Yachting Art Magazine

The Polish shipyard Sunreef Yachts has seen one of its models win an award in the ‘Construction Product Design’ category, highlighting a technical approach combining speed, balance and hydrodynamic optimisation.

In 2025, the ULTIMA 55 received the BLT Built Design Award in the category dedicated to construction product design. This award recognises projects that combine structural innovation, performance and aesthetic consistency. For Sunreef Yachts, a manufacturer based in Gdańsk, this distinction recognises a research approach focused on the evolution of fast and lightweight hulls.

The ULTIMA 55 concept is based on a formal hybridisation between the sleekness of a monohull and the stability of a multihull. This configuration aims to improve water penetration while maintaining good trim in a variety of sailing conditions. The hull has been designed to reduce drag and optimise the distribution of hydrodynamic loads, thus enabling greater energy efficiency at different cruising speeds.

Stylistically, the boat has a sleek silhouette, without excessive ornamentation, where each line serves a specific function. The surfaces are designed to channel air and water flow, while the proportions have been adjusted to balance living space on board with hydrodynamic performance. This approach illustrates the current trend in naval architecture to combine fluid dynamics calculations and architectural design within a single integrated design logic.

The shipyard emphasises a construction that combines lightweight and resistant materials, allowing for controlled displacement while ensuring the structural rigidity necessary for fast navigation. This work on materials and hull geometry meets a dual requirement: to increase speed while maintaining the transverse stability characteristic of catamarans.

The award highlights the growing importance of fast motor yachts in contemporary naval architecture research. By developing this type of hull, Sunreef is part of a trend where performance is no longer measured solely in knots, but also in overall efficiency, dynamic comfort and structural design quality.