WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.582 --> 00:00:03.574 The evolution, in my opinion, 2 00:00:03.574 --> 00:00:05.795 of the Explorer concept 3 00:00:05.795 --> 00:00:07.136 leads to the Flexplorer. 4 00:00:15.636 --> 00:00:18.113 When we developed the Flexplorer, 5 00:00:18.113 --> 00:00:21.746 the shipyard had been in business for… 8 years 6 00:00:21.746 --> 00:00:25.740 so during these years we had had the opportunity 7 00:00:25.740 --> 00:00:30.675 to meet many shipowners 8 00:00:30.675 --> 00:00:34.384 each with their own needs. 9 00:00:34.384 --> 00:00:37.893 Most of all, over the years, 10 00:00:37.893 --> 00:00:41.982 what has been… let’s say, evolving 11 00:00:41.982 --> 00:00:44.773 is indeed the size of the yacht tender. 12 00:00:44.773 --> 00:00:48.430 We were receiving requests, in the beginning 13 00:00:48.430 --> 00:00:53.938 from customers who wanted to tow their tenders. 14 00:00:53.938 --> 00:00:57.307 Tow their tenders, because of course 15 00:00:57.307 --> 00:00:59.638 one cannot carry an 8-meter (26 ft) tender 16 00:00:59.653 --> 00:01:03.531 aboard a 35-meter (115 ft) yacht 17 00:01:03.531 --> 00:01:05.340 and so they were towing them 18 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:07.538 But that of course 19 00:01:07.538 --> 00:01:11.353 implies certain limitations 20 00:01:11.368 --> 00:01:14.827 in that, supposing I wanted to make an ocean crossing 21 00:01:14.827 --> 00:01:17.001 then it becomes more difficult 22 00:01:17.001 --> 00:01:18.846 to have a tender in tow 23 00:01:18.846 --> 00:01:21.554 especially in adverse weather conditions. 24 00:01:29.860 --> 00:01:31.260 We’re talking big tenders 25 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:34.370 because the concept of the Explorer is 26 00:01:34.370 --> 00:01:36.750 a slow yacht with a fast tender 27 00:01:36.759 --> 00:01:43.903 that is to say, what I have is a sort of a mother ship 28 00:01:43.903 --> 00:01:46.781 and a big-sized tender 29 00:01:46.781 --> 00:01:50.881 that can quickly move from one island to the next. 30 00:01:50.881 --> 00:01:53.409 When I need to, I can go back to the mother ship. 31 00:01:53.409 --> 00:01:56.321 and I can refuel because of course 32 00:01:56.321 --> 00:01:58.087 with a diesel-powered ship 33 00:01:58.087 --> 00:02:00.139 carrying 70.000 litres of fuel 34 00:02:00.139 --> 00:02:02.180 my tender is also a diesel-fuelled one 35 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:04.817 not a gasoline-fuelled one, 36 00:02:04.817 --> 00:02:06.681 that would also be dangerous to operate. 37 00:02:06.681 --> 00:02:10.581 In the evening I would come back to the mother ship, 38 00:02:10.581 --> 00:02:12.954 the crew would refuel the tender, 39 00:02:12.954 --> 00:02:15.535 and the next day I would leave on another adventure. 40 00:02:15.535 --> 00:02:17.681 Weather conditions are good, 41 00:02:17.681 --> 00:02:19.669 I can tow my tender. 42 00:02:19.669 --> 00:02:21.881 Weather conditions are bad 43 00:02:21.881 --> 00:02:24.255 I must necessarily find a way 44 00:02:24.255 --> 00:02:27.063 of loading the tender aboard the ship 45 00:02:27.063 --> 00:02:28.479 and we’re talking about a big-sized 46 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:31.053 a 9-metre tender. 47 00:02:32.534 --> 00:02:36.381 This is where the whole Flexplorer concept originates 48 00:02:36.381 --> 00:02:39.281 that is to say, an Explorer built around a crane. 49 00:02:53.678 --> 00:02:57.053 In the past, we have built one-off yachts 50 00:02:57.053 --> 00:02:58.591 with big-sized tenders. 51 00:02:58.591 --> 00:03:00.286 This posed two problems. 52 00:03:00.286 --> 00:03:01.986 The first one was the crane 53 00:03:01.986 --> 00:03:04.087 we had a considerably sizeable crane 54 00:03:04.087 --> 00:03:06.226 placed on the main deck. 55 00:03:06.226 --> 00:03:10.120 So, what we had was a crane 56 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:12.806 that was taking up space 57 00:03:12.806 --> 00:03:14.513 in the most liveable area onboard 58 00:03:14.513 --> 00:03:18.375 either the main or the upper deck 59 00:03:18.392 --> 00:03:21.776 although one cannot stow larger boats 60 00:03:21.785 --> 00:03:23.004 on the upper deck. 61 00:03:23.004 --> 00:03:25.201 Faced with this problem, 62 00:03:25.227 --> 00:03:28.766 we went back to the concept of work boats. 