Superyacht Designer - Ron Holland Archive

Whirlwind

  • Whirlwind X11 photographed under full sail before she started her first circumnavigation. She was the first Ron Holland design with a longer length than 100ft and also the first Ron Holland big yacht to be built by Royal Huisman Shipyard.
  • This drawing shows the overall design concept for Whirlwind X11 including the use of her Scheel keel, the first of this type to be used on the Ron Holland design. After extensive sailing trials, it was decided to modify the keel to improve the overall sailing ballast by adding winglets to the aft-end.
  • This drawing shows a 3-Dimensional view of the modified Scheel keel. Following my research for the America’s Cup Racing Yacht in 1986 where was studied the beneficial effect of using wings on shallow keels. I decided that Whirlwind X11 will benefit from this feature.
  • The general interior arrangement drawing was unique because it had two saloon areas joined in a split-level type arrangement. The detailed design work for the interior joinery was designed by Deutsch designer, Peter Sjim.
  • This drawing shows the overall arrangement of the engine room including the primary engine of a Mercedes Benz and two generator systems
  • This drawing shows a section through the upper saloon and engine room. This arrangement proves successful and several Ron Holland designs have been built using this arrangement