Explorer Yacht Vanguard

Vanguard is a long-range explorer yacht built to go to places and cover distances inaccessible to most pleasure craft. Strengthened construction, redundant systems, designed to operate in ice or shallow coral seas.

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What explorer yachts?

Explorer Yachts are a distinct class of vessels emerging from yards in New Zealand (Cira Marine), Holland (Aluboot), the UK (Arksen), Taiwan (Nordhavn), and Turkey (Bering and Naval Yachts). They are mostly aluminum and built with rugged construction, stability, excellent sea-keeping ability, shallow draft, redundant systems, and often extreme range approaching some 4000 NM (7KN). 

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Vanguard - our Explorer Yacht

Vanguard XPM-002 is the second in a series of 'eXtreme PassageMakers' 78-foot explorer yachts, with the first XPM-001 being M/Y 'Mobius'. The closest existing equivalent to M/Y 'Vanguard' is the FPB 70, designed by Steve and Linda Dashew and built by Circa Marine. Many physical similarities exist, though the two hulls differ in several significant ways.

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Build - our Explorer Yacht

Vanguard uses commercial-grade equipment throughout. You will find similar equipment on a frigate, oil rig supply vessel, USCG Cutter, or deep sea fishing boat on Vanguard. She is designed to be navigated by a crew of 2 experienced sailors, 3 for offshore voyages. With duplicated critical systems, she can run on both or a single engine with the trailing system feathered to minimize drag. She carries an advanced Hybrid Drive and has DP(0) dynamic positioning to get into those awkward locations and stay there!

 

A 6.5kW solar array and over 140kWh of electrical storage capacity provide total independence from shore power. Praxis Automation provides control and display systems. Steering mirrors small naval craft and comes from Wills Ridley. Self-pitching propellers and drive lines come from Bruntons. Engines are John Deere 4045 M1-rated, driving through Esco Power hybrid stepper drives and Twin Disc final gearboxes. Helm equipment is Wills Ridley and Furuno commercial navigation running Time Zero Professional. We also installed a purpose-designed high-power RIB from Highfield and Carbon Fiber launch davit. 

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Planning- our Yachting Journey

Lastly, we have been blessed to partner with Eyos Expeditions, who provided ongoing advice on our build and planning for our intended high-latitude destinations. 

 

We hope you enjoy reading about our own Explorer Yacht - Vanguard, her build, and her ongoing journeys as we take her from an idea to a traveling reality.