Heavy weather boatbuilding specialist Safehaven Marine is preparing to launch its most extreme leisure vessel yet – a 60ft semi- wave-piercing, hydrofoil-assisted powercat billed as the ultimate high-speed explorer yacht…
Renowned for its tough commercial and military craft as well as the Rockall record-setting Thunder Child, Safehaven Marine now plans to take on the market for offshore adventure yachts with its new 67ft T-2000 Voyager.
Key to its success is the Voyager’s ability to cover long distances at speed. At 30 knots it has a claimed range of over 1,000nm, while still allowing for a safe reserve of fuel and challenging sea conditions. Drop the speed down to 10 knots and that should triple to 3,000 miles, enough for most trans-oceanic routes.
It’s this ability to deliver both strong all-weather performance and long-range passages that makes the T-2000 Voyager unique, according to Safehaven Marine’s managing director and chief designer Frank Kowalski.
The logic is that speed should enable the owner to take advantage of tight weather windows in inhospitable areas of the globe that may not be of long enough duration for more conventional displacement and semi-displacement designs.
The T-2000 Voyager’s powertrain matches those aggressive lines with a pair of twin 1,550hp V12 MANs hooked up to Twin Disc ‘quickshift’ gearboxes and surface-drives from France Hélices.
Kowalski is predicting a top speed of 56 knots thanks in part to a hydrofoil between the two hulls that increases lift and reduces drag for more efficient high speed running. A huge 11,000-litre fuel capacity helps deliver those impressive range figures.
The wheelhouse includes a starboard-side lounge, portside galley and centreline helm position. There is also a glass pane in the main saloon sole which gives passengers a bird’s-eye view of the hydrofoil.
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As for accommodation, this first one, which will serve as a company demonstrator, has three cabins – an owner’s suite in the starboard hull with its double bed crossing the bridge deck aft – plus a VIP double and twin-bunk cabins in the port hull.
Safehaven Marine says that subsequent T-2000 Voyagers could easily be fitted with less extreme propulsion such as regular props and shafts, pods or waterjets while still delivering top speeds of around 40 knots.
Based in Cork, Ireland, Safehaven Marine has built up a strong reputation for building some of the toughest boats on the planet. Since it started in 1998, it has launched over 160 craft – mostly pilot boats, patrol boats, military interceptors and stealth vessels, plus a few leisure variants – all of which get put through their paces in the notoriously rough seas outside Cork Harbour.
Safehaven T-2000 Voyager specifications
LOA: 65ft 7in / 20m
Beam: 20ft 6in / 6.25m
Displacement: 30,000 kgs / 66,000 lbs
Range: 3,000nm
Engines: 2 x 1,550hp MAN V12
Top speed: 50 knots
Price: TBC
Unusual semi-wave-piercing bow design and a hydrofoil between the two hulls deliver efficient running at low and high speeds
Safehaven MD Frank Kowalski stands next to the vast surface-drive propellers of his latest creation
