SAY Carbon Yachts is on a mission to capture the attention of next-gen yacht owners. The brand’s Chief Technology Officer, Karl Wagner, explains how. Robbie Hodges reports 

For boat designer Karl Wagner, the path to innovation doesn’t just traverse oceans, but land and air too. The former automotive engineer, now Chief Technology Officer at SAY Carbon Yachts, draws inspiration from all kinds of sources – vehicle design and aeroplane combustion engines, being two. And it’s this innovative, cross-sector approach that results in market-leading products. 

Case in point, SAY 52, the brand’s largest and most ambitious model yet, which was unveiled just last week at the Palma International Boat Show. Coming in at 15.95m, it carries up to 12 guests and has a dry weight of just 7.5 tonnes meaning it has whippet-like agility and the acceleration of a cheetah with top speeds of 45 knots. As is clear from the images, it’s lust-worthy too: a razor-sharp balancing act of style and performance.

While other yacht brands might be trembling in the boat’s wake, SAY isn’t dwelling on the present but focussing instead on what’s coming next; the future of ultra-low-emission engines; how AI will impact boat design and the onboard experience; and how an increasingly aggressive climate is pushing yachts into unprecedented new shapes and styles. Globetrender talked to Wagner about all of the above and more. 

Let’s start with some Blue-Sky Thinking: Where do you see SAY 10 years from now?

We want to be the innovation leader in lightweight design engineering. We have the 52; there will be some derivatives of the 52. We have the 42 that will also have some derivatives and an open version will come later this year at the Cannes boat show. Our 29 just went out of production and will be replaced with the 32 which we expect will be launched in Dusseldorf in January 2026. And so clearly we’re now asking; are there other sizes? Should we go bigger? Why not? 

Tell us about the new Say 52 model

It’s carbon fiber, but that’s not the interesting bit. The most interesting aspect is that it’s entirely molded in just a few perfect, almost seamless pieces that fit together; there are no heavy glass or wooden panels. The boat weighs half as much as the next competitor meaning we cut through the water like a knife and have unrivalled agility.

It’s not a race boat, not at all. Especially for Americans. The biggest boat market in the US is Florida and they want to go to The Keys or the Bahamas for lunch and come back. It’s quite a distance so they want to be fast. If you want to play in that market you need to give them the right toys or they just won’t buy it. Right now, we’re focusing on the European market where something between 40 and 50 knots is enough. Our clients have nice cars and like to feel power and acceleration. Being lightweight doesn’t bring a lot of top speed, but it does bring acceleration and handling. The 52 is all about style and performance. 

What’s top of mind for SAY right now?

Sustainability. The climate crisis is a big opportunity for us. We’re seeing it in housing, cars, everything. So in the boat market we need to follow suit. By 2050, it’s likely that all yachts will need to be carbon neutral – maybe not in production, but when they’re in use, in the water.

What is the main source of emissions – production or usage?

We are actually in the process of running a lifecycle assessment to calculate exactly how much CO2 is released in the production of the boat. And then in usage. For one kilogram of carbon fiber component, you’ll use approximately 10 liters of crude oil. It sounds like a lot, but the SAY 52 has a relatively light structural weight of 2,200 kilograms, and the impact has to be analysed in relation to the boat’s total lifecycle. 

Across the consumer landscape, circular end-of-life strategies have become increasingly important. What does that look like in boat design?

Repairs are simple. If it’s just a little damage to the outer skin it can be serviced easily in most marinas. For more structural damage, we’ll send in our people. That’s the easy part. 

The end of life plan is slightly more difficult. In general, if it’s a poly-fiber model you can’t rebuild a new boat with the old material. So you have to downcycle it; chopping and burning the material. The fibers are resistant up to 2,000 degrees celsius so you need industrial equipment, but then they can be used to reinforce plastic, concrete, tarmac and so on. 

Do you have that recycling infrastructure in place?

No, but we’re working on it. It’s really a cross-sector problem. The aviation sector is big on this too because carbon composites are being increasingly used to build lighter, less energy intensive models.

Where do you see AI fitting into SAY’s strategy going forward?

There’s a lot of craftmanship when it comes to building the boat because our production volumes are very low, and with such huge components it’s hard to go into automation. When we start with the design of a new boat, everything is done on a computer. You make some sketches by hand of what it could look like but then it’s all done in CAD. We have CFD analysis of the hull behaviour and aerodynamics, of everything. We’re proud of the level of design that we’re putting into the boat. 

As a result, we have a virtual twin of every boat that we’re delivering so we know the weight, where the cables are, everything you could want to know. And this is where AI will help in the future; it’s all the design loops when it comes to the hull design. Okay, you want to turn at full speed, you want to be soft in the waves while still being efficient? Perfecting the hull design is not easy, but AI will make it quicker to create iterations so you get there more quickly. 

What about the onboard experience?

Everything onboard is smart now. There are so many adjustable elements on board that are controlled from a central panel which AI can also optimise. If you’re taking the boat to Formentera, you can say okay it wants to have a certain kind of lights or music or temperature. There are so many things you can optimise for the experience of the client. 

Autonomous yachts?

I don’t think people are expecting that. But let’s talk about docking. Nobody likes it. But boats that can dock themselves? That should be here in a couple of years.

So you’d need fewer people to operate the boats?

Yes. Currently, for the 52, you need at least two people to dock I would say. Usually you wouldn’t dock on your own. For the 52 we have a 360-degree camera system like you might find in a car, so you can see everything as you turn and reverse. 

You draw a lot of inspiration from innovation in neighbouring industries.

A lot of innovations that are supported from the automotive and aerospace industry will be on the propulsion side. If you want to achieve 50 knots, you have to use big heavy engines, but most of the time you’re going 20 knots because you don’t like the wind and you’re not in a rush anyway because you’re boating. So currently, for boats to hit that speed, you need these big structures for the engines and all this gasoline. But it’s not smart. 

I really like the idea of a hybrid model. In that case, a boat would have combustion engines running on gasoline or diesel, which provides the average travel or cruising speed. And the rest would be delivered by electric propulsion. That would give you some extra power with very little additional weight. 

It’s a really emerging market. That’s the cool thing for an engineer right now; picking the components and pulling them all together to find the right solutions.