Lady Lene // 34m Explorer // Van der Valk

The new all-aluminum motor yacht with a wave-piercing bow has a very experienced development team. Alongside the fine Dutch craftsmanship by Van der Valk, the exterior and interior design come from the Guido de Groot Design studio. Also, Ginton Naval Architects and Diana Yacht Design are involved. Furthermore, LADY LENE gets a Hull Vane – a patented foil that has been proved by over 35 yachts and commercial vessels. The shipyard equipped Jangada 2 with the foil.

Guido de Groot comments the owner’s brief:

“We had to start our design by taking into account the very specific interior requirements with respect to height and accessibility. Only once these parameters had been established on the GA could we embark on the exterior design, and the owners also had detailed aesthetic wishes here, too, including a high robust bow combined with soft curved lines. There really was no comparable reference point for an elegant explorer like this, which made this a very enjoyable project.”

The experienced clients wanted a yacht for a life at sea in every stages of life. So, LADY LENE will have a wheelchair-friendly lift to connect the decks. The interior welcomes up to ten guests. The owner’s suite with an office is on the lower deck with two double guest cabins and a single cabin. The VIP suite on the bridge deck includes a balcony and an aft terrace. Dining and salon are on the main deck.

“Ceilings will be noticeably high here and in all luxury areas – a specific requirement from the owners – while the floors are all completely level with no protrusions or steps.”

Hans-Maarten Bais, creative director at DIANA Yacht Design comments:

“Charged with the naval architecture brief, we have been working very closely with Guido and his team on major influencing factors such as the height. Together we’ve had considerable success in creating a construction that is sufficiently strong while reducing the distance between the ceiling and deck. As the experts at Ginton have taken care of the hull lines, the DIANA team has leveraged on our 50 years of experience to provide the engineering and construction drawings. We have also supported the plate cutters and hull builders at Van der Valk, who already have a wealth of technical knowledge.

“Partnerships such as these save time and costs because we can tackle new challenges as and when they arise, such as the addition of a large tender on the foredeck with a heavy crane. Other puzzles already solved include ensuring that water cannot seep into the interior through the flush, sill-free connections on the decks, and reducing the weight of the beams and girders to meet the desire for a sufficiently light draught to access the Bahamas.”

Jaron Ginton says:

“It is unusual for an explorer-type vessel to have a Fast Displacement hull as the LWL is so important at these speeds, we ‘cut the hull horizontally’ at a level around the waterline and scaled it in the length, creating a wave-piercing – not bulbous – bow and a longer submerged hull. Extensive research also concluded that we could save over 12.5% on fuel consumption at 11 knots by installing a Hull Vane appendage as well as reduce wake and pitch in head seas.”

The launch of LADY LENE is scheduled for December 2021.