Five years in the planning, CL Yachts launches its new flagship motoryacht \u2013 the striking, high-performance CLX96.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first glance, the new CLX96 superyacht, which premiered at the Cheoy Lee Shipyard in Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong in May<\/a>, makes quite an impression with its original aesthetics and generous deck spaces. The white and grey, clean-lined new hull with its dark-tinted glass windows shows a bold structure \u2013 both externally and in the interior \u2013 from a brand that draws on its shipyards and engineers\u2019 decades of experience. Indeed, this is the shipyard that pioneered the use of fibreglass for boatbuilding in the 1960s, when the founders of CL Yachts assisted the Lloyd\u2019s Register in developing guidelines for its use in construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boarding from the submersible hydraulic swim platform, teak flooring flows through the cockpit and into the indoors of the saloon \u2013 and teak echoes reappear in the ceiling detailing of other areas on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to the open layout, the front of the main deck is visible from the cockpit, and large windows make for clear visibility all around. There is more space on the main deck, which omits a second helm station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The clean sweep of visibility indoors blurs lines between the different areas within the unobstructed indoor main deck. Sections are marked with \u2018ring frames\u2019 (thin border cladding around vertical uprights and ceiling) that delineate interior areas, adjacent to imperceptible air-conditioning ducts. Those aboard can enjoy pockets of privacy \u2013 yet still feel like part of the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walking forward from a lounging zone at the aft of the saloon, a dining area continues onto a handy bar top, which borders a large open galley. This galley-up configuration has long been popular in yacht design in the US and to a certain extent in Australia \u2013 and is nowadays being seen more in Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the way forward, on a slightly raised level \u2013 for better visibility across the bow \u2013 is the Champagne Lounge. With its curved banquette seating and a wine cooler, this compact area feels spacious thanks to a reverse-angle window that follows the line of the wheelhouse directly above and also offers shade here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Champagne Lounge looks out across the Piazza del Sole (sunshine piazza) \u2013 a circular configuration of loungers and tables created by Milan-based Jozeph Forakis, the international product designer who was responsible for the concept, exterior and interior design of CLX96. The tables can be lowered to morph the area into one large sun pad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe pride ourselves on our experience in building not only the interiors but exteriors as well \u2013 with our years of building in composite, steel and aluminium, it\u2019s in our blood.\u201d \u2013 Martin Lo, director, CL Yachts<\/p>\n\n\n\n The master stateroom on its own private level between main and lower decks, has a foyer entrance that allows privacy from the main bedroom. The suite is particularly spacious, benefitting from being situated at the widest point (7.3m) of the unusual teardrop-shaped hull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The integrated bathroom and closet enjoy widely separated twin sink basins and twin WCs, with shower doors that switch from transparent to opaque glass at the touch of a button. Sculpted white Corian stone throughout adds soft curves and rounded corners within the cabins. A flat-screen TV in the master is connected to a camera at the bow, so that it may complete a continuous horizon with windows at each side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the lower deck are two en-suite staterooms to port and starboard; both are identical with twin beds that can join together as doubles. Forward, a VIP suite has a ceiling-mounted \u201cvirtual skylight\u201d that links to a live video camera feed of the sky directly above the yacht\u2019s mast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The staircase to the upper deck arrives at an impressively large helm station that can be semi-open, as port, starboard and aft windows can be electronically lowered. With these retracted into a countertop, the latter can become a serving or social area for the wheelhouse deck\u2019s aft lounging deck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A pop-up TV in the pilot house swivels around for outdoor viewing, while a grill station helps make this a convivial entertaining zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n