VMAG Transforms a 90m Offshore Vessel into a Luxury Yacht

In South Florida there are many companies to choose from when it comes to marine electronics.

However, there are very few who have the technical expertise to design and manufacture a comprehensive electronics system for a vessel that comprises a customized wheelhouse console with integral navigation and communication equipment, a customized vessel control, alarm and monitoring equipment, glass panels using the latest touch-screen technology, and a backbone that integrates the infrastructure so that the entire boat can be controlled from the bridge.

This is exactly what VMAG is in the process of doing on a recent 90m commercial vessel conversion. 

David Leone, President of VMAG commented,

“From start to finish will take about 16 months, which is aggressive for a project of this size. The owners knew exactly what they wanted and had a clear idea of the elements that were important to them and the crew, which made our lives much easier as it left no guess work. All the design and instrumentation is taking place at our offices in Fort Lauderdale. Most of the manufacturing is taking place in Europe by Radio Zeeland, based on our strict design guidelines, and is being closely supervised by our team of specialist engineers”. 

The project includes some very unique features throughout. Starting with the console, the nucleus of the vessel, this was manufactured by Radio Zeeland, designed and installed by VMAG. The wheelhouse console, made out of extruded aluminum, is designed with the most streamlined ergonomics in mind, to provide a solid base structure for mounting the control and display panels, with built-in integration of navigation and communication equipment.

Before the refit

The console is carefully color coded to match the interior panels, so that it blends in well with the rest of the wheelhouse interior. Practicality and flexibility were also considered within the design features, and VMAG created customized integrated drawers and hatches to store equipment and weather charts. To reduce the installation time, the entire console is being produced at the factory. Each panel is carefully aligned in advance, tested and fitted at the factory, and then will be shipped for installation.

Once the main console is fitted, focus was then placed on the aesthetics and interaction of the control panels. The latest in LED lighting provides perfect visualization, awareness and control feedback, as they light up as soon as the command is triggered. The level of lighting will be controlled with dimmers, to modify the level of brightness, depending on the time of day or night.

Before the refit

Another unique feature of the vessel is the installation of a glass control bridge. The glass control panel, which is basically printed glass that covers the electronics, create a very modern and futuristic design to the wheelhouse. The 'glass touch-screen switch' provide reliable and safe switching, and is integrated to a number of external components, such as the radar, tracking, infrared security cameras, fuel usage and much more. All displays are optically bonded behind the glass, to enhance viewing angles and display readability. 

When it comes to monitoring and control, nothing was left to chance. VMAG created a customized monitoring and control system on board, that monitors high water in the bilge, low voltage, loss of power, temperature in the food freezers, all seven engines and generators, smoke and intrusion. Within each area of monitoring are sophisticated sensors that feed the data back to the main collection points.

This entire system was configured using VMAG’s Vessel Monitoring Alarm and Control System customized software and hardware. All intelligence is gathered into a junction box and continuously broadcasts information, with a second system that mirrors the data for backup purposes. 

VMAG Customized Console

All cabling and routing was carefully selected to maximize efficiency and performance, usage of space and ease of maintenance. VMAG chose a network of Cat 6e, Multimode Fiber as well as data and communications cabling. The actual cables were chosen for greatest signal integrity and data transmission performance, as well as class approved for Low Smoke Halogen Free.