and the volume required for a comfortable interior with the slick underwater profile and the hydraulic lifting keel that enhances both racing, cruising and passage-making capability. That’s when you need to spend some time aboard Liara.

What you see from the dock is impressive, to say the least. Liara’s 30-metre LOA, 27-metre LWL ice-blue hull beneath her soaring spar is at once classic and contemporary. The two-metre-long ‘sprit gives her destroyer bow a hint of restrained aggression and the only apertures

Performance Yachts Liara

“Looking at some bigger boats these days you could be forgiven for thinking that it just isn’t possible to combine aesthetics with speed and the volume

required for a comfortable interior... That’s when you need to spend some time aboard Liara.”The comfortable and well-appointed saloon.

Dining area to starboard.

The galley, looking aft.

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beyond, you find yourself thinking about the things you can’t see. The keel root, for example, is just below the passageway aft of the mast yet the maximum draft is an impressive five metres. Unlike many lifting keels, which tend to impinge upon the accommodation, Liara’s 13.75 tonne bulb is attached to the end of a telescoping fin powered by hydraulics for a total weight of 19.58 tonnes so not only does the yacht benefit from exceptional stability under sail but, with a minimum draft of 3.5 metres, she can also make use of more anchorages than would be the case had she a more conventional underwater profile. Furthermore, and as you would expect from a high performance cruising yacht, her wetted surface is relatively low with a fairly flat forefoot and a shallow run aft and yet she has retractable bow and stern thrusters which, along with her variable-pitch propeller, make for easier manoeuvring.

The galley runs along the vessel’s starboard quarter and features a range of good quality units with sinks and Fisher & Paykel dishwasher inboard and Miele oven and cooking range outboard. You turn inboard by the fridge and freezer units, leave the engine room access to your right, and find the crew mess over to port just forward of the captain’s cabin, which features a good-sized Pullman double berth and an adjacent head and shower. There is another crew cabin equipped with twin Pullman berths, head and shower over to starboard beyond the cockpit companionway and behind the navigation station, which is equipped with everything necessary to plot and proceed and features a comprehensive range of instruments including Brookes & Gatehouse’s Hercules system and a Lecomble & Schmitt autopilot along with controls and monitors for engine room alarms and battery condition as well as lighting and security, including hatches and doors. The engine room houses a turbocharged, six cylinder, 305 hp Cummins diesel along with a couple of 25 Kw Mastervolt generators and these draw their rations from 4,000 litres of fuel contained in three tanks. Fresh water capacity of 3,000 litres is augmented by the output of two Spectra Newport watermakers, which produce 150 litres per hour.

This is an exceptional yacht that has already demonstrated an impressive turn of speed during sea trials conducted in New Zealand. She will soon be in England to contest the Round the Island Race, Cowes Week and the Fastnet Race and it would be surprising if she didn’t give a very good

The central guest cockpit provides protection as well as elevation and shade when the bimini top is deployed and is also a great place for a lazy lunch with a table for eight to port, another to starboard for drinks and snacks and a couple of concealed refrigerators too. This area is well forward of the sunken mainsheet traveler, the big jib sheet and running backstay winches to either side (the mainsheet is on a captive reel winch), and the port and starboard helm stations with their sail adjustment, rig tuning, engine and thruster controls and instrument pods, which are immediately aft of the raised hatch over the ladder leading down to the crew accommodation. Effective separation of guests and crewmembers is never easy on a vessel this size but Dixon Yacht Design has got this (along with the rest of the yacht) absolutely right.

Cast your eyes aloft before you go below and you will see a magnificent 40-metre mast and a Park Avenue boom, both from Southern Spars; the latter equipped with lazyjacks and slab reefing. Rigging is by Future Fibres with shrouds and forestay made from the new PBO super-fibre and a hydraulic, self-aligning headsail furler from Bamar. The spreaders are raked as befits a fast cruiser racer and the wardrobe of sails comes from Quantum’s loft in Auckland. Two of the three foresails furl, thanks to their vertical battens but they have horizontal ones for racing too and these can be inflated using a pump at the mast and a pipe in the foot of the sail.

