Charley sees the light

The 46-metre shadow vessel, known as Charley, recently emerged from Western Australia’s custom superyacht builder, Echo Yachts and was delivered to its satisfied Singaporean owner.

Written by Jeni Bone

05 April 2017

According to its designers, Charley is the largest composite, resin-infused vessel ever to be built in Australia, with Naval Architecture performed by LoMocean.

The custom catamaran design of Charley provides extremely spacious interior and exterior accommodation and entertaining areas, a very large carrying capacity for a plethora of tenders and other water toys plus superior sea keeping and fuel efficient performance.

One of Charley’s most striking features is the large 12-metre custom carbon fibre tender catamaran with its specially engineered launch and retrieval platform positioned at the stern of the vessel.

Charley also comes equipped with a large helicopter touch and go pad, dive store, decompression chamber and specialist sonar equipment for wreck finding and diving adventures, to name but a few of its impressive features.

The design and construction of this bespoke vessel took two and a half years from inception to handover. It boasts an exceptional standard of finish thanks to the latest 3D design and 5-axis mould cutting and vacuum resin infusion techniques employed by the shipyard.

Singapore Yacht Show

Charley is now in Singapore making its public debut at the Singapore Yacht Show this month.

“This year’s Singapore Yacht Show will be our first opportunity to truly demonstrate Echo Yachts’ bespoke build expertise and high quality standards with the successful delivery of Charley to Singapore,” said co-owner Chris Blackwell, Project Manager, Sales & Marketing at Echo.

Currently in build at the company’s Henderson facilities is the 84-metre mother ship White Rabbit Golf, destined to be the largest trimaran superyacht in the world, also Singapore-bound.

Sam Sorgiovanni

Styled by the renowned yacht designer Sam Sorgiovanni, the 84-metre trimaran will also achieve the accolades of being the largest superyacht to be built in Australia, the first diesel electric superyacht to be built in Australia and the largest aluminium superyacht in the world.Blackwell said that following White Rabbit Golf, the yard has leads for several custom new build superyachts and Explorer/Shadow Vessel opportunities in Asia, Europe and the US.“From a timing and capacity perspective, Echo Yachts are now in a position to commence the design and build of a new project and have a shipbuilding hall available to do so.”Hallmarks of Echo Yachts which appeal to a global market include a fully-custom offering, world-class quality coupled with competitive pricing and delivery times, and the ability to construct in three primary materials: aluminium, composite and steel and in any hull form, whether monohull, catamaran or trimaran.“Every design is unique and we work closely with our clients to tailor their vessels to match their exact needs. We are currently Australia’s largest superyacht builder employing over 240 specialist staff with all trades disciplines in-house.

“We only take on a couple of projects at a time which ensures a more personal and enjoyable experience for clients, more flexibility to deliver what our clients decide and a focus on very high quality and attention to detail.

“We have immediate capacity available to undertake a new build or large refit project.”One significant value-add that is sure to catch the eye of adventurous customers is the Echo Yachts’ offer of exclusive exploration delivery cruises along the west and northwest coast of Australia, accompanied by local Captains, visiting pristine locations such as Broome and the Kimberley Coast – tantalising destinations that should make the bucket list of intrepid superyacht owners the worldover.

www.echoyachts.com