mirabella v yacht

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M5 (ex Mirabella V) restyled by Pendennis Shipyard

M5 's stern was remodeled at the  pendennis shipyard in falmouth, uk and completed her sail trials successful..

M5 was originally built in 2004 as Mirabella V . Until she is still the largest sloop with over 75 meters (length of the hull) and an almost 90 meters long mast.

Designed and manufactured by Carbo-Link with OYS making the fittings, the 34 new carbon fiber stays, and titanium fittings with built-in dynamic fiber optics have decreased the weight of the rig by 18 tons. The sail trials not only established the M5 ‘s potential speed but tested the new system and balance of the yacht under sail for the first time. During several hours on the water with challenging sea conditions, the remodeled boat performed well, reaching 17.7 knots in 18-23 knots of wind.

The project, due to be completed over the next month, has seen a collaboration between Pendennis and the original designer Ron Holland , to achieve the Owners idea of extending the stern by 3m which has created a new sleeker profile providing an impressive aft deck area. During the refit, Pendennis has completed extensive engineering works and the interiors have been redesigned by UK company Redman Whiteley Dixon .

M5 carries now a water plane on aft deck

Stepping the huge mast

Close to the wind when she was MIRABELLA V

Main Specifications of Sailing Yacht M5

Sharing is caring - thank you, vela // gianmarco cardia // 80m, anatta // vitters // dubois, nomad iv // maxi dolphin (fc 100), egoist // philippe briand, oyster 125 twilight, solaris 111, project lotus // royal huisman, 50m sloop by ferrari & franchi design.

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Mirabella V: Stretching the Limits

• By Barry Pickthall
• Updated: October 4, 2007

Everything about Mirabella V is BIG.

At 246 feet LOA, she is the largest composite- structured yacht in the world. Her carbon five-spreader rig stands 292 feet high-the tallest mast. Everything about this 740-ton mammoth of the seas is massive-including her charter fee of $250,000 a week.

This megayacht, built by VT Shipbuilding in England at a cost of approximately $50 million, was designed by Ron Holland, but she is very much the brain-child of her American owner, Joseph V. Vittoria, formerly CEO of Avis Rent-A-Car System Inc. He already owns two 40-meter yachts, Mirabella and Mirabella III , and was driven to add to this fleet by the strong desire to develop the ultimate in status symbols. Why did he decide to push existing rig technology to new limits for a cruising yacht, with all the risks that this may encompass? “Very simple, Vittoria replied with a smile. “Someone was going to do it, so why not me? The challenge has been to build the biggest rig in the world.

Now that she has been launched, Guinness World Records will need an additional page to include all the superlatives about this boat. The hull weighs in at a mere 85 tons and draws a little more than 6 feet, but that is without her 150-ton lifting keel, which gives her a maximum draft of 33 feet. Her structure encloses 80 tons of insulation, six luxurious double cabins for guests and a host of less welcome additions determined by the MCA and other organizations that regulate the construction of large yachts slated for the charter trade. These organizations have re-written their rule books for composite superyachts around this project.

“These rules have diluted many of the weight advantages of building in composite”, said Ron Holland. He pointed to the MCA’s insistence that all doors and frames within the yacht have to be made of steel. “We understand their concerns for a fire on board, but unlike powered yachts of this size with their multiple decks, Mirabella ‘s guests and crew have only one floor to climb out on deck.”

“Everything within the boat, including the composite construction, is all made from fire-retardant materials”, Vittoria added. “We think many of these new rules are over-zealous.”

The practicalities are that if a fire takes hold in the galley, for instance, the heat will not even penetrate to the other side of the bulkheads for an hour at least, and should have been put out long before by the yacht’s pressurized fine-spray sprinkler system. Another safety feature: There are no naked flames for the chef to flambé anything. The giant cooktop on which he prepares meals for 12 guests and 13 crew operates on energy induction, so the elements remain cool to the touch and only transfer heat to special magnetic pans.

