LIARA AND CANOVA WIN THREE TOP AWARDS

Baltic Yachts enjoyed major success at the prestigious Boat International Design and Innovation Awards, with Baltic 112 Liara and Baltic 142 Canova impressing the judges to win the categories for interior and exterior design and naval architecture.

From left: Kenneth Nyfelt – Baltic Yachts, Malcolm McKeon, Henry Hawkins – Baltic Yachts, Lucio Micheletti, Jim Schmicker – Farr Yacht Design, Adam Lay

Announced at a gala event in Cortina, Italy on 2 February, the awards for Best Exterior Design Sailing Yachts and the Best Sailing Yachts Interior Design went to Liara, while Canova won the Best Naval Architecture Sailing Yachts award.

These achievements add to an impressive list of awards for Baltic Yachts which number 25 in the past five years and mark a second win for the Adam Lay/Baltic Yachts partnership. Baltic 107 Inukshuk won best interior In the ShowBoat Design Awards in 2014.

Liara, with exterior design by Malcolm McKeon Yacht Design, also responsible for her naval architecture, and her interior by the Adam Lay Studio, impressed the Boat International judges with her ability to perform both as a comfortable cruising yacht and as a race boat.

“The boat is designed…with careful thought on how to keep the cockpit dry and warm or equally shaded,” commented the judges. “Competitive sailors often find it hard to abandon the excitement of racing. Eventually, the brief to Malcolm McKeon…led to the design and construction of a removable hardtop for the now multi-purpose sloop,” commented the judges. They were also impressed with stowage systems below decks and dedicated stowage for running rigging and sails.

Baltic 112 Liara cockpit

The judges were particularly impressed with Adam Lay’s outstanding interior.  “The overall décor and usefulness of Liara’s interior earned the top score in this category,” said the judges, who liked the use of textured materials, the open plan ‘flow’ from cockpit to saloon and the design reference to natural materials.

Baltic 112 Liara saloon

It was a close run thing in the naval architecture category with Farr Yacht Design’s Canova and Liara both nominated. The judges agreed that Canova’s remarkable Dynamic Stability System foil, the first to be seen in a yacht of this size, tipped balance along with FYD’s naval architecture and engineering work on incorporating the foil.

Baltic 142 Canova

“Sea trials confirmed predicted performance numbers and showed that Canova could comfortably achieve boat speeds equal to wind speed in moderate to strong conditions, “ said the judges.

“The foil’s positive impact on Canova’s stability and righting moment was obvious both in data and in videos of the yacht underway,” they added.

Baltic 142 Canova and her DSS foil

Baltic Yachts’ Executive Vice President, Henry Hawkins, said:

This success reflects the world class expertise at Baltic Yachts and our ability to work closely with the best naval architects and designers to deliver innovation that works. Congratulations to the Baltic Family and to all the designers involved.

For full results and judges comments for the Boat International Design and Innovation Awards, click here.