Seasoned American superyacht owners may know the Cheoy Lee name. A family-run shipyard for generations, it has deep experience in the commercial and yachting sectors. Several years ago, Cheoy Lee created CL Yachts as the brand for its production-built and semi-custom yachts and small megayachts. Cheoy Lee, meanwhile, remains focused on fully custom, larger projects.
Recently, CL Yachts introduced the CLC115 yacht, its first-ever catamaran. Importantly, the design isn’t entirely new for the shipyard. In fact, Cheoy Lee has constructed two carbon fiber catamarans of nearly the same size for the Hong Kong government. They’re upgrades for the ferry fleet. Additionally, the shipyard built six 131-foot (40-meter) aluminum catamarans for the same purpose, two with hybrid propulsion.
At the recent Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Megayacht News’ editor Diane M. Byrne sat down with Martin Lo and Hans Lo (above, left and right respectively). Martin Lo is one of eight brothers who are directors of Cheoy Lee. Hans Lo, meanwhile, represents the family’s fifth generation and is deputy director of CL Yachts. They discussed broadening into catamarans with the CLC115 and the differences it brings to the market.
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Diane M. Byrne: The timing is perfect for catamarans now. Twenty years ago, a few companies tried, but consumers weren’t in the right mindset yet. There also were some beautiful designs, but they tended to slam underway.
Martin Lo: Well, we’ve been building catamarans, so we’re very familiar with the pros and cons. With this new government initiative, we’ve come up with a new house design, very low wash, very efficient. We have the hope that perhaps we can convert it into a yacht and then offer hybrid propulsion as an option. We learn from the commercial sectors and apply it, so for us, it becomes second nature and the owner will have peace of mind.
Diane M. Byrne: The design is nice too, it’s very sleek. I also like how there’s an alternate arrangement. Most builders put all the staterooms down in the hulls because that’s the way it’s always done.
Hans Lo: The layout of the boat itself is just spectacular. So many lounging areas on the sun deck and on the main deck, plus the four staterooms. The beauty of the catamaran once again is all this space. We can have four staterooms, and there’s actually an extra stateroom that you can convert for other use. You know, a massage room, a nursery. There’s just so much that you can do layout-wise on a boat like this.
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Diane M. Byrne: Even with the hulls being narrow on a catamaran, the crew aren’t squashed here the way they are on so many other catamarans.
Hans Lo: For our crew quarters, the space is very generous. They all have their own rooms. We’re working with an interior design company called Super Tomato in China. They have a lot of award-winning designs and expertise in the hotel and retail space. And because the designer is an avid boater himself—he participates in regatta racing — he has a strong passion for coming up with this design.
Martin Lo: And then of course, because everyone’s looking towards a greener future, I think that the hybrid propulsion for this boat might be also a very attractive proposition. And then thanks to the fact that we have a strong commercial sector, the hybrid propulsion system will be robust, commercially tested.
Diane M. Byrne: Well, everyone’s trying to be more mindful. But at the same time, people are still averse to risk, so they want to make sure that things are already proven and reliable. That, and the fact that you’re working with Incat Crowther, is a benefit.
Martin Lo: We’ve been working with Incat Crowther, a renowned multi-hull designer, for various projects. This hull is actually already tested because we have commercially built eight of them. So there’s a lot less to worry about. Besides the catamaran project, we also engage Incat Crowther for our monohull projects. As a matter of fact, they designed a high-speed crew boat for us. We work with various designers all over the world. It’s fun; we learn from them.