This design has really pushed the industry to new levels of sophistication in her rig. Mirabella ‘s reacher sets a record as the world’s largest sail-20,450 square feet (the equivalent of almost three tennis courts). Existing sailcloth, including the famed Cuben Fiber, proved too fragile, so Doyle Sailmakers worked with Warwick Mills to develop a special Vectran cloth specifically to meet the challenge. The furling system controlling this sail tips the scales at 3.3 tons, but this is dwarfed by the main headstay furler, which weighs a hefty 5.4 tons. Sheet sizes were another limiting factor to be overcome. No ropes on the market could cope with the loadings on the sails, so Gleistein Ropes developed a buoyant 12-strand 34-millimeter rope to provide a 110-ton safety margin. “That left us having to re-design all the winches and deck blocks to cope with the potential loading, Holland said.

Among the most innovative aspects of this megayacht is her mainsail. Weighing 1.4 tons, it was too heavy to be lifted onto the boat in one piece, so Doyle designed a clever seven-section segmented sail, in which six compression-sprung full-length battens act like curtain rods to link one loop-edged segment with the next. Because of its weight, final assembly had to take place when the sail was bent onto the rig, but should one panel require repair, this can be taken off the yacht with relative ease, leaving the rest of the sail in place.

And the cost of these sails? “Well, I’ve already told my skipper that delivery trips will be made under power. It will be cheaper to replace Mirabella ‘s two engines than to think of buying new sails”, Vittoria jokes.

This project began to form in Vittoria’s mind five years ago, but he says that his wife, Luciana, who manages the family’s charter fleet and strongly influenced Mirabella ‘s interior design and styling, vetoed everything he came up with. In the end, Vittoria called Ron Holland, whom he’d first met in 1974 when he bought one of the designer’s race boats. “He came around to our house with four drawings and asked the family to vote on them”, Vittoria said. “My three sons and I voted for the most racy-looking design. My wife and daughter chose the final design with the dark blue line along the coachroof…. I’ve got used to it now.”

The design began as a 60-meter yacht, and simply grew as the project developed. Holland and Vittoria chose VT Shipbuilding (formerly Vosper Thornycroft), because it specializes in very large composite structures. “They build 65-meter minesweepers here so they had the expertise in composite engineering, and they think big”, Vittoria explained.

Ron Holland’s Vision

Prior to Mirabella ‘s launch, we had the opportunity to sit down with her designer, Ron Holland, for a little technical talk, and came away with a deeper understanding of just how groundbreaking this yacht is, and what a design and engineering challenge she had been. Holland said the first design discussions took place in 1999, and it seems that was none too early, for there was a great deal of detailed engineering to do before construction ever started.

Very little on Mirabella is off the shelf, from the top of her mast, whose height prevents her passage through the Panama Canal, to the tips of her twin rudders, designed as a pair to get enough surface area for steering without excessive draft. The main boom is 90 feet long and big enough to allow the sail to drop into it for storage, dimensions which qualify it for superyacht status on its own. The intermediate booms-what Holland calls “mega-battens”-are bigger than many masts.

In order to carry the anticipated 40-ton loads, the running sheets had to be designed for 110 tons breaking strength and still be pliable enough for self-stowing. Once that hurdle was overcome, then the custom winches could be designed, and only then, finally, the deck layout.

Mirabella is the first composite yacht to achieve MCA 500-ton certification, and is the largest composite structure ever to be classed by Det Norske Veritas. Because her parameters exceeded all the published rules, design calculations had to be done from scratch, entirely by “proof of concept,” and approvals gained by negotiation with the regulators.

Finally, there were the many little things not ordinarily in a yacht designer’s brief. As an example, custom watchmaker Arnold & Son is handmaking Mirabella watches, one model for the charterer and a different one for his guests. The design, of course, required input from Holland and his approval of the finished product.

-Dudley Dawson

Initial sailing trials saw Mirabella sailing upwind at 8 knots in 14 knots of apparent wind. “It took a bit of time to get her up to speed, but once in the groove, she sails very easily”, Vittoria reported. Holland predicts that she will reach 20 knots broad reaching in a good breeze, but Mrs. Vittoria, who has a dislike for sailing at any sort of angle, has insisted on a safety system that pays out the sheets automatically whenever the yacht exceeds 20 degrees of heel.

What do you get for $250,000 a week? Apart from the six-star accommodations and a crew who among them speak five languages, the yacht has two swimming pools sunk into the foredeck, one filled with sea water, the other doubling as a freshwater Jacuzzi. Then there is the giant open-air movie theatre on the main deck and an entertainment and barbecue area aft. The stern garage houses a 29-foot Hinckley launch, personal watercraft and diving equipment, but the pièce de résistance is a ride in the three-man crow’s nest that whisks you at elevator speed, 200 feet up the mast.

