When delivered sometime in 2016, Dream Symphony will be a clipper ship for the 21st century. Like the 19th century clippers, Dream Symphony will carry an impressive cloud of sail and like the clippers, it will be built of wood. That alone is remarkable as Dream Symphony is 462’7″ft (141m) long. Historically, wooden vessels could not be built longer than around 300′ long.
Conventional carvel planked wooden construction was just too flexible for longer ships. The longest schooner ever built was the Wyoming, which was 350′ on deck. Despite being heavily strapped with iron, the ship flexed and twisted in heavy seas, opening her seams and requiring constant pumping to keep her dry.
To avoid the traditional limitations of wooden vessels, Dream Symphony is built of glued layers of wood laminates. The whole structure is highly engineered and the product of extensive finite element modeling. The wood/epoxy laminates are also protected by fiberglass on the outer hull surfaces.
Unlike the clipper ships of the 19th century, Dream Symphony is a fore and aft rigged four masted staysail schooner. She will set 5,000 square meters of sail, which is impressive when compared to clippers of the 1800s. The clipper Cutty Sark, for example, set 2,976 square meters of canvas.
Dream Symphony was designed and engineered by Dykstra Naval Architects. The interior and exterior design work was done by Ken Freivokh Design. The yacht in nearing completion at the Dream Ship Victory yard, in Turkey.
When completed Dream Symphony will be the second largest sailing yacht in the world, behind the 147 meter long White Pearl, which is also being delivered in 2016. White Pearl will have three masts and will carry a Dyna-rig, similar to the Maltese Falcon.
Modern sailing mega-yachts differ from the clippers of old in that they are all rich mens’ toys. At the very least, however, they continue to develop the technology of sailing, in advance of the day when commercial sailing ships may again return to the world’s oceans.
Looks like a fun site
It is true that at the very least, the rich men’s toys are moving the technology of sail forward. There is no real reason why low priority cargoes cannot be moved by wind power. If the technology can be supported by small crews, much as modern motor ships are, then sail will come back. It will take one of these “Captains of Industry” to start the trend though and they do not yet seem to have that bone in their teeth (Sorry, couldn’t help myself.).
Agreed. Large sailing ships will return to the oceans once the price of oil stabilizes at slightly higher levels.