With the classic looks of a gentleman’s yacht and the gleam of expensive finishing, 62m Simena is the more-than-impressive debut superyacht of Turkish shipyard Ares. The yard’s jump from building fast GRP and steel launches for the military to a fully custom superyacht, is noteworthy enough. That their first yacht should be a technically refined ketch is even more unusual.

It all comes down to the shipyard’s owner, Kerim Kalafatoglu. “My passion for sailing yachts is deeply rooted in my family history and heritage,” he explains.

“I was born in Sürmene, near Trabzon on Türkiye’s Black Sea coast, a region with a 2,700-year-old boatbuilding tradition. For generations, my family has been involved in the construction of the distinctive local boats known as Şehtiye.”

Şehtiye are small, traditional cargo-carrying craft built with an impossibly deep sheerline which finishes at a towering bow and stern. Simena is emphatically not this. But she does exhibit some hallmarks of Türkiye’s boatbuilding culture, courtesy of a slightly nostalgic brief given to Taka Yacht Design of Istanbul.

“Simena’s exterior is inspired by the elegance of classic sailing yachts, interpreted at a much larger scale and with modern proportions,” says co-founder Tanju Kalaycioglu. The design centres on a sweeping sheerline, a clipper bow with bowsprit and a traditional ketch rig, all of which give the yacht a strong and recognisable silhouette.

Carbon masts were evaluated and rejected in favour of 59m and 48m aluminium spars from Dsokar. Photos: Jeff Brown/Breed Media

“Rather than replicating historical forms, the approach was to reinterpret them. Classical elements such as varnished mahogany detailing, balanced proportions and refined deck geometry are combined with contemporary solutions, including a recessed flybridge and a carefully integrated superstructure. The result is a yacht that feels timeless without being nostalgic.”

Viewed from the dock, this is immediately clear. There are elements of the gulet form – the mahogany bulwarks, clipper bow, twin masts – but without any of the fussiness. The superstructure is so low-profile that it is more like a deck saloon in one of André Hoek’s Truly Classic line – except that it fills around a third of the available deck space, with a long bimini built out over the aft deck. Simena is something rare: a yacht on her own terms.

large Jacuzzi aft of the ‘cockpit’ has sofas and table seating for up to 14. Photos: Jeff Brown/Breed Media

A surprising performer

I scuttle aboard via the aft passarelle and am quickly enveloped in the luxurious aft deck entertaining space. First comes a large Jacuzzi surrounded with raised sunpads, then you’re into what might be called the cockpit – deeply upholstered seats arranged around two bulky mahogany tables. These can be combined into one, creating a surface where 14 can banquet in style, while a fully equipped wet bar is within easy reach.

If I sound dubious about the term ‘cockpit’, it’s because this implies action under sail to me. But with Simena, Ares has been scrupulous about leading all the sailing controls clear of guest areas so there is no hint of a wheel, winch or line on this aft deck. Just the two huge hydraulic rams that tension the running backstay on the mainmast remind revellers on the aft deck that this is a sailing boat.

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Rigging design by the experienced Chris Mitchell and engineering by Taka have combined to turn the main, mizzen and genoa sheets onto vast Bamar captive winches built in below the deck. Captain Paolo Martinuzzi can control these using push buttons in the wheelhouse and up at the sun deck helm station. Halyards and reefing lines are led to custom Antal winches positioned at the foot of each mast, which call for a bit more manpower.

“To raise the sails, we need one on the winches, one on the sheet hydraulics and one roving,” says the veteran captain, who exudes quiet confidence on this big yacht after a long career sailing Perini ketches. “It takes about 10 minutes to set the sails and to reef. Furling again takes a bit longer – about 30 minutes with an extra person on the lazyjacks.”

A hidden foredeck crane launches the 6.8m custom limo tender. Photos: Jeff Brown/Breed Media

Then again, this is a shipyard crew and they have had just a single day’s experience of sailing the boat – during the long 1,200-mile delivery journey from Antalya to Monaco. The rest of the time, the wind was unsuitable for making good time in a straight line: it’s the story of Mediterranean sailing.

