Yacht Nefertiti is a sail-and-motor cruising yacht, built of reinforced cement in the early 1970s. It is based on the grounds of the Central Yacht Club of Nizhny Novgorod.

Background

The idea of building vessels from reinforced cement (ferrocement) belongs to the inventor of ferrocement, the Italian engineer Pier Luigi Nervi. The first sailing vessels made of this material on the territory of the USSR were built in Kyiv in the early 1960s, at the Kyiv Yacht Club. At present, on the territory of Russia the yacht "Nefertiti" is the only remaining example of a sailing vessel with this type of hull construction.

Practical Use

Thanks to the hull's resistance to various kinds of deformation, the "Nefertiti" is used as a training and auxiliary vessel.

Its large capacity (up to 16 people) allows it to go on autonomous voyages for extended periods. The yacht's main cruising area is the Gorky Reservoir, on the stretch from Yaroslavl to Nizhny Novgorod (380 km by the pilot charts) and from Nizhny Novgorod to Kazan (420 km). During the voyage the trainees manage to master the basic skills of handling the yacht and study the local navigational conditions. The voyage plans include visits to museums and historical and memorial sites along the Volga region, and the study of the flora and fauna of the river floodplain.

Thanks to its compromise hull design and environmentally friendly propulsion, the "Nefertiti" can reach the most hard-to-access places of the floodplain with minimal damage to the environment.

Some Voyages

  • In 1997, despite a severe shallowing of the canals, the yacht sailed from the city of Nizhny Novgorod to the Northern Dvina waterway system (the town of Kirillov, Vologda Region). The crew took an active part in preparing the celebration of the 600th anniversary of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. The total length of the route was about 1,500 km.
  • In 2003, the yacht traveled with a research group to Tolyatti and carried out a study of the processes of wind-and-wave erosion along the banks of the middle course of the Volga. In Ulyanovsk Region it discovered a vein of a medicinal "blue" clay deposit, identical in composition to the clay from the mud volcanoes of the Taman Peninsula.

Plans for 2011

Starting in 2011, the yacht's crew is joining the project Sails Over Russia, run by its longtime friend and the yacht's skipper, Mikhail Khramov.

The yacht takes part in the voyage to the 28th Valery Grushin Bard Song Festival.

Terms of participation, route descriptions, and available places are posted on the yacht's main website in the "Expeditions" section.

Technical Specifications

Ferrocement yawl, 11.5 x 3.5 m; draft 1.1/2.0 m; 10 berths.

  • displacement of the yacht: 11 tons,
  • length from transom to bowsprit: 12.5 m,
  • beam at midship: 3.6 m,
  • mast height: 9 m,
  • sail rig of the "genoa" type with an area of 65 m2,
  • The yacht's hull is of the compromise type with a minimum draft of 1.1 m and a maximum of 2.1 m.
  • Maximum speed under sail: 15 km/h.
  • Maximum speed under diesel: 10 km/h.

Contacts

  • First Mate Mikhail Dyunin. Phone: 8-920-047-0052 E-mail: nefer1@mail.ru

Interesting Facts

  • The design of the "Nefertiti"'s centerboard allows landings on shore without a pier.
  • At present, it is the only surviving sailing vessel in the Volga basin with a hull built of reinforced cement.

See Also