Miller Special Yachts

Along with easy handling, the Shibumi 60 gives an unprecedented level of access and usability to people with disabilities and difficulties to move around. Many people as they reach their fifties and sixties, move over to powerboats because sailboats tend to be too work some and strenuous for them. It all starts with the easy handling, but it goes further than that.

She has a wide companionway and ample access through the pilothouse.

The pilothouse is enclosed, protecting the crew from hypothermia, heat stroke, being washed overboard, or constantly soaked in seawater. At the same time, it can be opened both at the main door that opens to the cockpit, and also the cover, which opens upwards. That gives the Captain the option of opening up that environment when the temperature is fine and the breeze is welcome, or closing it to protect from the sun, or to protect from the elements when the weather is uncomfortable.

Two steering positions, one enclosed at the pilothouse, and the traditional, on the cockpit. At times it is preferrable to steer from the cockpit so the design offers both options. The enclosed pilothouse provides comprehensive navigation, pilotage, and monitoring systems and keeps the sailor in heated, air-conditioned, dry comfort.

The ramp, made in composites and aluminum, gives wide and convenient access from the dock to the deck. It swivels sideways, features a folding handrail, and is stowed away inside a compartment near deck level on the port side. It also floats so it may even be extended right to the water.

The staterooms will both have flat screen TVs, around 19” for the visitors and 27” for the main stateroom. The Salon must have another 19” TV. The main stateroom features a surround sound system. The stateroom also features on board safes so the guests can store their valuables safely.

The ceiling height in the salon is 6’6”.

Integrated doghouse and bimini from the pilothouse to the cockpit. Shower at the arc on the stern.

All major house amenities, like clothes washer and dryer, dishwasher, trash compactor, microwave.

The Storage spaces under the floors are all of the same length and widths, or multiples of same size factor in order to take transparent plastic storage boxes in standard sizes. That makes possible to swap boxes from any storage area to another and they fit just the same. Those boxes can be stacked up for easy carry on carry off. The boxes can be left out in contiguous storage spaces to create longer or larger storage volumes, they must fit perfectly in regular carts and cargo dollies.

All boxes are numbered; all storage spaces are identified by simple, intuitive identifications. These boxes must not be custom made, but of a standard model that can be found at department stores like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, etc.

The floorboards use hardware to lock them in place so the stores underneath will not come out when the boat heels or moves violently in any direction. All floorboards are also made in sizes that are multiples of the same size factors, so they are interchangeable.

The berths amidships on the starboard side can be converted in luggage/storage area.

Storage for spare parts such as thermostats, motors, pumps, circuit breakers, fuses, relays, filters, seals, bearings, light bulbs, zincs, electric outlets, electric switches, cables, etc.

Created with the needs of explorers in mind, the transom area can be set up as a swimming platform, garage, crew quarters, storage area, or additional internal space.

One of the most original and innovative parts of this design, the transom, was designed to accommodate several different configurations and purposes. It may have a waterproof cover (boot) to allow carrying sensitive cargo, like motorcycles or scooters; or it may be left open to load the dinghy or a small jet sky. It can also be the area to install heavy diving equipment, or research equipment, or pretty much anything else the owner may want, as long as its contents stay within certain weight limits, estimated to be around 800 lbs.

When the choice is to use it as a cargo area, there is enough space for an electric or hydraulic davit to help load and unload cargo.

The floor boards of the pilothouse are removable, and the top cover as well, giving straight access from above to the equipment room and the back side of most of the heavier equipment installed on board, like refrigerators, motors, hot water tank, dishwasher, etc. This set up permits to load and unload any heavy equipment in a straight line, facilitating maintenance.

Life rails made in stainless steel 3/4” tubes, each rail 60” long and 30” tall. Each piece is held in place by a pair of clevis pins. This system allows removing any segment of the life rails when more access to the deck is needed, has no moving parts, no adjusts, does not sag and does not require any maintenance.

Everything that is not self evident is identified in waterproof labels: Hoses, wires, switches, locks, valves, equipment. Among the spare parts the supplies and equipment to produce new labels as necessary.

Any enclosed space that contains working equipment, specially the equipment room, has a little inspection window and light switch to allow quick visual inspection without the need to open the door. That is especially useful during a fire because opening the door would add oxygen to it.

No outside teak.

• The cockpit can be converted into a Jacuzzi.
• The pilothouse features a small closet for wet gear and clothes where they are dried and warmed.
• Near the access doors the pilothouse features a bar, small sink, and a grill with exhaust.
• The table in the center of the cockpit is removable and can be stowed away in the garage.
• There is a bar separating the galley from the salon, featuring a beer keg.

