Misha Merzliakov: Yacht Designer

Yacht Designers such as Misha Merzliakov are charged with transforming client dreams into reality.

Let’s clear something up straight away: there’s no clear pathway to becoming a yacht designer — let alone a superyacht designer. Sure, you need technical design skills and knowledge of naval architecture, but you also need passion, a real love for boats, an appreciation of design history, and perhaps most of all, a very stubborn nature.

Because as Misha Merzliakov found out, people will try to discourage you from chasing the dream of shaping the next generation of superyachts. 

When Misha announced his desire to help create high-end superyachts for well-heeled international clients, the universal response was, "No one has done that here before!"

The naysayers were correct in that Australia offered few opportunities. Spurred on, Misha promptly headed to Southampton, UK, where he joined Tony Castro Yacht Design. Here, the young designer’s attention to detail and focus on aesthetics was nurtured rather than ridiculed, and Misha knew he had made the right decision to follow his passion. 

That leap of faith continues to pay off today as he runs Misha Merzliakov Yacht Design out of Brisbane and is now involved in the recent Australian superyacht boom, working closely with Echo Marine Group (Western Australia) and Evolution Marine (Gold Coast).

We spoke to Misha recently about the road to his current position. 

TAB: What first drew you to the industry? Did you grow up around boats, or was it more the design side that drew you in? 

MM: My first passion for boats came from my older brother Vlad’s love for sailing boats. He made me a scale model sailing yacht out of leftover toys — quite clever and frugal as he was only a teenager himself at the time. The keel was a butchered model F18 plane wing, and the sails were made out of mum’s curtains! We would sail them in the pool at home in Sydney summers in the late ‘80s. 

Then later on, the next significant influence, I suppose, was my teenage years spent around friends with 50ft motoryachts, which really put a career bookmark into my head. 

I went on to study at the Australian Maritime College in Launceston and the rest is history. 

TAB: What do you enjoy most about your current role?

MM: I like the creativity that yacht design allows me to have. I really like seeing something that was in my head come to fruition. 

It’s a cliché, but I’ve often remarked when seeing the completed vessel, “That’s exactly how I envisaged it.” 

I also really like the first stage of design. I start with a 2B pencil and drafting mylar, usually after my family goes to bed. Headphones on. Rock and roll. I’m in heaven.

TAB: What led you to move from designing superyachts overseas toward smaller vessels here in Australia? Or are you still managing to juggle both?

MM: I haven’t necessarily moved to designing solely in [the recreational boating sector] — it’s just the one that gets a lot of publicity in Australia. We still work primarily on the bigger stuff.

But how I got into smaller boats is a chance story. I like walking the boat shows at night when the crowd is gone — I’ve done it my whole career. I just love boats and I can look at them all night. 

I met Bruce Scott (Whitehaven managing director) by accident, walking the dock on such an occasion whilst promoting a superyacht with another builder at a boat show. From the first meeting on the dock we just got on well with each other. 

From a design point of view, what attracted me to Whitehaven is that clients can customise their motoryachts — length, beam, arrangements, equipment, materials, colour and finish — it’s all up for grabs. That’s unheard of in that sector. 

Those kind of client suits us as we are essentially a custom design office. The owners of Whitehaven also own Integrity so there was an organic spillover to that sector. 

TAB: What have you enjoyed most about moving between designs such as Whitehaven's Harbour Classic and the more modern styling of large superyachts? 

MM: The design research! I researched design over the past century and unexpectedly unlocked a passion for that period of design. History saw so much evolution both in aesthetics and technology, with so many style icons and design disrupters alike. 

The result of the Harbour Classic 40 saw a mid-century period captured and modernised in both interior and exterior design. The Harbour Classic also taught me how much people still like that style of boat — both young and old — in particular, how much they like talking about it, too. Many marina conversations have taken place about her.

I see a place for both modernism and the classic in the marine industry. After all, everyone likes something different.

TAB: Did your work change during the COVID crisis or has it changed how you are collaborating? 

MM: Yes and no is the short answer. It has changed in the sense that my international travel to existing projects has been hampered. For new business, visiting new international clients has also been hampered — those clients can’t fly to me either, mind you, and they have their own jets sometimes!

While inconvenient and a worldwide problem, some clients luckily are empathetic. Others have paused jobs until the dust settles and others have cancelled altogether and just bought a secondhand vessel. It’s been a mixed bag. 

In general terms, we are used to working remotely from our projects, so from that point of view, we just take it in our stride, and it’s been the status quo. 

