THE WORLD’S SMALLEST SUPERYACHT: MIDI ILUMEN M35

There are many different types of leisure boats: dayboats, center consoles, cabin cruisers, powerboats, wake boats, RIBS pontoons, skiffs, and as different as they all are, they have one thing in common, they all look like… well, boats.

While superyacht designers have been going wild creating the likes of Nobiskrug’s Artifact, Feadship’s Venus, and the Rodriquez Ocean series, the humble boat has changed very little in the style department, until now.

MIDI SIZE

We’re here in Porto Novi, Montenegro with the new Dominator Midi Ilumen M35, a 10-metre boat which when I originally received the launch press release, I mistook for a 28 metre Dominator Ilumen 28M. What I thought was the Ilumen’s pilothouse was in fact the Midi’s windscreen and this is precisely the effect Dominator’s Managing Partner Angela Pernsteiner wanted: it’s a 34-footer that looks like a superyacht.

MIDI DESIGN

Styling-wise, the Midi is virtually identical to its 28-metre big sister, as the Dominator Yachts design team paid great attention to imitating the 28M’s distinctive elements. The distinctive full length hull ‘glazing’ is there, along with the A-pillars, the distinctive Dominator rollbar and even the opening moon roof. The visual result is a dayboat that turns heads at sea and in the marina and from a distance, the effect is genuinely impressive – the Midi really tricks the mind into thinking it’s twice a big as it really is.

FACTORY CUSTOM

Another advantage to recreating a smaller version of a larger yacht is that Dominator has been able to use the same materials on the Midi as the 28M. The smaller yacht is fully customisable when it comes to the interior and the Midi’s specifications read like a superyacht’s. Dark and light grey oak together with the finest Nubuck are used throughout with the floor featuring an ash grey parquet. The M35’s bulkheads and ceilings are covered in neutral-toned Alcantara with dark grey leather details featuring Hibiscus-coloured stitching. Other onboard materials include two different types of oak (one having a matte finish and the other a gloss), stainless steel, and even Astana Grey marble – the quality finishes really do make it feel like a mini superyacht.

ENGINEERING

Naval HEAD’s Andrea Agrusta took care of the Midi’s engineering, using the same approach he used in the technical design of the big Ilumens. Carbon fiber, sandwich, and vacuum infusion technology are used extensively in the Midi’s construction and thanks to significant use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software, associated with mathematical algorithms, the Dominator’s planing hull demonstrates excellent seakeeping abilities, handling capabilities, and can cruise at high speeds Built the same: The M35 features many of the luxuries of its Ilumen 28M big sister, but fitted into a convenient 34 feet. in any weather conditions.

Depending on the powertrain options, the Midi can reach a max speed of 48 knots, while maintaining a high level of comfort for those on board and at a relaxed rate of knots, range for this superyacht-inspired boat is approximately 300 nautical miles.

CONCLUSION

The Dominator Midi Ilumen M35 sets a design president going forward. It looks like its larger Ilumen sibling and as it uses the same materials in its construction, the Midi has the same luxurious qualities too. It’s one of the few 10-metre boats on the water that has genuine ocean presence.