ISMERIA 45'

Outside, the cockpit is spacious and comfortable. It will welcome owners and guests under a deckhouse cap protecting them from the sun and bad weather.

Several technical access hatches are placed under the seats, in order to go down into the aft locker (technical room and various storerooms) and access the steering system.

A special feature of this exterior cockpit is that access to the interior is through a central sliding door on rails. On the starboard side, a hinged window opens upwards and can be hooked under the roof of the hatch. This is where the monohull concept really comes into its own!

The cockpit floor has a footwell to protect the entrance to the boat and the cockpit is “self draining”, with a natural drain aft thanks to a boiler slope. The cockpit is closed at the aft end by a sliding door. This is a “solid” protection for the passengers during navigation. The cockpit also has an external waxing cupboard under the piano winch support.

The deckhouse roof extends aft and allows the addition of a large area of solar panels (up to 2000W) to make our yacht as self-sufficient as possible.

At the front, the deck is covered with a non-slip paint (or synthetic teak) in order to move safely and to reach the mast, placed on the deck directly (easy and secure access). This aluminium sailing dinghy is equipped with a 52 square metre mainsail which is stowed in a lazybag, a 56 square metre genoa and a self-tacking staysail managed from the piano winch on the cokcpit.

Inside, the light-coloured woodwork of the furniture and bulkheads is in maple (customisation of the fittings allowed in our design). The interior of the aluminium yacht is simple and functional, with a clear and uncluttered style. The kitchen, like the yacht, is perfectly functional and directly linked to the saloon or cockpit table. It is equipped with a microwave on converter, a 3-burner gas cooker, a refrigerator with drawers and a double sink with mixer taps.

The panoramic view extends over the entire accommodation. The helm station, visually open to the front of the boat, is slightly offset to starboard so that the mast does not interfere with the captain’s observation during his watches and navigation phases. An additional settee is located behind the galley worktop, probably one of the best places on board. Three small steps lead up to the “night” area of the ship: two double cabins and a bathroom with separate shower. The latter can be equipped with a wall-mounted washing machine near the holding tank. The owner’s cabin should preferably be in the forepeak, which is the most spacious and has plenty of storage space. A cabin on the starboard side, under the steering position, has two single beds with a connection for a couple.

The ISMERIA philosophy

For several years now, our agency has been working hard to design the ideal travel boat. A yacht designed for deep-sea sailing but with the ergonomics that come from living at anchor.

This is the concept of the “mono-maran”: an ergonomic design on the same level as the cockpit and deck saloon to optimise and simplify movement between the interior and exterior.

It was the meeting with an experienced shipowner, who fully shared our feelings about contemporary ocean sailing, its expectations and solutions… that initiated the project and the development of the ISMERIA concept.

How many times a day do we use these famous stairs ? 4 or even 5 steps, sometimes steep, which all too often seem to take us “down to the cellar” when the light and the vision of the sea are “up there”… Why go down when the cockpit, the guests and life is upstairs? These steps are numerous and potentially dangerous when bringing up dishes, plates or simply a pocket book while the boat is moving at sea and sometimes even at anchor. Having an interior in line with the cockpit is the choice that we, the catamaran designers and builders, have adopted. And what a pleasure it is to go from the outside to the inside without having to lose visibility, to continue to keep an eye on the surrounding boats during a watch and not to take any risks in your movements! This is our philosophy of the sailing boat of voyage, it is the philosophy of our range ISMERIA!

So, what about the helm station and the view from the cockpit ? The view forward is certainly disturbed by our superstructure, although it is almost completely glazed:

Nowadays, when sailing, the helmsman is not really behind his helm anymore. He moves, with a pilot’s remote control around his neck, between the galley, his electronics area (or former “chart table”), the saloon, the winches and the mast step. With the exception of manoeuvring periods of course, when do we actually use the tiller or wheel on a travel unit?

The wheel takes up space in a cockpit that is already too small. If the tiller is used so infrequently, why install it where space is at a premium and most exposed? On the ISMERIA range of boats, we have opted for the interior helm station!

The steering wheel and engine controls are located in the middle of the boat, right in front of the panoramic windscreens, which are inverted to prevent reflections, and allow a perfect view forward, both when sailing on the high seas and when manoeuvring in port. The electronic displays are centralised. There is no need to duplicate them on the outside AND on the inside. The engine controls are protected and the chart table remains close to the helmsman during manoeuvres. During the day, but especially at night, the captain is protected, inside, much less exposed.

Of course, the cockpit retains its winches, blockers and blocks. Numerous hat windows allow the sails to be seen and trimmed just like on a conventional sailboat. We luff with the autopilot, we adjust then we shoot… it is the navigation of today and ISMERIA wants to be in the era of time!