63 00:03:29.747 --> 00:03:32.199 Research vessels use a type of crane 64 00:03:32.208 --> 00:03:34.160 called an A-frame crane 65 00:03:34.169 --> 00:03:37.374 which is usually placed aft 66 00:03:37.374 --> 00:03:39.617 since there are no aesthetic concerns. 67 00:03:39.633 --> 00:03:42.410 A very simple crane, operated by two pistons, 68 00:03:42.410 --> 00:03:45.054 the purpose of which is to lift the submarine, 69 00:03:45.054 --> 00:03:48.322 or whichever other type of instrumentation 70 00:03:48.322 --> 00:03:51.334 to be placed in the water 71 00:03:51.334 --> 00:03:56.224 the crane will very simply lift the submarine 72 00:03:56.224 --> 00:03:59.256 thanks to those pistons and launch it. 73 00:04:00.986 --> 00:04:02.889 Usually, all tender boats 74 00:04:02.889 --> 00:04:04.351 are launched over the side 75 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:06.351 so the crane lifts the tender 76 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:08.725 and moves it laterally 77 00:04:08.734 --> 00:04:10.118 to either side of the ship 78 00:04:10.127 --> 00:04:12.797 This operation, with tenders weighing 79 00:04:12.797 --> 00:04:14.744 five, four tons 80 00:04:14.753 --> 00:04:19.836 is not without its risks 81 00:04:19.845 --> 00:04:22.320 because it depends on weather and sea conditions 82 00:04:22.329 --> 00:04:25.535 With a bit of swell, I have to lift up four tons 83 00:04:25.535 --> 00:04:27.441 and launch the tender from the ship 84 00:04:27.441 --> 00:04:28.327 and this will invariably 85 00:04:28.327 --> 00:04:29.521 cause the ship to tilt to the side. 86 00:04:29.521 --> 00:04:32.873 And this caused some worries to shipowners 87 00:04:32.873 --> 00:04:34.651 during launch operations. 88 00:04:35.795 --> 00:04:39.298 So, we tried to come up with this crane 89 00:04:39.298 --> 00:04:43.275 that took us about a year and a half to develop 90 00:04:44.455 --> 00:04:48.339 a crane that could lift a 9-meter (29 ft) tender. 91 00:04:48.339 --> 00:04:51.435 I say tender, but it might as well be a submarine 92 00:04:51.435 --> 00:04:54.593 capacity of 4 tons - 4 and a half tons 93 00:04:54.593 --> 00:04:57.035 raise it and to lift it 94 00:04:57.035 --> 00:05:01.092 and place in the water longitudinally, 95 00:05:01.092 --> 00:05:03.935 that is to say, tenders are launched astern. 96 00:05:18.647 --> 00:05:21.036 What is the huge advantage in this? 97 00:05:21.036 --> 00:05:25.001 That my ship will remain perfectly stable throughout. 98 00:05:25.001 --> 00:05:27.617 I will not experience an excessive angle 99 00:05:27.617 --> 00:05:31.964 of tilt when launching the tender. 100 00:05:31.964 --> 00:05:35.164 It is launched astern 101 00:05:35.164 --> 00:05:39.164 so it’s the safest operation to carry out. 102 00:05:39.164 --> 00:05:42.264 The difficulty was in developing 103 00:05:42.264 --> 00:05:44.533 a type of A-frame crane 104 00:05:44.533 --> 00:05:48.242 that could be concealed under the main deck 105 00:05:48.242 --> 00:05:52.351 and so, using materials like carbon 106 00:05:52.351 --> 00:05:54.537 and relying on specialized companies 107 00:05:54.537 --> 00:05:56.997 we managed to build this carbon crane 108 00:05:57.004 --> 00:06:00.353 that is flush with the main deck. 109 00:06:00.864 --> 00:06:04.045 The advantage is that when I can 110 00:06:04.045 --> 00:06:06.464 when the tender is in the water, 111 00:06:06.464 --> 00:06:10.435 I have 150 square meters available (1600 sqft) 112 00:06:10.435 --> 00:06:12.457 with the bulwarks extended. 113 00:06:12.457 --> 00:06:17.085 150 square meters of proper beach club 114 00:06:17.085 --> 00:06:20.975 a true terrace on the sea 115 00:06:20.975 --> 00:06:22.868 I have, so to speak, 116 00:06:22.868 --> 00:06:27.956 a private beach in the world’s finest spots. 117 00:06:27.956 --> 00:06:33.173 The tender and other toys are in the water, 118 00:06:33.173 --> 00:06:36.396 and I’m left with 120-150 square meters, 119 00:06:36.396 --> 00:06:39.364 depending on the size of the Flexplorer, 120 00:06:39.364 --> 00:06:43.930 that I can enjoy with family and friends 121 00:06:43.930 --> 00:06:46.655 that I can use to set up any kind 122 00:06:46.655 --> 00:06:49.546 of gathering, of activity, 123 00:06:49.546 --> 00:06:52.464 on this 150 square meter terrace on the sea.