The toughest task during this three-year project was,”convincing the wife”, Joe Vittoria said emphatically.

How Big is Mirabella V ?

Compared to a J-Class yacht, above, the scale of Mirabella V is obvious. Just consider the size of the mast. At 290-feet, and taller with antennas and instruments, she can not fit under the Golden Gate Bridge, which stands 220 feet above the water. A Hudson River cruise is off limits since she will not make it under the Verrazano Narrows bridge either.

The mast is more than half the size of the 555-foot Washington Monument, one of the tallest masonry structures in the world, and would reach to about the 24th floor of the Empire State Building. It supports nearly 40,000 square feet of sail, or nearly an acre. That’s canvas, not grass. From the keel tip to the top of the mast, she measures 328 feet.

Mirabella ‘s mast isn’t the only item that will drop jaws. Consider that the keel alone weighs nearly as much as 100 SUVS! And the hull has so much volume that you could drop in several double-decker buses. That’s big.

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Transportation History

Finding the unexpected in the everyday.

2003: The Launch of the World’s Largest Single-Masted Yacht

November 27, 2003

The yacht Mirabella V was launched at the VT shipbuilding company’s shipyard at Woolston in the city of Southampton in southeastern England. With a length of more than 245 feet (74.7 meters) and a height of 290 feet (88.5 meters), Mirabella V is the largest single-masted yacht (sloop) ever built.

The designer of Mirabella V was Ronald John Holland, a naval architect who has specialized in the design of large sailing yachts. Mirabella V was built by VT specifically for Joseph Vittoria, who served as chairman and CEO of the Avis car rental company from 1987 to 1997 and helped facilitate that company’s acquisition by Hospitality Franchise Systems, Inc. Vittoria had Mirabella V created as part of his fleet of charter yachts, and he named her after previous vessels that he owned. Vittoria had developed a love for sailing while growing up in Long Island and working as a “launch boy” at a yacht club in the village of Sea Cliff on the western region of that island.

Hundreds of people lined up along the banks of River Itchen to watch the launch of Mirabella V. After Vittoria’s wife Luciana christened Mirabella V with a bottle of champagne, a hydraulic ram helped push the yacht down the wooden slipways and into the water.

“The event was historic in more ways than one,” reported Yachting World magazine. “Not only is Mirabella V the largest sloop in the world but it is the last vessel ever to be launched at VT’s Woolston yard, which has been sold and will shortly be demolished.” Phil Rood, VT’s press officer, told Yachting World that more than 600 ships had been launched at that location during the company’s 100-year existence. Rood also noted, “It seems fitting that the last vessel to go down the ways is the biggest of her type. It’s an historic moment.” Mirabella V remained a part of Vittoria’s fleet until 2013, when she was acquired by a new owner and renamed M5.

For more information on M5 (formerly Mirabella V), please check out   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabella_V

Additional information on this yacht’s 2003 launch is available at https://www.yachtingworld.com/mirabella-v/historic-launch-of-worlds-largest-sloop-mirabella-v-38969

Photo Credit: ArnoWinter (Creative Commons)

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Casa de Campo Living

Resort community news and resources.

Spotted at the Marina Casa de Campo: The world’s largest single-masted yacht, the “Mirabella V”

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This post is also available in: Spanish

This year the Marina Casa de Campo has played host to some very impressive mega yachts; the 190ft RONIN , as well as the  394ft ‘A’, owned by Andrei Melnichenko and now the “Mirabella V”, the world’s largest single-masted yacht is currently in residence. 

The magnificent “Mirabella V” is a sloop-rigged super yacht, which was completed and launched in 2003 for Joseph Vittoria, former chairman and CEO of AVIS rental car company, at a cost of more than US$50 million dollars. At 247ft long, the “Mirabella V” is, we believe, the longest or even the largest yacht to have been docked in the Marina Casa de Campo this year and probably ever – when the 394ft “A” paid the Marina Casa de Campo a visit, it was so large it had to be docked outside in front of the Casa de Campo Villas of the Bahia Chavón area.

