A performance, tailor-made and one-off fast cruiser 

MD 78 was designed to sail with a crew of two to three to allow for long cruises in the Mediterranean Sea, with the prospect, however, of also participating with satisfaction in some offshore regattas. In terms of construction characteristics and sail rig, it is a boat comparable to those competing in the MAXI world championship.

From the ship-owner to the boat

“After a long series of reflections to fine-tune the needs of life on board and the different expectations of the owner, as normally happens in a one-off,” explains Giovanni Ceccarelli, “the project took the study number CYD 200. It is currently at an advanced stage of construction and will be launched in the Adriatic in early summer 2024 at Maxi Dolphin, a shipyard with a great tradition for this type of boat. MD 78 aspires to be a tailor-made custom yacht design boat built in Italy to the satisfaction of its owner.“

Hull and keel configuration: a CFD study

The hull is characterized by circular sections and a narrow waterline width, resulting in a low wetted surface. The maximum beam of 6.55 m is constant from just over halfway through the hull to the stern.

Deep bow sections allow for good wave crossing, with the goal of making the boat comfortable and dry. The stern sections, on the other hand, are wide and flared to reduce the increase in drag during the listing.

The edge from the hull has disappeared, and the chine on the side is very connected to the broadside. With CFD analysis done in-house at the firm, three hull hypotheses were evaluated and then the one with the best performance for the intended purpose was selected.

“In all of CYD’s recent designs for both sail and power, from 10 m dinghies to this one of 24 m and beyond, hull and keel shapes have been designed and verified using CFD,” the designer explains. “This allows a prior assessment of hydrodynamic pressures on the hull while underway; where pressure peaks are found, morphological modifications would be introduced in the hull to reduce them to within acceptable values.”

They opted for a double-bladed wheelhouse, pinpointing its placement with great precision, and a lifting T-keel made for the structural part by the Cariboni company, with a draft that ranges from 2.90 m when raised to 5.15 m in sailing conditions.

A choice that ensures great power under sail due to the high straightening moment but also, when lifted, access to ports and marinas.

In particular, the bulb has a shape that exploits at the outset the studies that were done at the time for America’s Cup projects – in 2000 with “Mascalzone Latino” in Auckland and in 2007 with “+39 Challenge” in Valencia – and develops them according to the project. The planform area and the position of the rudder blades were also verified using CFD.

Sail rig

With the same sail plan and rig, MD 78 can cope with both cruises and regattas; in fact, the boat has a large surface area and was fine-tuned together with the designer of the Doyle Italy and New Zealand sailmaker.

The square-top mainsail has a strong stretch, the bow triangle has an abundant J and a wide bowsprit on which to hoist both Code Zero and asymmetric kites.

On the forestay goes up a 103% furling genoa with a sheet clew on the cross travellers that, in regatta configuration, will allow for correct clew points.

The Stay Sail is rigged on the cross traveller, and an additional furling jib is tacked on an even more inner point, with the halyard reaching to the first spreader.

Hall Spar made the carbon mast, boom, and rigging which also includes two flying backstays.

Many maneuvers are automated, and Harken electric winches require no physical effort. Load cells have been installed on the main rigging (e.g., on the vang and forestay) to verify that the loads on them always remain within safe values.

“The boat, a performance fast cruiser, will be able to combine the thrill of speed with the comfort of cruising. For this reason,” Ceccarelli adds, “the systems will be built with the utmost simplicity of use and ease in maneuvering and sailing, the result of Maxi Dolphin shipyard’s great experience on this type of boat. A bow thruster and aft thruster are also provided.“

Construction

The construction of the hull and deck, in sandwich with carbon fabric liners and Corecell PVC core, is done on female molds with wet lay-up lamination, according to a technology developed by the Maxi Dolphin shipyard that allows for total control of the production process at all stages and minimizes resin excesses. It is a more sophisticated system than simple infusion that allows a higher quality product to be produced.

The carbon fabric, in the wet lay-up, is arranged appropriately maximum two or three layers at a time in the different zones within the female mold by successive stages, each of which is then vacuum sealed and post-cured. According to the shipyard, this avoids excess resin and performs better quality control of the part than a one-shot infusion.

Exterior design

The topside incorporates architectural stylistic features typical of Ceccarelli: the inverted sheerline, the vertical prow (like the transom), the very low and streamlined deckhouse that loses consistency ahead the mast and manages to retain functional and structural aspects that short deckhouses do not fulfill.

The cockpit is large, with two distinct areas: forward, the two seats terminate on the aft side of the deckhouse, which is circular crystal, while aft is the rigging area. The deck is largely covered in teak.

The chamfer in the singer area aesthetically characterizes the broadside – also allowing a small lowering of the bulwark – and ends on the transom as if it were a faceted diamond.

In motorboats it is customary to work on the broadsides of the hull at the topside, in sailboats much less so.

Interior design

The interiors were developed by Studio Ceccarelli based on the owner’s on-board living needs: they consist of a large cabin ahead, with separate bath and shower with the headboard ahead, two VIP cabins with independent bathrooms.

The lifting keel step is an integral part of the interior design and fits properly into the dinette; the galley, in continuity, is on the starboard side. Two independent cabins with associated facilities are available for the crew aft of the entrance staircase.

The interior respects the idea of a contemporary, minimal functional style that is not overdone. The choice of wood essences, colors (plum purple connotes a bit of the whole interior design) is a work done in close synergy with the two ship-owners.

Although the boat is born as a one-off, the designer and shipyard would have the ambition – if there’s a market demand for it – a second boat: so different interior layouts, other appendage configurations (such as a fixed keel), etc. would also be possible.