Polar Star
63m Motor Yacht | Lürssen
This 63m Lürssen explorer gained a 60m² carbon-fibre hardtop bimini and a full suite of upper-deck furniture, transforming the sun deck into the social heart of the yacht.
The Brief
In 2015 BMComposites was commissioned to engineer, build and install a 60 square meter carbon fibre hardtop bimini for the upper deck of the 63m Lurssen explorer yacht.
At 17m above the waterline, the weight of building in aluminium was deemed unfeasible when considering the vessel stability, so building in lightweight carbon fibre was the only alternative. The hardtop was also to feature two electrically operated sliding sunroofs.
In addition, the yacht commissioned BMComposites to build the dining area and bar furniture beneath the hardtop, a separate service bar to the side, plus a Jacuzzi with sunbeds on the deck below.
The Approach
Working closely to co-ordinate inputs from a plethora of vested interests — including the designers, FM Architettura d’Interni, the original designer of the yacht, Espen Oeino and Azure naval architects — BMComposites engineered the units for manufacture in composites. 3D scans were taken of the yacht’s mast and imported into the 3D CAD master model to ensure a perfect interface with the parts being developed in 3D. The mechanisms for the two electrically-opening sunroofs were also developed in detail and specified in the CAD.
Large-scale female tooling was cut directly from the 3D CAD to ensure the designer’s original intent was realised faithfully. The hardtop was manufactured in two halves at the BMComposites facility in Mallorca, loaded onto a transport and shipped to MB92 in Barcelona for assembly onto the yacht. The furniture parts followed shortly afterwards, with final assembly carried out in Barcelona.
The jacuzzi, large enough for 8 people, featured glass panel frontage and underwater lighting. The two large sunpads either side were also part of the scope of supply, manufactured at the BMC facility in Palma and shipped to Barcelona during the extensive refit at MB92.
Final install of the hardtop on board was achieved in two days with no hot works required and minimal impact to other works ongoing on the upper deck. The same was true for the service bar and jacuzzi — the furniture modules were painted off-site and bonded onto the deck in an operation that also lasted only two days, thanks to the detailed prior development of the parts. This allowed the surrounding area to be fully finished in advance.
The Result
Due to the dedicated project management of all stages of manufacture and install, BMComposite’s professional installation team was able to arrive on site and install the parts within days.
The use of lightweight composites in the manufacture of all hardtop and furniture components allowed the designers to make full use of the available space and completely reimagine the guest areas.
With its new dining, sunbed and bar areas and uninterrupted views, the sun deck was transformed into the social hub of the yacht.