Mirabella V in the Marina Casa de Campo

The “Mirabella V” was sold in June of this year 2011 to an undisclosed private owner, and is, according to wikipedia.com no longer available for charter, which means that the current owner is very likely to be currently vacationing in Casa de Campo. Although we do not know for sure how long the “Mirabella V” will be staying in Casa de Campo, we have heard rumors that the owner is staying in Casa de Campo for New Years Eve, so she will be docked here until at least the beginning of the New Year – and we hope even longer! [Update: Having just flown over the Marina Casa de Campo in helicopter with Helitours, we noticed that the Mirabella V was no longer there – maybe she just went out for a sail or maybe she left – sorry we don’t know!]

At 290ft, the “Mirabella V” is twice as tall as Nelson’s Column (in Trafalga Square, London) – so tall in fact that her mast is visible from almost any spot within the Marina Casa de Campo and is clearly visible from the central Plaza Portfino area. If you’d like to take a look at the “Mirabella V” and we recommend you do (even if you’re not interested in boats, you will still be impressed), she is docked at the end of the Paseo del Mar near to the Victory Club – in the same dock as we spotted t he RONIN back in June 2011. 

A few more interesting facts about the Mirabella V: • Before she was sold, Joseph Vittoria chartered the Mirabella V for USD$250,000 a week • The Mirabella V was built as part of a fleet of mega yachts, all named “Mirabella” and owned by Joseph Vittoria • With a master suite and 6 cabins, the Mirabella V can comfortably host up to 12 guests • The Mirabella V boasts impressive accessories such as jet skis, ski boats and kayaks • On the Mirabella V’s deck, near to the bow are 2 swimming pools • The Mirabella V is large enough to park several double-decker buses inside the hull

• bymnews.com/new/mirabellav/index.html  – a great article with photos of inside the yacht

• wikipedia.com

•   yachtingworld.com/mirabella

• mirabellayachts.com

Other Mega Yachts spotted in the Marina Casa de Campo are:

• The RONIN , the Ronin is 191.9 feet long, has an outdoor basket ball court, 2 tender boats, 2 jet skis, a garage for a Hummer, outdoor dining area with a hot tub, sleeping space for 10, crew of 13 and a full lounge set. Click here for photos!

• The Francine , a 151 foot yacht – which was here just a few weeks ago and on which we enjoyed a few parties! Click on the links below, for photos and partying aboard the Francine: Brokers Cocktail aboard ‘The Francine’ Parties in Casa: Birthday aboard ‘The Francine’

• The ‘A’ , a 394ft Mega Yacht, owned by Andrei Melnichenko was spotted in the waters outside of Casa de Campo in January of this year. Click here for photos!

• The Octopus,  a 431ft Mega Yacht owned by Paul Allen, who was allegedly here in Casa de Campo with fellow billionaire Bill Gates in July 2009. Click here to find out more!

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Yacht 'Mirabella V' video.

Here is a video of sailing yacht 'Mirabella V' by the Travel Channel from 2007.

Mirabella V  was the largest sloop in the world at the time of her launch and one of the largest sailing yachts in the world .  If you are interested in chartering this magnificent yacht, that is still one of the most beautiful and outstanding vessels around,  please contact us here .

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M5 Yacht Layout & GA Plans

75m  /  246'1 | vosper thornycroft | 2004 / 2020.

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Mirabella V, take two

• January 17, 2005

More details of why Mirabella V ran aground in the south of France last year have emerged as she prepares to leave her builder VT for the second time

