Baltic 111 Raven, the megayacht with foils (34 m) sails fast | PHOTOS

The Baltic 111 Raven, the first 34-meter maxiyacht equipped with America’s Cup foils, sails. And it sails just fine. The ultralight displacement (55 t) boat reached nearly 30 knots of speed during the 10-day preliminary test in the waters of Jakobstad, Finland, the headquarters of Baltic Yachts. Easy sailing, on ultrafast boats, is a reality.

The Baltic 111 Raven sails beautifully!

In October, the boat will be delivered to its owner after two years of work, including construction and testing. Meanwhile, these photos show the Baltic 111 Raven in all its power, in moderate wind conditions, sailing with full mainsail and a set of three headsails: a Tails rigged on the long bowsprit, the jib and a staysail.

The boat is designed to sail leaning over its edge with the downwind foil supporting much of its displacement. The transom remains submerged and is equipped with trim correctors (flap interceptors) that can be used to change fore and aft trim.

Photos in navigation

*Photo by Tom van Oossanen, Dan-Erik Olsen, Eva-Stina Kjellman

Everything we know about Baltic 111 Raven

The Baltic 111 Raven was designed by Botin Partners and PURE Design., two names at the forefront of high-performance yacht construction including America’s Cup. Raven is difficult craft to classify into a specific category. As Garth Brewer of A2B Marine Projects, the boat’s project manager, said, “Raven does not easily fit into one category, but if I had to place it, I would say it is the equivalent of a high-end sports supercar. The boat is primarily designed for pure enjoyment, and the owner likes the challenge of doing something that has never been done before.”

Hydrofoils

Raven possesses some distinctive characteristics that give us more than a hint as to how he might behave in the water. These include two huge T-shaped laminar surfaces, mounted on two hydraulically operated side arms, which are able to support part of the boat’s displacement. A boat that weighs decidedly little for being 34 meters: only 55 tons(half of Baltic 110 Custom).

At the stern, Raven is equipped with Interceptor flaps (small vertical foils), capable of adjusting bow and stern trim at speed, as on powerboats. In addition, there is a movable water ballast, with two built-in tanks, which helps to increase the righting moment during navigation.

Designed to sail partly on the leeward edge, Raven derives its stability and lift, while sailing, from its foils. The 9.3-ton fixed keel bulb and 5-meter-long fin provide basic stability.

Weight savings at the highest level

In addition to a super-performance hull with foils to take flight, the design and construction of the interior also underwent extreme slimming treatment aimed at ensuring high speed sailing. Not only were the lightest possible carbon/Nomex combinations used for the main structures of the yacht and the hull, but every element, down to the last nut and bolt, was weight rated. “This project undoubtedly represents one of the biggest challenges Baltic Yachts has ever faced,” said Henry Hawkins, executive vice president of Baltic Yachts.

To ensure the hull finish was as even as possible, a carbon mold was preferred to reduce excessive heat differences and thus distortion in the curing process. “We reevaluated the hull coating program to reduce weight by using lightweight primers and fillers instead of Ultra-Build to achieve acceptable industry standards” said Mattias Svenlin, coordinator of the Raven project. The use of this technique in a superyacht is unprecedented. Hull and deck construction uses pre-preg (prepreg material) carbon fiber IM, employing the highest quality fibers on the market and a Kevlar honeycomb sandwich. The owner agreed that Raven’s sailing at speed was noisy. The elimination of any noise attenuation system represents a huge weight saving.

Raven’s interior

Raven’s interior, designed by Jarkko Jämsén, is unusually complete for such a high-performance superyacht. The use of ultralight rattan for bulkhead trim, exposed carbon, and a lack of liners, along with Nomex cores in the structural bulkheads, helps keep weight down. In addition, all furniture structures are made of hollow carbon tubes, whose lightness is combined with ultra-modern style.

The focal point of the interior centers on the glazed sides of the large cockpit, nicknamed the “bird’s nest,” which forms a kind of inverted observation “dome” that allows occupants to see the carbon-dominated interior. The glazing is made of Perspex, a material that is considerably lighter than tempered glass, with an overall saving of 250 kg. This structure was reinforced with a crisscross pattern of carbon struts, hence its bird’s nest designation.

Spacious salons are located fore and aft of the bird’s nest, the forward one set up with a galley and dining areas, while the aft one is dedicated to the owner’s sleeping quarters, with a large central double berth that folds back against an interior bulkhead when the yacht is in performance mode. There is also a passage berth or sea cabin on the starboard side.

The aft section of the yacht is largely empty, but forward there is accommodation for four guests in two cabins and ample crew quarters, including the captain’s cabin.

Raven’s engines

The propulsion system is a diesel-electric hybrid to reduce emissions and achieve efficient weight distribution. A solution that Baltic Yachts has been perfecting for several years. The electric motor, a 130 kW Swiss Phi-Power AG, is located just aft of the boat center, and two 80 kW Yanmar generators, optimized for weight savings, are located further aft. The latter charge two banks of batteries that power the main propulsion engine, hydraulic pumps and services. The transmission is complemented by a retractable propeller designed with carbon blades and a titanium hub.

A “normal” rig for an unusual yacht!

Its rig and sail plan are relatively conventional for a high-performance maxi, with a Southern Spars carbon mast and a North Sails 3Di upwind sail set using Helix structured luff technology, which makes it possible to do without cables on furling sails. A variety of headsails can be hoisted on its 8-meter-long bowsprit.

Something Raven and Baltic’s design engineers had to pay special attention to was the mainsail sheet carriage, which was almost full beam. Because Raven develops so much apparent wind, it sails most of the time with a wind angle well above the crosswind. Thus, as on a multihull, the mainsheet is likely to be almost permanently capped, while trim adjustments are made by moving the mainsheet carriage. With a beam of more than 7.4 meters and its accentuated hull edge, “driving” Raven feels more like sailing on a multihull than a monohull, and proper trim and maneuverability techniques are required to extract its full potential.

Baltic 111 Raven – Data Sheet

Overall length 34 m
Length at waterline 33.10 m
Maximum width 7.40 m
Draft 4.80 m
Standard displacement 55,000 kg
Ballast 9,300 kg
Jarkko Jämsén Project
Designer Jarkko Jämsén
Botin Partners Naval Architecture
PURE Design and Engineering

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