52M EVA CONCEPT

The catamaran pictured hereabouts is the submission Misha put forward for the Young Designer of the Year awards in 2011. Only five finalists were selected from among the world’s best up-and-coming yacht designers. 

Eva was designed to be of aluminium construction, which translates into a low draft and fuel-efficient yacht. The main living areas and owners’ cabin have a stern-facing aspect with the focal point being the elevated pool area. 

The design utilises an innovative bow door for vehicle and tender storage. Inside an Audi Q7 is stowed and can be driven off via the bow ramp onto a dock or pier. “I wanted to push the boundaries of catamaran design both in arrangement and exterior,” Misha said.

The lower deck area houses two ‘beach clubs’, a wakeboarding boat, three jet skis, scuba facilities and sunning areas, while the main deck hosts the saloon plus indoor and outdoor dining. There is also a sunken playpen/dance floor, a cinema and pool area, plus internal and external sun lounges. 

Apart from the bridge itself, the bridge deck space is dedicated to the owners who enjoy 100sqm of cabin space and a generous 67sqm2of private deck space. They will also make up to 180-degree views from the master cabin.

WHITEHAVEN HARBOUR CLASSIC 40

It didn’t take long for the design world (and the boat-buying public) to start paying attention once Misha began collaborating with Australia’s own Whitehaven Motor Yachts.

First on the water was Elementa in 2019 — a Whitehaven 6100 Coupe featuring a superyacht-inspired interior design package.

This standout cruiser was promptly shortlisted into a slew of international awards recognising design excellence, including the 2019 International Yacht & Aviation Awards, the Asia Boating Awards and the Corian Design Awards.

But perhaps Misha’s most striking collaboration with Whitehaven became apparent when Tonic hit the water — also in 2019, and just in time for boat show season.

The peacock blue Harbour Classic 40 wowed SCIBS crowds all week long with its timeless swept-back cabin and graceful silhouette evoking iconic Maine lobster boats — but there was also a modern Whitehaven twist.

This contemporary day boat was absolutely modern beneath the skin and, below deck, the story gained more interest. Here a blend of materials is grandly displayed, from the textured rear lounge with its Bentley-style straps to Italian linen on the master bed, to the distressed leather dash, and limed-walnut cabinetry.

What Misha had brought to the table with the Harbour Classic was superyacht-thinking within reach of the recreational market and the result was something truly unique.

INTEGRITY MOTOR YACHTS SX RANGE

Since being adopted into the Whitehaven family of boats, Integrity is another local brand that has benefitted from Misha’s unique take on yacht design.

These semi-displacement cruisers already boast a devoted following, but the new Integrity SX range includes a host of sleek styling modifications designed by Misha that aim to bring the brand to the attention of a new generation of boating families.

The SX range faithfully maintains the key Integrity DNA of spacious entertainment areas, undercover cockpit, and side walkways, but these new-look vessels also manage to blend the traditional Integrity trawler style (and shaft-drive reliability) with strong automotive cues, sophisticated geometry and a variety of fresh materials.

Already in build are a 340SX (which includes a two cabin layout), 380SX and a 460SX. Also on the drawing board is a 530SX which has a raised pilothouse and offers three cabins (including a full-beam master).

“It’s a deliberate and successful fusion of the classic lines Integrity is renowned for and contemporary stylistic elements that will be attractive to young families,” Misha said.

ECHO YACHTS 31M CATAMARAN CONCEPT

While not many of us were able to attend last year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FIBS), if you had been wandering the stands in October, you might have come across a new collaboration from Australia’s own Echo Yachts.

The WA-based custom superyacht builder has been working closely with Misha Merzliakov Yacht Design to produce a striking 31m catamaran superyacht and the fully-customisable SP30 concept was officially launched at FIBS last year.

On the outside, the SP30 displays automotive styling cues and a reverse bow to maximise waterline length.

Wide decks offered by the catamaran platform allow for a range of toys at the stern, including a pair of jet skis and a 6.4m tender, with room to spare.

On the centreline, a hydraulic swimplatform provides easy launch and retrieval of the tenders, plus safe guest access to the water for swimming, diving and other watersports.

The layout of this cat focusses on above-deck areas for living and entertaining, with four large guest cabins below-deck, including a large master cabin forward.

The wide 13.3m beam is normally found on yachts around the 60m mark, so the SP30’s generous proportions offer extensive interior and exterior flexibility.

Add to this the proven benefits of a catamaran hull (natural stability, shallow draft, excellent efficiency and the redundancy of twin-engines) and it sounds very much like Echo Yachts and Misha have delivered a winning combination.