Carlo Nuvolari-Duodo
Senior Partner, Nuvolari-Lenard
Carlo Nuvolari-Duodo
Senior Partner, Nuvolari-Lenard
Despite the severity of the pandemic, the nautical world has in many ways benefited from COVID. Sailing offers a natural isolation, and many people have found themselves drawn to yachting in the wake of the pandemic.
Customer requirements have also shifted in the past two years: ‘sports’ yachts with their uncompromising aesthetics and sharp lines remain popular, but there is also a move towards more contact with nature. As a result, many customers are now seeking ‘exploration’ style yachts, a trend that is reflected in the aesthetics and design of the boat.
In terms of customer demand, we have seen growth at the two extremes, although demand for very large yachts from 90 metres upwards has recently been affected by the economic and political turmoil related to the Ukrainian war.
At the other end of the scale, there is a strong appetite for boats under 500 tons due to their ease of use and lower costs, and we see a real spike in demand here.
The main challenge for the future is of course decarbonisation. Here, the industry needs to clearly define the problem, involve the right people, disseminate the correct information and distribute information at a high level.
We see a lot of confusion in the industry at the moment. Users receive only a partial view of the problem and so imagine that yachting’s ecological problems can be solved simply with electric propulsion. This is only one piece of a larger mosaic. We must change our mentality and not assume hybrid engines are a panacea for everything.
The same issue exists in the automotive industry, for example, with hybrid cars. One could argue that this is a commercially driven offering, designed to show the industry is moving in the right direction. However, we are only looking at one link in the chain, and often we are simply transferring the problem of pollution elsewhere.
Clients are keen to make their yachts greener, but as an industry we have to consider that to be truly ‘green’, we may need to reduce average speeds, stop dumping at sea, build optimised
hulls and reduce wave disruption.
One solution could be to deploy sails again - not as a romantic concept, but as a real engine for the yacht as in previous centuries.
Meanwhile, as designers, we are no longer creating a lot of super-fast boats but rather boats that optimise speed at a lower range. These days we rarely optimise at the maximum speed (which
is seldom used by owners), but for the lower speeds that are commonly used the majority of the time.
Fuel consumption and efficiency is not a big issue in yachting yet, but we hope with discussions at the right level, and talking with companies like RINA, universities etc, buyers will start to shift their mentality. We have to change the way we use the boat.
In the meantime, the industry will go step-bystep, fitting more hybrid engines and batteries on board, and hopefully this will lead to a change in behaviour. We have already seen a small shift
in this respect.
The move to sustainability will require industry-wide collaboration, and we think there is an opportunity here when it comes to the relationship between designers, certification bodies, consulting engineers and classification societies.
Generally, those designers who are creating a boat from scratch do not work closely with the classification bodies, but we see that many of the rules relating to the large ships are heavily influenced by those for commercial or naval ships.
There could be an opportunity to exchange more information and opinions with the designers who have close contact with the boats’ end users. For example, boats are compartmentalised to contain the effects of a fire. But with yachts we are not talking about ships with 2-4,000 people on board where the most effective approach is to contain the fire. Even in a large yacht there are relatively few people, so the goal is to protect all of the passengers, rather than minimise the number of casualties. It is a different mentality and requires a different approach. Equally, there is no provision currently for the adoption of respirators, or clear instructions to guests for what to do in the crucial first few minutes of a fire.
Another example is onboard comfort. The life of the yacht crew is not taken into account in the same way as a cruise ship’s crew. For instance, it is permitted on a yacht to have ‘day rooms’ without natural light. However, we must provide natural light in the crew cabins. In many ways, yachts are like cruise ships, but life on board is completely different.
Overall, we would argue that there is not enough dialogue between administrations/regulatory bodies and users/designers and it would be interesting to deepen this dialogue. This would help when rules from large ships are scaled down for use on yachts, particularly in cases where they are not realistic.
On the other hand, the relationship with classification societies like RINA is excellent at the technical level, and the society provides key assistance and support in discussions over the structural elements of the yacht.
BIOGRAPHY
From an early age, Carlo Nuvolari-Duodo was interested in engineering, shipping and hydrodynamics. After completing his degree in mechanical engineering and naval architecture, Carlo spent two years as an officer in the Italian Navy where he was responsible for testing at the Cavitation Tunnel in Rome, adding to his experience regarding waves and hydrodynamics. Following this period, Carlo began working at a major Italian yacht manufacturer in Viareggio, and subsequently returned to Venice where for several years he worked as Managing Director of another yacht builder. After meeting architect and designer Dan Lenard, the two men founded NuvolariLenard Design in 1992, where Carlo is now responsible for general design, layout and all technical-related aspects of design. A native of Venice, Carlo has long been influenced by the city, and the relationship between architecture, beauty and the water.
