Delivered last summer and immediately put to good use in the Mediterranean, the 190-foot high-performance sloop Ngoni (originally known by its project name: The Beast) from Royal Huisman is a sailing sight to behold. Tasked by the owner to create a contemporary yacht with incredible performance, handling, and seakeeping paired with luxury amenities, Dubois Naval Architects settled on a minimalistic approach, creating a clean, clutter-free deck and low-profile superstructure, both of which made for an elegant and efficient yacht. Ngoni is also one of the largest sailing yachts in the world.
Dubois designed a slender aluminum hull with plumb bow and reverse sheer, which gave the hull structural stiffness. This is important, considering the large portholes, a fold-out side-boarding platform, water-level gym door, a couple of submarine anchors, and retractable thrusters, as well as a 100-ton lifting keel that adjusts from 26 to 17 feet. Maximum hull speed is 17 knots.
The yacht features a carbon mast and a 9,182 square-foot square-top mainsail with supporting diagonal batten that detaches automatically and furls into the styled boom. The diagonal batten attaches automatically when hoisting as well.
A Williams 565 Tender Diesel Jet boat is stored in a cut-out tender garage on the flush foredeck, and an inflatable Bombard commando C3 sport boat is stowed deflated in a storage locker for crew use. They are extracted from the yacht and placed into the water via a Nautical Structures crane.
The cockpit helm station features a sculptural carbon helm with a stainless-steel top. Besides a cozy and protected seating area, the cockpit also includes a popup TV for alfresco movies. Glass doors between the cockpit and the deckhouse expand the inside out and the outside in.
Rick Baker and his team created Ngoni’s sophisticated interior, which was meant to be anything but traditional. Instead, it is a curvy, masculine, and colorful scheme, and includes sculpted-metal surfaces, marble and onyx from Italy, and bespoke veneers.
The glass deckhouse includes a seating area, bar, and dining area. Belowdecks are the owner’s apartment and two en-suite guest staterooms, one a twin and the other a double. Both cabins feature large windows to pull in the sunshine, highlighting the interesting veneers, marbles, and resin finishes.
The aft full-beam owner’s suite comprises an en-suite bedroom, as well as an en-suite study and gym, plus an opening hull port for fresh air and natural light. The owner’s stateroom offers up direct access to an aft sunbathing and lounging area with carbon-fiber spa tub and steps down to the sea-level beach deck, which features an Olympic-size diving board.
Ngoni houses accommodations for crew, too, including a captain’s cabin, two single, and three twin crew cabins.
When not under sail, Ngoni has a range of 4,000 nautical miles at its MTU 8V 2000 M72 engine’s cruise speed of 12 knots.
