Oyster Yachts has announced that the build of the Oyster 118, has commenced. Drawn in partnership with Humphreys Yacht Design, the shipyard are building additional construction facilities to enable them to build the second Oyster 118 whilst the first is in build. The addition of the facility means that the brand will be able to produce four 118’s before summer 2020.
The new design accommodates up to 12 guests as well as a crew of six in an approximately 700m3 interior space. The first built, anticipated to launch in December 2017, will feature in the aft lower deck a five cabin/four head plan, and with an emphasis on cockpit dining she will feature a huge social area with potential for frontward observation seating. On the forward lower deck there are options again for a sixth suite and or a snug and TV room that will convert to a children’s bunk room on hull one.There is ample scope for personalisation in arrangements above and below, including an alternative squared stem profile which adds a further metre to deck length.
Built to demanding DNV classification and MCA LY3 coding, innovative design features include the mid-boom, single-point mainsheet penetrating the bimini top to run down through the glazed but carbon reinforced saloon entry bulkhead to the captive winch deep in the boat. Further complex design work includes a gullwing escape hatch from engine room to deck opening out of the glazed sides of the superstructure.
Sail plan for hull one is single headstay, with removable inner forestay for jib, and asymmetrics tacking to the anchor strut prodder. For easy handling, captive winches can number four, tending mainsail halyard, then main and headsail sheets. The rig is four-spreader carbon with roller boom, and the nine-person Dieseljet RIB is launched from its foredeck pit by lift-pole homed on the mast, the pit then doubling as cushioned R&R area.
CEO of Oyster Yachts, David Tydeman, says, “We are delighted to build the new Oyster 118 in Britain at our own Southampton facility. We have been working for nearly three years in close conjunction with Humphreys Yacht Design developing the specification and design and we’re really proud now to announce the contract to start work. Tooling will commence in April.”
Speaking of the partnership between the design studio and Oyster Yachts, Rob Humphreys says, “A long, close relationship like this creates such a rare, shared understanding of what can be achieved, and together we have evolved and advanced the design and size of yachts without ever losing sight of what an Oyster must offer owners.”