The use of the latest composites allows great selection of materials for the interior finish, like granite on the heads (bathrooms), beautiful wood varnishing across the interior, leather cushioning, all at the same time lighter and more resistant than if real wood were to be used in the interior construction. Composites have great impact strength, vibration and sound attenuation, thermal insulation, are fire resistance, and are much lighter than wood. They also don’t rot and are not affected by water and the common parasites and biological matter than degrades wood in the marine environment.

The hull will be painted using the most sophisticated process available today which will give it a shiny and perfect appearance, typical of luxury yachts. The color also selected to give the hull, decks and structures a super yacht like finish.

With 35 tons of displacement, just 5' draft with a folding keel, 10 knots cruising speed, the Shibumi 60 design is among the best performance ocean cruisers, while at the same time versatile and able to sail in shallow waters, channels and rivers. Without diesel engines and regenerating it’s own energy, the range is unlimited.

Twin rudders, retractibe props, and a unique retractible keel.

The pilothouse is be fitted with the latest electronics, a complete integrated navigation system. Two screens will supply most of the navigation information like radar, weather, and chart plotter. The system also receives live local weather via satellite, and be integrated with sonar, GPS, outside cameras, and autopilot. A forward-looking sonar allows scanning the waters ahead for collision avoidance. All functions and images can also be displayed in any of the flat screen TVs onboard and can be remotely controlled from any place inside. At the console to the right of the captain there are instruments not directly related to navigation, but still important to be available at the helm, like battery bank status and level of fuel and water tanks. On the console to the left of the captain there are the communication devices necessary at the helm, like VHF, SSB, Amateur Radio, satellite phone, cell phone.

At the saloon, there is a console with the second panel for each communication device, entertainment system, satellite TV receptor, and printing center. This console also contains the main computer, which runs some navigation and assistance software, hold the multimedia storage, and provide many other services like shared Internet access, trip log, statistics, inventory, etc.

An intercom system allows the captain to call someone at each stateroom or the saloon or all places simultaneously.

She provides adequate level of redundancy, with systems that can be operated manually in case of an electrical failure, spare components to replace vital ones if damaged, and the ability to navigate to a safe port even in a case of catastrophic failure of all navigational equipment, all amenities, and all the auxiliary propulsion and electric systems.

There must be manual pumps for the bilge both inside and at the cockpit, manual water maker, and foot pump for the galley in case the pressurized water system fails or energy for it is not available. The keel may be raised or lowered manually. The garage booth may be operated manually as well.

Just as an escalator cannot fail: It just becomes stairs; a sailboat with electric propulsion also does not fail: it just keeps sailing. Sailing boats have been navigating the seas, without auxiliary power, for centuries. Over time there has evolved a body of knowledge about weather patterns, seasons, and routes. Sailors sail where the wind is regular. One will avoid the doldrums and choose a route that is likely to have sufficient wind to get them to the destination even if it involves a circuitous route. Likewise the knowledgeable sailor will avoid latitudes where there is too much wind for safety and comfort.

The hatches have sliding and locking stainless steel bars for safety, easy to open from the inside to allow an emergency exit, but difficult to open from the outside. Two cameras fixed on the mast give a full outside view of the deck through the integrated navigation and entertainment system. Companionway made of the same composite material as the structure around it, with strong hinges and lock. An electronic alarm system detects trespassers as soon as they attempt to breach any entry point. All salon and pilothouse windows are made in polycarbonate acrylic (bullet proof glass) to resist the impact of waves and also as a security factor.

The design includes furlers and rollers to make the sail handling as automatic and work free as possible. The cutter rig is quite popular, especially for long-distance cruisers. It has one mast but carries two headsails, each on their own stay. This reduces the size of each sail and makes them easier to handle.

This cruiser was designed with a fractional rig, in which the forestay does not run to the masthead but attaches some way down the mast. A fractional rig is often used on performance-oriented cruisers or cruiser-racers, because it allows for the mast to be bent under sail to help flatten the mainsail in stronger winds, The headsails are also smaller and the mainsail larger on a fractional rig compared to a traditional masthead rig, making it easier for a small crew to handle.

• On modern oceangoing yachts, the backstay is also commonly used as an antenna for Marine SSB radios and/or an amateur radio. This is accomplished by placing structural insulators at either end of the backstay.
• A constantly updated, waterproof manual available at the pilot house, listing all the systems and features of the vessel, safety procedures, rules on board, and emergency contact information.
• Red ambient lights at the pilothouse to allow better night vision.
• Self-leveling radar base.