Dominator D26 M Ilumen:Where Space and Light come together

The Dominator Yachts team has been busy for 2 years keeping a top secret project in the dark. As the industry prepares for the 2014 Cannes Yachting Festival, this landmark project will soon emerge into the light.

Renowned designer, Alberto Mancini worked on two core themes, bringing these together with exquisite detailing.

“When I started  sketching the Dominator 26 metre Ilumen, I had two concepts on my mind: LIGHT and SPACE. My idea was to bring the space and the feeling of a mega yacht into a 26 metre raised Pilot House.”

On first glance you already know the D26 Ilumen is unique. But on second glance, you see that it is not just unique in design such as merging interior and exterior spaces, but also the unique experience it offers its owner.

For instance, a full beam owner’s suite of more than 30 square metres and a private bow terrace of 20 square metres will provide up to 270 degree panoramic views. This not being enough, a retractable ceiling allows the owner to sleep under the stars to the sound of the sea. This is truly unique for a boat of this size and an experience not even found on a mega-yacht.

“Starting from scratch, I wanted to create something more emotional, merge interior and exterior space, so I decided to open the bow with 2 sliding glass doors to get direct access from the owners cabin to the upper private bow terrace.” Further manipulation of light and space are evident in the owner’s suite where a smoked grey mirror separates the cabin from the bathroom shower, keeping privacy and increasing the perception of space in the cabin and in the master bathroom. Mancini again shows his obsession with the finer details regarding the interior design of the bathroom which is more comparable to a personal luxury spa:

“The grey veining of the Zebrino marble match the grain of the Zebrano wood, and both, the shower and the bathroom are linked by a soft curved line of golden mosaic”.

The yacht is 26,5 metres long with a 6,72 metre beam and even though those are impressive proportions, the exceptional design and detailing has made the experience on the boat feel as though it is so much bigger. The saloon has floor to ceiling windows and even the side passages are glazed to ensure the ocean is always in sight. Exceptionally luxurious detailing continues in the saloon with custom furniture and bulkheads finished in the most opulent and tactile materials such as backlit white onyx, ebony, zebrano, matt oak, silk and soft nubuck leather.

As with any Dominator yacht, the yacht is engineered with an unrivalled scope of customer individualisation in mind – setting the brand apart from more standardized and mass-produced contemporaries. Like no other manufacturer offering in the segment, every element can be personalised by the customer. In essence, Dominator provides the canvas and has painted a beautiful scene, but should the customer so chose, they are at liberty to determine detailing as far as their imagination will take them.

Angela Pernsteiner who heads up Design and Development, explains:

“When a customer chooses a Dominator, we don’t have an ‘off-the-shelf’ approach. Our customers, treated as members of the Dominator family, value the journey they take with us to make their yacht fulfil their individual needs.”

Amongst others, the customer can choose between two options on the lower deck: two guest cabins and two VIP cabins or two guest cabins and one large full beam VIP cabin. The crew area instead is located in the bow and is connected directly to a large galley located on the main deck.

The propulsion system is also revolutionary. Four different modes take the D26 Ilumen from pure electric ‘eDrive’ at one end of the scale to electric mode and the diesel engine both in use for the maximum ‘Sport’ mode at the other. The hybrid set-up comes with a PTI-system (electric engine at 130kw or a sound protected marine engine at 250 kw).

There are three control stations with one on the flybridge. The Ilumen provides configurable joystick systems such as a Yacht Controller and a Xenta-Joystick and the latest thermal imaging camera technology for night-cruising. The captain also benefits from an anti-glare thermo-resistant windshield in the pilothouse. This windshield is inclined in a special way to allow a perfect view and visibility. Above all, this windshield has no separation, providing a tremendous 270° direct view, which can be enhanced up to 360° view with the use of cameras.

Further technical innovations include a High Performance Hull made of carbon fibre composite. This provides a weight reduction of 25% compared to standard hulls. It has a tensile strength 8 times higher than steel and not least, outstanding manoeuvrability and wave reduction through the innovative design.

The Dominator engineers have truly focussed their attention on further enhancing the owner’s experience, safety and comfort. This is also true of the levels the team has gone to regarding noise reduction. The hull is constructed with different layers in order to reduce noise. Rubber-inox supports for the gears, engine and drive-shaft, originally from the high-load cable-car industry, have been used for the first time. High-performance insulation layers are used in the engine room and in all walls between the cabins and floors. The resulting effect of this technical obsession has resulted in an outstanding below 50db noise level in all cabins when running in ecoPro mode and in the owner’s cabin when running even in comfort mode.

The Dominator philosophy is to provide the highest levels of quality. Therefore every important system can run independently and does not rely on the other. There are multiple electronic and mechanical backups such as triple pumps and 5 switchable battery-packs. Wolfgang Pernsteiner, the owner of Dominator Yachts has quite literally been ‘caught out at sea’ on other yacht offerings from the industry and makes clear that nothing less than perfection goes into a Dominator yacht, the D26 Ilumen being no different:

“When I was looking for the best design, quality and technology in a yacht, I bought a Dominator. When I decided to take ownership of the company I have continued with this and nothing less than the best will do. We want all our customers to have an unrivalled ownership experience; this is why our first-hand experience, passion and attention to detail have gone into this yacht.”

The D26 Ilumen really will be a yacht to experience all the senses. Other features will be a stern beach area directly on the sea, a fully equipped flybridge with Jacuzzi pool and bar station, the finest interiors customised to an owner’s needs (also unique in this segment), Not to forget the innovative propulsion system.

Is it time to see the light?

Technical Specifications

Hybrid Propulsion System with four different modes:

• eDrive

  • pure electric mode

  • V_eDrive: 6kn

• EcoPro

• electric mode

• marine engine engages on demand

• optimised for range

• V_{cruise low:} 14 kn -16 kn

• Comfort

• electric mode

• diesel engine engages on demand

• optimised for power

• V_{cruise high:} 22kn – 24 kn

• Sport

• both electric mode and Diesel engine are in use

• _{batteries are constantly being charged}

• V_{cruise max:} 29 kn

HPH (High Performance Hull)

Length overall 26,5m (registered length: 23,99 m)

Maximum beam 6,72m

Draft 1,52m

Displacement 69 tons (carbon-fibre composite)

Fuel tank capacity 9.000 l + 3.000l long range

Fresh water tank capacity 1.900 l

Engines 2 x MAN, MTU or CAT from 1200HP to 2400HP

Generator 2 x Genset 25 kw / 50 Hz

Semi-displacement range with 10 kn = approx. 1,700 NM

Long range with 10 kn = approx. 1,950 NM

with 8 kn = approx. 3,000 NM

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