TOBIKO

She’s called ‘Tobiko‘, which is the Japanese name for the roe of flying fish. If you think I crave for sushi, you might be right. But that’s not the reason…

First of all, I always crave for sushi. And second, because this yacht concept has a few things in common with Exocoetidae, also known as flying fish. Admittedly, the Tobiko concept has a few things very different, too: Since it’s a SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) vessel, there are parts that remain under water at all times, so it will never just skim over the water surface. However, because this means that your living platform is virtually unaffected by the waves, you might feel just like flying low over the water!

Most SWATH are sturdy working vessels. There also has been another yacht put on those characteristic 4 legs, but, frankly, Tobiko has very little in common with her. Our concept tries to push the boundaries far beyond the expected. SWATH vessels are weight critical, so we made Tobiko ultra-light, ultra modern, ultra minimalist and almost ethereal.

We got rid of most of the hull (there’s just a shield against the waves and there’s the tender garage clipped to it), instead we created a backbone that is stronger than your usual inter deck space and we put all the yacht’s systems in there. There is only one deck clipped to the underside of that backbone, and there’s only one lounge, 2 guest suites, a semi-open galley area and a small crew space. If you believe that a 40-metre yacht needs much more, please look elsewhere.

On the upper deck there’s a bridge and reasonable sun deck space. That’s it. By avoiding the unnecessary we give the owner a relaxing and un-cluttered time aboard. It also means we can keep all systems smaller than on a conventional 40m yacht. Smaller engines, smaller generators (even less so with solar panels), smaller tanks. Everything is geared towards a smooth, silent and efficient operation. So, you can concentrate on what’s important to you: Keeping the world’s noise out and switch off.

But what about the colour? Well, personally we prefer to see her in white, which for many reasons makes more sense unless you’re some movie villain and require some mode of transport that is sufficiently dramatic and menacing.