Moonen Signs Sofia III, Its Largest Pocket Superyacht
We’ll have to wait another two years to see her, but the largest Moonen to date was signed within the past several weeks. Engineering work is already underway on the Moonen 133, expected to be christened Sofia III. If the name is familiar, it’s ...
June 29, 2010
We’ll have to wait another two years to see her, but the largest Moonen to date was signed within the past several weeks.
Engineering work is already underway on the Moonen 133, expected to be christened Sofia III. If the name is familiar, it’s because the owner previously owned a Moonen 84 and a Moonen 97. Like those megayachts, as well as other Moonens, she features styling by René van der Velden. She also features interior design from Art-Line Interiors.
The 133 will have two noteworthy differences in comparison to other superyachts her size. First, she’ll tote a submarine. In fact, she’ll be the smallest yacht to do so. The two-person sub, from U-Boat Worx, will be stowed on the swim platform and launched via hydraulics; the platform will lower into the water, like a ramp. Second, Sofia III will feature five guest staterooms, one more than usual. The accommodations plans show two twin cabins and two queen staterooms below decks, as you’d expect, but also another queen stateroom just aft of the wheelhouse. The master suite is in the traditional location forward on the main deck.
The extra guests don’t necessarily mean extra crew, so Sofia III will be operated by a six-person team, though there will be room for a seventh if needed. All are to be housed forward on the lower deck.
Other highlights of the Moonen 133: a swim platform that becomes a larger watersports platform once the sub is in the water; fishing and diving gear; and teak-lined skylounge on the wheelhouse deck. The all-aluminum, round-bilge displacement yacht should also top out at 14.5 knots thanks to twin Caterpillar C32s.
Expect the yacht to debut at the Monaco Yacht Show in 2012.
