Xtreme Ocean unveils the latest edition to SA’s growing fleet of luxury ‘explorer’ cats
SA naval architects KD Marine Design have launched a sister company into the luxury leisure yacht sector.
Cape Town-based Xtreme Ocean has debuted with a 68ft aluminium explorer sailing catamaran. The firm is closely allied to KD Marine, already a major player in the commercial sector.
Xtreme Ocean’s inaugural model, the X068, is billed as a semi-custom ‘tough cruising catamaran’ with a minimum environmental impact. The yacht is specifically designed to be recycled at the end of its life.
CEO of Xtreme Ocean, Keith Davies, said; “First and foremost, we wanted to design a capable world cruising yacht, but we also wanted to see what could be done to reduce the environmental impact of the yacht right the way through its lifecycle.”
“Thousands of yachts are scrapped every year because the materials cannot be re-used,” he added.
By contrast the X068 concept was in line with Xtreme’s zero-waste ethos, the company said in a press release posted on their website this week.
The catamaran was also envisaged to rely largely on sustainable energy sources, including 30 m2 of lightweight Solbian solar panels.
“The design benefits from KD Marine Design’s extensive experience in the commercial industry along with their analysis capabilities, with systems designed for simplicity and easy maintenance in remote Locations,” the company said.
“The XO68 is available from Xtreme Ocean in South Africa, as a semi-custom build, with further models in development. The design may also be supplied to a shipyard local to the client,” the statement said.
Xtreme Ocean is geared towards robust cruising designs that are fast and environmentally friendly, the design team says on the company website: “We hope for a future where greener economies are the norm, and we aim to participate in this process through our designs’ thinking and execution,” the team said.