Make your way down below and your first impression may be that of space. The saloon is light and airy with tan leather settees, striped cushions and a coffee table to port, a 37-inch LCD High Definition monitor over the cabinet on the forward bulkhead and the dining area to starboard. Robinson Marine Interiors have created some fabulous furniture and many of the complex curves and vertical surfaces feature varnished teak veneer over Nomex. The understated fabrics compliment the warm honey hues of the joinery and the white Ultraleather headlining contributes to the fresh, modern look. The galley and crew accommodation are to

starboard and aft but, for now, you move forward into the central atrium that surrounds the foot of the mast, itself an attractive feature in its clear-coated carbon form.

The guest cabin to port is a double, that to starboard is a twin and both feature adjacent bathrooms with large, clear, almost circular shower cabinets, marble counter tops and splash backs, chromium taps and rails and teak underfoot. The cabins themselves offer plenty of space, abundant storage including cedar-lined wardrobes and drawers fitted into the base of the berths as well as in the teak bedside units, good natural light and,

again, attractive and understated décor. This is important for a yacht designed to appeal to charterers as well as to reflect the owner’s individual preferences. Whoever is occupying these cabins will most probably enjoy using the handheld device which manages movies, music, lighting and blinds, along with the Cruisair climate control. You can even change the colour and intensity of the concealed illumination... the full spectrum is on offer,

so it just depends how you’re feeling or what you’re up to!The owner’s stateroom is forward of the guest accommodation, which

makes for a quieter time when moored stern-to, either in a Mediterranean town or a Caribbean harbour when there’s a party going on. This cabin, like the other two, gives you the impression that you are on an even larger yacht and offers a queen-sized double berth to starboard and a big single to port. Head and shower are forward again, to either side of the attractive, central chest that conceals the retractable television. This piece of furniture complements the drawer unit on the after bulkhead below the night stand.

Liara is a very versatile vessel in terms of accommodation and pipe cots in the twin-bedded cabin mean that an owner’s party of eight or nine can be accommodated in comfort, particularly as the interior is secured to the hull using rubber mounts and grommets, which significantly reduce noise and vibration of any description.

Moving aft again towards the saloon, the galley and the crew quarters

Performance Yachts Liara

“The two-metre-long ‘sprit gives her destroyer bow a hint of restrained

aggression and the only apertures in the clean sweep from there to her trim hind quarters are the five oval portholes level

with her cove stripe on either side.”

The owner’s stateroom, forward of the atrium. Chart table, communications and navigation station.Liara in her element.

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Performance Yachts Liara

account of herself, although she is by no means a dedicated racing machine. Rather, she epitomizes the spirit of the great yachts of the first half of the 20th century with both the power and the comfort that suggests, but she is as contemporary in terms of design, construction, materials and systems as she could be.

You will leave Liara reluctantly but with the genuine pleasure that comes with seeing something so carefully thought out and well made. It

was Harold S. Geneen, President and CEO of International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT) from 1959 to 1972 who said ‘performance stands out like a ton of diamonds.’ He would have loved this particular jewel!

For further information contact Adrian Nicolle, Tel: +44 (0)23 8045 6348 or visit www.performanceyachts.com

Performance Yachts Liara

Southern Ocean Marine

New Zealand

Dixon Yacht Design

Dixon Yacht Design

Dixon Yacht Design

2009

30 metres

27 metres

7 metres

5 metres (keel down), 3.5 metres (keel up)

65 tonnes

Carbon/composite

Cummins QSB

305 horsepower

12.7 knots (under engine)

10 knots (under engine)

4,000 litres

2,500 miles at 10 knots (under engine)

2,000 litres

2 x Max Power 32.5hp hydraulic retractable

2x 25kW Mastervolt

RINA Charter Class C. Maltese Cross HULL. MACH; Ych (MCA)

Future Fibres

504m2 total (upwind)

Quantum Sails

Bamar

Harken and On Board Systems

Southern Spars NZ

BUILDER

COUNTRY OF BUILD

DESIGNER

NAVAL ARCHITECT

INTERIOR DESIGNER

YEAR OF BUILD

LOA

LWL

BEAM

DRAFT

DISPLACEMENT

CONSTRUCTION

ENGINES

OUTPUT

SPEED (MAX)

SPEED (CRUISE)

FUEL CAPACITY

RANGE

FRESHWATER CAPACITY

BOW THRUSTERS

GENERATORS (MAIN)

CLASSIFICATION

RIGGING

SAIL AREA

SAILMAKER

FURLING SYSTEMS

WINCHES

MAST AND BOOM

Technical specifications

O

Guest and crew cockpits.