ECO (AKA Katana / Enigma / Zeus)
Blohm + Voss

ECO was delivered by Blohm + Voss in 1991. The yacht has also been named as Katana, Enigma and now Zeus.

The original brief was for a yacht between 55 and 65 metres. The final overall length the client settled on was 74.50 metres and a narrow beam of only 11.20 metres. 30 years after she was designed Eco is still the fastest large yacht in the world, capable of 36 knots with a fuel consumption of 5,500 litres per hour.

Martin Francis was given the responsibility not just as designer but for the entire project management and budget. The curved glass panes are the hallmark feature on Eco, inspired by Parisian bus windows in the 1970s where they were employed to minimise internal reflection.

Eco (now Zeus) was designed with a long foredeck, as well as a generous aft deck, designed for the original owner client to stow his seaplane. Larry Ellison, the subsequent owner, converted it to a basketball court.

Francis invited Francois Zuretti to collaborate on the design the original interior, it was his first yacht project. Owing to the narrow beam, the interior spaces are cosier than yachts of similar length today. The original client felt so much at home on ECO, that he choose to spent his last months on the yacht and passed away on board.

Martin Francis was commissioned to remodel the yacht by each successive Owner since.

Images ©Guillaume Plisson