Mirabella V, the world’s largest single masted sailing yacht is due to leave her builders VT in Portsmouth on Monday after extensive repairs to her 150-ton lift keel and modifications to her engine starting mechanism following her grounding in the south of France last September. It is now clear that while the 247ft yacht was anchored on a lee shore near Cap Ferrat waiting for members of the family of owner Joe Vittoria to join her, the engine starting mechanism had been isolated so that the motors could only be started from the engine room. According to build project manager Paul Johnson, who has been overseeing repairs, the delay this caused when Mirabella started dragging her 600kg Bruce anchor “would not have saved her” because “everything happened so quickly”. He wanted to point out that engine starting could normally be undertaken at the bridge, at the wing steering stations and at other locations but for safety reasons when the crew were aboard alone, starting was sometimes restricted to controls in the engine room. While Mirabella was in Portsmouth an emergency start system was fitted in the bridge area so that anyone can operate the engines if the yacht is in danger. Paul Johnson also confirmed that there was no question of Mirabella’s skipper ‘Johnno’ Johnston being pressurised to remain on the lee shore prior to the accident. “A party of family members was due to be picked up the following day and this is an area where this happens,” he said, but stressed that no one had forced the skipper to remain anchored there. “It’s one of those things,” said Paul Johnson who said: “Noone has been sacked and noone is going to be sacked.” He said that he understood that the yacht was anchored in an area where the holding is relatively poor because of weed. When the yacht arrived the wind was light and blowing offshore but the following day it came in from the east and strengthened. “This is a huge boat with huge windage,” and he described how Mirabella could ‘sail’ around her anchor which probably caused it to drag. When Mirabella was dry docked in Portsmouth her 90 ton bulb had to be cut away and a1000-ton crane was used to lift the fin from its casing. The fin had smashed a hole through an upper, non-structural section of the steel keel box, the 1in thick Thorden bearing material into which the keel ‘nests’ when it is hydraulically held in place had to be completely replaced and all four locking mechanisms had been destroyed when she grounded. Significantly there was no damage at all to the frp (fibre reinforced plastic) hull structure apart from some superficial gel coat cracking, but one rudder had to be removed and an 18in section at the lower end replaced. Mirabella is heading for Florida where Joe Vittoria has a home and then on to the Caribbean. She will return to the Mediterranean for the summer season where she already has 10 weeks of charter booked at US$250,000 a week.

Mirabella V

M5 is a sloop -rigged super yacht launched in 2003 as Mirabella V . She is the largest single-masted yacht ever built.

• 1 Ownership
• 3 Technical challenges
• 4 Construction
• 5 Particulars of ship
• 6 Accommodation
• 10 See also
• 11.2 Citations

Mirabella V was built as part of a fleet of large sailing yachts used for luxury private charters by Joseph Vittoria , former Chairman and CEO of the Avis car rental company. She was named after Vittoria's previous yachts.

Mirabella V now belongs to Rodney Lewis and has been renamed M5 . It is no longer available for charters.

The owner specifications combined fast sailing with motoryacht amenities. The righting moment of sailing vessels makes them more seakindly than powerboats and M5 has achieved speeds in excess of 19 knots in 8 1/2 ft seas. To achieve the amenity requirements, a single mast was preferred to other rig types in order to maximize interior volumes in keel-stepped sailing yachts; To achieve the performance requirements, the higher aspect ratio of the single mast sail plan was also preferred in order to provide a better speed potential. A final demand was that the yacht be able to use the harbour at Palm Beach, Florida . This required the use of a lifting keel to reduce draft .

Mirabella V was designed by yacht designer Ron Holland . Load and structural calculations of the hull and rig were carried out by Hamble -based firm High Modulus Europe Ltd, (now part of Gurit ).

Technical challenges

While vessels of M5 ' s size are typically made from steel or aluminium, an aramid foam core/vinylester sandwich build was chosen to achieve a shorter delivery date, reduced maintenance (regular repainting to inhibit corrosion is not required) and better acoustic thermal insulation.

Historically, large yachts were built with more than one mast in order to divide the sail area for easier handling. Today's technologies in spars, rigging, sailmaking, powered winches and electronics enable rigs with larger sail areas, higher aspect ratios, larger loads and simpler handling, allowing Mirabella V to be constructed with the tallest mast and largest jib of any sailing craft ever built at the time. One of the procurement challenges was finding sheets strong enough to trim the sails.

Construction

Mirabella V was constructed at the former BVT Surface Fleet yard (formerly VT Shipbuilding formerly Vosper Thornycroft) at its Woolston Yard, Southampton, Hampshire. Luciana Vittoria specified to naval architect Ron Holland her wishes for interior decoration. After changing hands and being rechristened M5 , she was handed over for refit to the Pendennis Shipyard in March 2013. She was relaunched in September 2013 with an extended stern and reverse transom, a lighter ballast arrangement and carbon fibre standing rigging.

