Yachts: Alia SAN

It seems ridiculous to call SAN a small superyacht, but at 147 feet (45 meters) and 380 gross tons, she is not considered large. She is, however, perfectly formed—with design and engineering that marry elegance with practicality for her first-time owner.

Designed inside and out by Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design in the Netherlands, with naval architecture by Lateral Naval Architects in the U.K., SAN’s coupé-style exterior lines were the starting point. The client wanted—no, insisted—that the profile be as low in the water as possible, but from on board, the yacht had to feel like a superyacht, not a speedboat. He was inspired by Alia’s 87-foot (26.54-meter) 0110, a sporty dayboat launched in 2023, and wanted similar aesthetics on a yacht almost twice the size.

To create the impression of a lower superstructure, the bulwarks are intentionally high. The raised pilothouse configuration means the profile could be lowered further. Even the wheelhouse, which looks and feels more like the cockpit of an airplane, has been pared down to occupy the least possible volume.

“The owner would have preferred to have had no wheelhouse at all,” says Paul Costerus, Sinot’s senior yacht designer. “The main challenge on a yacht of this size and volume is that every square inch had to be optimized, so when developing the layout, we had to push the boundaries everywhere while taking care that you could still move around the boat comfortably.”

To maintain adequate standing room in the pilothouse while keeping a sleek silhouette, a central portion of the ceiling in the main salon was lowered. This decision was then cleverly balanced by creating a cozy, Japanese-style recess directly below for the main seating area. Despite these adjustments, the salon has a ceiling height of well over 7 feet (2.3 meters).

“Every inch counted,” says Davide Siggia, senior interior designer at Sinot. “It’s much easier to have everything on the same level, but once you start going up and down, you need to make sure it doesn’t feel cramped. We made a thorough ergonomic study to determine the ideal distance between the aft doors into the salon and the lowered part of the ceiling in order to maintain the headroom, and I remember puzzling how to make the nightstands as wide as possible in the master suite.”

Stepping into the main-deck salon reveals an airy, open space surrounded by sole-to-ceiling glazing with panoramic views of the sea. Cutouts in the bulwarks keep the ocean in sight, even when guests are seated. I found the purity and precision of the interior design quite beautiful.

“The main deck is basically one large living space wrapped in glass with no bulkheads,” says Gökhan Çelik, president of Alia. “Combining that with all the guest cabins and crew services on the lower deck required some intricate design and construction skills. But that’s what we do as full-custom yacht builders.”

The interior design is simple, yet sophisticated, harmonizing with the exterior styling. Using just 15 premium materials, from teak and stained oak to eucalyptus and off-white fabrics, the yard crafted a minimalist aesthetic with an understated, yet welcoming atmosphere. Subtle details—intricate butterfly joints in the woodwork,
saddle-stitched leather and polished stainless-steel accents—enhance the graceful ambience. The fitted furniture is crafted by Alia Interiors Atelier with freestanding pieces supplied by designer brands, including a custom-built dining table that Sinot designed.

The same simple, but refined materials continue in the guest staterooms on the lower deck, accessible via a spiral staircase abaft the bar in the main salon. The master stateroom is forward, beyond a walk-in closet and bathroom. Again, to make the most efficient use of space, a full-length mirror slides out of the bulkhead at the entrance to the sleeping area. A similar solution is found in the bathrooms, where the mirrors slide aside to expose the hull windows for more natural light.

Taking advantage of the bow shape, the bed is flanked on each side by cushioned bench seating and windows of compound-curved glass. Practical, yet chic features—polished stainless steel fiddles for shelving, and removable tubes in the closets for stowing shoes—add to the feeling of bespoke luxury.

“A key point was maintaining strong communication with the client,” Siggia says. “He had a very clear vision, and the design resulted from extensive discussions with him about layouts, functionality and, above all, style.”

There are four guest staterooms, each in different shades. One has twin berths that combine into a double. The bathrooms are finished in golden beige luget limestone, selected by the owner and quarried in France. The flush buttons for the toilets are clad in the same wafer-thin stone, while the push buttons for the closets are lined with leather.

At the end of the guest accommodations corridor, a service door leads to the crew quarters, which include three cabins (one with a shared head) and a captain’s cabin, for a total of seven crew members. The Sinot team also carved out a crew area with a galley, dinette and laundry facilities. There is direct access to the engine room, which houses four 700-horsepower Volvo Penta engines coupled to IPS drives for a top speed of 23 knots and a cruising speed of 18 knots, according to the builder.

For guests, the main deck aft has shaded sofas and terraced steps leading to sunpads. Folding bulwarks expand the beach club at the stern. The exterior deck furniture is easily adapted for alfresco dining, cocktail gatherings or lounging. The teak table is high-low for coffee or dining, while the foredeck has a table that can be lowered and covered with cushions for lounging in addition to the sunpad. Beneath the foredeck is a tender garage with a dedicated crane.

“Every project has its challenges, and in this case, it was fitting all the features and demands of the owner into a compact superyacht that looks like a dayboat on the water,” Costerus says. “In some ways, we were working in reverse: We started with a certain look and then had to create a functional yacht around it.” 

ALIA SAN

LOA 147ft. 8in. (45m)
Beam 29ft. 2in. (8.89m)
Draft 7ft. 8in. (2.33m)
Construction aluminum
Engines 4x 700-hp Volvo Penta D13-IPS
Speed (max./cruise) 23/18 knots
Range 1,400 nm @18 knots
Gross tonnage 380
Naval Architecture Lateral Naval Architects
Exterior design Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design
Interior design Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design
Builder Alia Yachts

Spring 2025