With 90 tonnes of ballast and 62 tonnes of fuel, oil and water tankage, Simena is a lot of boat to get moving. Martinuzzi says the optimum wind speed for decent sailing is 12-15 knots, but during a 20-knot spell they got her barrelling along on a broad reach at around 14 knots. “The boat is quick,” he says appreciatively – although our day aboard brought barely a zephyr of wind to prove it.

“I’m quite sure we could do 16 knots. At the same time, she’s very stable, so we don’t heel too much and you feel very safe up here. The sailing experience is very comfortable – no stress. But there’s no boom furling, so you need real sailors – someone at the mast foot with a hand on the lines. It’s authentic!”

Twin wheels on the sun deck helm station, but no winches or sheets in sight. Sail controls are mostly pushbutton. Photos: Jeff Brown/Breed Media

Authentic, too, in the need for those giant runners to support the main mast against flexing induced by the staysail or genoa – spreading 365m2 and 597m2 respectively. All the sails are Stratis 1100 in carbon and technora by Doyle.

Simena is also equipped with a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system, which gives the captain six choices for making way. At one end of the spectrum, the 882hp MAN diesel is there for sustained high speeds of up to 14 knots, drawing parsimoniously on the 46,000-litre fuel tankage. But for slower speeds up to about 8.5 knots, it is far more efficient to use the 220kW electric motor supplied from up to three 86kW gensets.

The electric motor can be reversed so it generates electricity to run the boat’s systems – either drawing power from the MAN diesel, or hydrogenating when the boat is under sail. Curiously, there is no high-capacity domestic battery bank to smooth the peaks and troughs of demand, so hydrogeneration can only cover the hotel loads at that moment – something it does from around 7 knots of boat speed. Ares says this power management decision is to achieve a simpler, lighter setup.

Design Unlimited’s interior is contemporary with a pleasing eye for details. Photos: Jeff Brown/Breed Media

Contemporary styling

Heading into the saloon through the twin sliding doors, I’m immediately struck by the rich smell of leather. Dark oak cabinetry with bronze detailing lines the entrance before it opens out and gives way to a series of L-shaped sofas with more than a hint of Italian styling to them – misleadingly, as all the furniture was custom-produced by Design Unlimited of Lymington.

There’s a marble-topped coffee table on brass legs with ottomans nestling snugly beneath them. The ribs supporting the superstructure are picked out in brass and dark wood, a modern echo of the beams of a traditional ship. Natural light floods in through large windows, but the eye is drawn to an abstract landscape painting in cinematic format that fills the forward bulkhead.

Design Unlimited was given a brief to produce an interior that transformed Simena into a contemporary yacht, and has done an impressive job across the saloon and four guest cabins. “We wanted to make sure that the interior had quite a broad appeal,” says associate designer John Everett. “That was the main aspect of the design, as well as showing off the shipyard’s skills.”

Turkish marbles in the guest cabins and unique leather design of each headboard. Photos: Jeff Brown/Breed Media

Highlights include woven leather panelling, brass meshwork sandwiched in glass and scalloped surfaces covered in a specific wall fabric. Everywhere on board, the themes of brass detailing, dark wood and lighter fabric and leather combine to give a sense of consistency. And the finish is excellent from a yard which has focused on fast patrol craft for the last 15 years.

Speaking to the Ares team, you get a real sense of pride at their achievement. “The expectations with a superyacht are fundamentally higher,” says yacht projects director Piraye Sahinkaya Orhun. “Every surface, every transition and every material has to be consistent, controlled and visually refined.

“From a technical perspective, Simena pushed us into new areas, integrating a composite superstructure with a steel hull, and developing complex hybrid systems.”

Just as proud is Taka, for whom Simena is the biggest yacht – sail or motor – they’ve designed. “Delivering one of the world’s largest ketches as a first project in this segment is a strong demonstration of capability,” says Kalaycioglu. “More importantly, the project establishes a new benchmark for what can be achieved in Türkiye in the large custom sailing yacht category.”

Simena specifications

LOA: 62.0m 203ft 4in
Beam: 10.8m 35ft 4in
Draught: 4.7m 15ft 4in
Mainsail: 470m2 5,059ft2
Mizzen main: 249m2 2,680ft2
Genoa: 597m2 6,426ft2
Staysail: 356m2 3,832ft2
Hull: steel with composite superstructure

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