![The Whitehaven 6000 Flybridge. At a cruising speed of about 10 knots, the twin 18.1-litre Caterpillar turbodiesels are ...](/content/dam/images/g/v/k/r/k/n/image.related.afrWideArticleLead.940x529.gvkrjn.png/1492482585613.jpg)
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The latest Australian-designed Whitehaven luxury motor yacht really rocks – unless you push a small button on the left of its expansive instrument panel.
This operates the device that many see as the biggest advance in private boating in years, or perhaps decades. It's a Seakeeper gyro stabiliser, designed to maintain the pleasure in a pleasure craft even when seas are high.
It works a treat too, keeping the new 60-foot Whitehaven 6000 Flybridge on a surprisingly even keel, even when parked in the choppy, much trafficked waters of Sydney Harbour. It's less successful with pitching – the movement from bow to stern over rolling waves – but the overall effect is substantial. If not convinced, hit the off switch and hang on to your lunch.
The second must-have piece of modern technology fitted to this $3.5 million apartment at sea (three bedrooms, three bathrooms, chef-quality kitchen, copious touch screens and entertainment systems, satellite TV, laundry, even its own mini-desalination plant) is the dynamic positioning system.
![The owners of the boat chose all finishings themselves.](/content/dam/images/g/v/k/r/k/y/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1492482586130.jpg)
Stop the boat, turn to find the ideal vista, and lock it in. The system will use GPS, a computer, and its bow and stern thrusters to keep the boat exactly where you want it. No need to hoist an anchor, and no circling around a buoy and losing your view of the Opera House (or waterfall, or white sand beach).
Whitehaven founder Keith Hanson says such technology – proprietary systems that can be fitted to most types and brands – is broadening the potential market for pleasure boats. He says the electrically powered Seakeeper gyroscope, which spins in a vacuum at more than 10,000rpm, is surprisingly efficient.
"When it is spooled up … there are is no heavy power demands on the system. It enhances the owner's comfort, particularly at rest. Depending on the sea conditions, stabilisation can be improved 30 to 40 per cent, even more."
'Amazing stability'
Whitehaven boats are designed in Australia, built in Taiwan and then tweaked on the Gold Coast. Although the 6000 model name refers to "60 foot", the model is strictly speaking 62.5 feet long, or 19.1 metres. "Flybridge" refers to the upper-deck steering position.
![A dynamic positioning system holds the boat exactly in place without the need for an anchor,](/content/dam/images/g/v/k/r/k/s/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1492482586888.jpg)
"Because we are not a high-volume producer and don't indeed to be," Hanson says, "each boat is essentially a one-off. We can spend a lot of time on the finishings."
The new owners of this one, Vince and Jana (many people with upmarket boats don't have second names, I learn), worked closely with Whitehaven to refine the interior. It now has a dining table that will seat eight, larger bedrooms, a bigger saloon, and leading-edge technology including glass that goes from clear to opaque at the touch of a button.
The opulent wood and leather finishes were all chosen by the owners. They found the rich blue for the hull in an old Maserati colour chart (it's called Blue Notte). Vince describes the boat, christened Bella Sky, as "just perfect for what we wanted".
We cruise out of port at about 10 knots, a speed at which the twin 18.1-litre Caterpillar turbodiesels are reasonably economical. "But of course if you go harder," Vince adds as the throttles are opened up and we move closer to the 28-knot maximum, "it starts to really use it up".
![The helm of the yacht has copious touchscreens.](/content/dam/images/g/v/k/r/k/t/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1492482586777.jpg)
This is the couple's fifth boat over 20 years. What impresses the most?
"The stability is amazing, just superb," Vince says. Aside from the helm, there are three positions from which the 6000 Flybridge can be controlled by joystick. This and the dynamic positioning enables him to park the boat confidently when on his own.
"I get close to the berth, throw the ropes off, then turn the positioning system off and tighten the ropes. I can be confident it will stay still within half a metre if there's no wind."
He says it can drift about five metres in heavy weather.
![Room to seat eight for dinner on the back deck.](/content/dam/images/g/v/k/r/k/u/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1492482585722.jpg)
It was the spaciousness and ability to tailor everything that took the cake, Jana says, adding that "we put a lot of things in" and admitting she did change her mind a few times during the build. "My objective was to squeeze out every millimetre. It is like a mini apartment and that was the objective, to make it feel like a home away from home."
It does. Many would be delighted to have as luxurious a home at home.
![The main bedroom has an en suite with a glass wall that turns opaque at the touch of a button.](/content/dam/images/g/v/k/r/k/w/image.imgtype.afrArticleInline.620x0.png/1492482586551.jpg)
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