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New Moonen Achieves Exceptional Noise & Vibration Results
After three days of extensive trials, the largest custom Moonen motoryacht to date has achieved some quite remarkable results in terms of noise and vibration levels. The 42-metre Sofia, which also features a three-man submarine, achieved Class 1 status within the Passenger and Crew Accommodation Comfort notation from the Lloyd’s Register rules and regulations for Special Service Craft.
This impressive technical achievement within the parameters of the SSC Rules was measured by the specialist noise and vibration testing company Intersona. The noise levels allowed for a superior stateroom on a superyacht are 50db. The tests recorded that Sofia’s staterooms were as low as 40db in some places and the sound levels never exceeded 46db at 12 knot cruising speed.
A similar achievement was noted in the lounge, where the measurements again showed that the sound levels were 4 to 5db lower then the figure required to reach Class 1 status. Noise levels in the wheelhouse were even lower, coming in at 45db in an area where 60db is still considered comfortable enough for Class 1.
The vibration tests showed an even more remarkable performance. In the staterooms and lounges a maximum vibration level of 0.3 to 0.4 mm/sec. was recorded (compared to an acceptable Class 1 level of 1.8), while the public spaces of the superyacht were measured at 0.4 (compared to an acceptable Class 1 level of 2.5).
“These low noise and vibration levels are a testimony to the engineering work that went into the design of this custom vessel as well as the phenomenal construction skills of the craftsmen here at our yard,” commented Emile Bilterijst, managing director of Moonen Shipyards. “What made these results even more special at the time they were measured was that the owner was onboard. This allowed him to hear and feel for himself the quality and comfort levels that he can expect in the years ahead.”
The owner was also delighted with the interior, the first pictures of which are published here. An extraordinarily bright and open feeling is generated by the large windows and the styling by Art-Line Interiors, which features oak wood, Zabrano and Concetto marble. Executed with a custom piece of Concetto art made and supplied by Ceaser Stone in Israel, Sofia's atrium is spectacular. And the interior is a technical masterpiece too, with an integrated foil bridge and a full Kaleidoscope video server with multi-room control (including lighting, blinds and climate control) via iPad.