Project Maverick: A floating showroom
by Quick Spa 30 Aug 2023 00:20 PDT
The Quick Group with its headquarter in Ravenna, Italy, will shortly complete the extensive refit of a 1996 Falcon 80 motor yacht, codenamed Project Maverick, to serve as a remarkable demo boat and ongoing R&D vessel for the company's growing portfolio of products. Due to debut at the Genoa Boat Show (21-26 September 2023), the yacht is effectively a floating showroom for the leading-edge technologies that Quick has brought to market.
The layout of the boat has also been radically transformed by Architect Aldo Parisotto so it can function both as a family cruiser and accommodate more guests, both media and clients, for sea trial purposes. Further, Parisotto+Formenton Architetti designed the evocative Arcipelago Capsule Collection of indoor and outdoor lighting for the brand Quick Marine Lighting that has been installed.
"I was attracted by the idea of upcycling a motor yacht from the '90s and imbuing it with a dual function as a regular family yacht and as a demo boat for today's cutting-edge technology by Quick," says the Architect. "For example, the layout has been rethought to make the circulation flow more fluid and the galley is now more like a show kitchen in a top restaurant."
The fly deck has also been restyled by removing the tender crane and moving the tender to the new boat and swim platform by Sanguineti in the stern (the Quick Group acquired 100% of Sanguineti Chiavari earlier this year), freeing up more space for guests. Just as importantly, sustainable solutions such as synthetic teak have been favoured for both the interior and exterior materials.
But it is as a floating showroom for Quick products and systems that the refitted yacht outshines other demo boats on the water. Apart from Quick chain counter, remote controls, inverter, battery charger, water heaters and QNN, the main onboard systems include:
MC2 Seacentric System: The stabilisation system includes Viator fins, Intercepta trim tabs and Quick Gyro stabilizer. Powered by synchronous electric motors, Viator fins are very quiet but also extremely compact, allowing them to be easily retrofitted on yachts like the Falcon 80. The Intercepta trim tabs are a plug-and-play system that thanks to proprietary software is completely integrated with the fins to read the hull dynamics and coordinate movements in varying sea conditions. Combined with the well-established Quick Gyro, this system represents the new frontier of onboard stabilisation.
XR6 windlass: The new XR6 model expands the historic range of XROY windlasses with AC, DC electric motor and hydraulic motors. The new model is characterised by an engine power ranging from 3 kW to 5.5 kW with a maximum working load of up to 1700 kg.
BTAC 300S thruster propellers: The new synchronous, double propellers installed on the Falcon are the first step towards a technological revolution of the BTAC range equipped with asynchronous motors. With the same wattage, thrust, performance and absorption, the new synchronous motor of the BTAC 300S propeller weighs 70% less and is 30% more compact than the corresponding asynchronous model.
Arcipelago Capsule Collection: A versatile and innovative lighting solution for indoor and outdoor spaces designed by Parisotto+Formenton Architetti. The collaboration has resulted from the convergence of shared visions on contemporary lighting in nautical environments and a common love for the sea. Furthermore, the LED light sources have a wide range of mounting options and they are powered by high-efficiency integrated drivers for powerful, energy-efficient lighting with an expected lifetime of several thousand hours.
Platform by Sanguineti Chiavari: The hydraulically actuated stern platform allows the automatic lifting, hauling and launching of the tender. The structure is entirely made of anodized aluminum and comes complete with hull bracket and internal counter flange for fixing to the boat. It also has a locking system in the fully raised position to guarantee security even in the event of a system failure.
The biggest challenge during the 8-month refit was the plug and play integration of all the different Quick Group systems, which, with technology from the other brand partners, resulted in an extraordinary showroom boat. The Maverick project includes excellences from the marine accessories industry for an unprecedented boating experience.
"We set out on this adventure to create a test bed to develop the integration software so that everything works perfectly together, not only our own products but also with the autopilot, navigation electronics, comms and remote diagnostic, and so on," says Michele Marzucco, CEO of Quick. "The hardware is one thing, but the software development is going on continuously behind the scenes and never stops. The boat is a fantastic vehicle for trying out Quick systems on the water, but it is also an ongoing R&D tool for us to further perfect the technologies involved."
Main partner company: Simrad