Plenty of yachts claim to be quiet and clean. The GX42 is built to prove it. The first yacht from GX Superyachts, a new Slovenian marque, Merinos is a 42-metre aluminium flagship whose diesel-electric hybrid can hold a full day and night at anchor, air conditioning included, without starting a generator. She was launched at the SES Yachts yard in Tuzla, Turkey, ahead of her Monaco debut.
A full day at anchor on battery
The point of the GX42 is the silence. Her diesel-electric drivetrain is paired with a 940 kWh lithium battery bank and rooftop solar, and GX Superyachts states she can run every system aboard, cooling included, for up to 48 hours at anchor on battery alone in summer. The yard also claims a reduction of up to 45 per cent in onboard electricity use, and quiet electric cruising at up to six knots. For owners used to a generator humming through the night, that is the real change.
Aluminium, and a raised pilot house
Merinos is built entirely in lightweight aluminium, with a beam of 8.5 metres and a volume of around 353 gross tonnes. The Raised Pilot House layout lifts the wheelhouse and frees up the main deck for living space. Naval architecture is by NAMES by Francesco Rogantin, and the hull is engineered for economy rather than speed, with a top end of roughly 16 to 17 knots and a cruise nearer 12 to 14. That is the trade the GX42 asks owners to accept: less pace, far more time running clean.
A Marco Casali interior
Marco Casali Too Design handled both the exterior and the interior. Inside, warm walnut panelling meets white leather and lacquer, with Italian fabrics adding texture and a palette of natural tones that follows the yacht’s low-impact brief. Accommodation runs to five cabins for up to ten guests, with the owner’s suite set forward on the main deck, and quarters for a crew of up to seven.
Beach club and a social top deck
At the stern, a beach club with fold-down side wings opens the yacht to the water. The upper deck is given over to entertaining, with sofas, dining and a large Jacuzzi. It is a conventional superyacht brief wrapped around an unconventional engine room.
The start of a range
Merinos is the first hull for GX Superyachts and the opening model in a planned 24 to 56-metre range. After her Monaco premiere she is set to spend her first season in the western Mediterranean. For buyers who want genuinely lower-emission time at anchor without committing to a fully electric yacht, the GX42 is one of the more credible answers to reach the water this year.
