From a distance, Maltese Falcon looks like a modern interpretation of a full-rigged sailing ship. Up close, the difference becomes clear: the three masts stand free of conventional standing rigging, and the 15 square sails can furl inside the spars. This is not decoration on a motor yacht, but an integrated sailing system on an 88-metre vessel. [1][2]
A rig that works as one machine
Perini Navi calls the solution the Falcon Rig. Each of the three carbon masts rises 58 metres above the waterline and can rotate to trim the sails to the wind. Five square sails belong to each mast, giving a total sail area of approximately 2,400 m². Instead of sending crew aloft, the sails can be deployed and furled through the integrated system. [1]
It changes the entire character of the yacht. The horizontal yards give the profile a historical echo, while the clean masts and automation belong to another age. Dykstra Naval Architects and Perini Navi were responsible for the naval architecture, and the yard describes the rig as a collaboration between Fabio Perini and Gerard Dijkstra. [1][2]
Eighty-eight metres for sailing and living
The hull is steel and the superstructure aluminium. The beam is 12.6 metres and displacement, according to the yard, exceeds 1,200 tonnes. Those figures explain why the tall masts are not the only dramatic element: the entire vessel is built at a scale that makes an ordinary sailing yacht appear small beside it. [1]
Inside, Ken Freivokh Design created an interior for six staterooms and up to 12 guests. Perini Navi states that guest accommodation covers 432 m², the saloons and wheelhouse nearly 300 m², and the cockpit 339 m². More than 290 m² is allocated to crew areas. That matters because a yacht of this size only works when service, engineering and guest life can take place at the same time. [1]
A design that still explains itself
Maltese Falcon was launched in 2006, yet photographs are still enough to convey the idea. With every sail set, the three masts form three almost continuous surfaces above the dark hull. At anchor, the bare masts stand like three precise columns. The silhouette shows both what the yacht can do and how it is built.