Particulars of ship

• LOA : 77.60 m (254.6 ft) (2013)
• LWL (full load): 61.00 m (200.13 ft)
• Beam : 14.82 m (48.6 ft)
• Displacement (half load): 765 tonnes (753 long tons; 843 short tons)
• Ballast: 100 tonnes (98 long tons; 110 short tons) (2013)
• Draught (keel up) 3.80 m (12.5 ft) (2013)
• Draught (keel down): 10.20 m (33.5 ft) (2013)
• Air draught: 88.50 m (290.4 ft) (cannot pass under any bridge that she can navigate to)
• Sail area (mainsail+working jib): 2,385 m 2 (25,670 sq ft)
• Sail area (mainsail+reacher): 3,380 m 2 (36,400 sq ft)
• her 1,833 m 2 (19,730 sq ft) UPS genoa is the World's largest sail, excluding spinnakers.

Accommodation

The boat has a master suite on the main deck and six cabins for as many as 12 guests. The boat's lazarette stores a 29-foot (8.8 m) tender, Lasers , jet skis , ski boats , kayaks and three remote-controlled models of Mirabella V . The foredeck has two recesses that serve as swimming pools and as storage for two launches.

Mirabella V was launched on 27 November 2003 and her mast was stepped at the Southampton Empress Dock on 30 December 2003. Her first sea trial took place off Portsmouth on 14 April 2004.

Under Vittoria's ownership, Mirabella V was chartered for up to $420,000 per week and about 12 weeks per year, with a balanced operating budget if chartered for 14 weeks per year.

After dragging anchor and running aground in Beaulieu-sur-Mer on 16 September 2004, Mirabella V was towed into La Ciotat for a survey and subsequently returned to Vosper Thornycroft in Portsmouth for repairs.

• List of large sailing yachts
• Comparison of large sloops
• Individual sailing vessels
• Ships built in Southampton
• Ships built in Portsmouth
• 2000s sailing yachts
• Sailboat type designs by Ron Holland
• Sailing yachts built in the United Kingdom

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• Tel: +66 (0) 808-290-122
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S/Y Mirabella V

Mirabella V is the jewel in the crown of a fleet of superyachts that began with Mirabella I, which began construction in 1990 in Thailand. Mirabella I, III and V were owned by Joseph Vittoria, who was the former CEO and Chairman of Avis Car rental.

Joseph Vittoria required his yachts to be fast when sailing together with the luxury of superyacht amenities. Mirabella V surpassed all expectations of the yachting world and at 75 metres LOA and with an 89.5 metre high mast is the largest single mast sailboat in the world. (Mirabella V has recorded impressive speeds over 19 knots under sail). Joseph Vittoria also specified that this superyacht would be able to use Palm Beach, Florida harbour. In order to achieve this, a lifting keel was designed to reduce the draft to 3.81 metres when lifted from 10.21 metres when fully deployed.

Mirabella V was designed by Ron Holland, the famous New Zealand superyacht designer who first became known for his successful racing yacht designs in the 1970s. Joseph Vittoria’s wife, Luciana assisted in the interior décor specification and design. Whilst in the early design stages, load and structural finite stress analysis scenarios were simulated using high-tech specialist computer software of the proposed hull and rig. This very important work was completed by High Modulus Europe Ltd in Hamble near Southampton, United Kingdom. (High Modulus are now a part of Gurit).

Usually, superyachts of this size are built from steel or aluminium. Mirabella V, however, is constructed from an aramid foam core and vinylester. This material was chosen in order to reduce build time and maintenance and has improved acoustic thermal insulation properties when compared to steel and aluminium hulls and superstructures.

Mirabella V was built at the BVT Surface Fleet Yard, which was previously known as Vosper Thornycroft Shipbuilding Yard in Woolston, Southampton. She was launched on 27th November 2003 and later re-named M5 and re-launched in September 2013 following a refit and extended stern and transom modifications by the new owner.

Scott Taylor and his Superyacht Painters team repaired the keel blade of Mirabella V following a collision in 2005. This was a specialist ceramic fairing job carried out at the BVT Surface Fleet Yard. They also repainted the hull and deckhouse using Awlgrip paint and renewed the anti-fouling using Hempel underwater system. Also in 2005 Scott Taylor and his skilled painters completed interior paintwork and varnishing in Genoa, Italy.

Read Project Manager Paul Johnson’s Mirabella V testimonial here .

Read the VT Shipbuilding Project Manager Peter Holloway’s (Sub-contractors) testimonial here .

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