Royal Huisman’s superyacht Nilaya reached another milestone with the departure from her construction hall at the yacht builder’s Vollenhove facility, in preparation for the installation of her towering rig in Amsterdam.

This highly anticipated 46.8-metre (154-foot) superyacht is the first to use Royal Huisman’s new ‘Featherlight’ design and production method.

Continuous weight monitoring throughout the build of Nilaya, also known as Project 405, confirms the Dutch builder has achieved its goal of cutting 11% of the weight of its typical advanced aluminium cruising yachts.

The ‘Featherlight’ process makes use of Finite Element Analysis (FEA), a design methodology rooted in spacecraft technology. FEA modelling enabled selecting varied Alustar aluminium plate thicknesses and frame spacing to maximise hull stiffness, while minimising total displacement.

With engineering and weight management brought in-house, the approach was comprehensive, extending to lighting, insulation, and all mechanical systems.

The interior has also benefited from careful weight analysis. All interior structural members use lightweight foam coring. This innovative approach narrows the displacement gap between aluminium and carbon composite yachts.

Jan Timmerman, CEO at Royal Huisman, commented, “I am proud of the investment we have made in advanced engineering and of the way teams from Royal Huisman and Rondal advanced new solutions to meet the brief from very knowledgeable clients…