Keeping cool with Tilses superyacht glass

Tilse has completed more than 300 superyacht projects over the past three decades, with the vast majority being one-off or custom builds. During this time, the glass pioneer has led the way in the adaptation of boundary-pushing techniques, allowing its glass to become essential in some of the most iconic superyacht designs and projects to date.

The fundamental keys to the German company’s success lie in its innovative practices and technology, one of which is its ability to decrease heat transmission in order to efficiently benefit the yacht’s economy.

“Due to the high quality of the materials used for our glass, we can reduce the thickness of the panels whilst still adhering to all security requirements necessary on board,” says managing director Henning von der Thüsen. “This essentially leads to a dramatic loss in weight, which in turn leads to less fuel consumption. It also reduces the need for air conditioning significantly, again requiring less fuel and energy needing to be spent. It is a practice of efficiency.”

The company offers not only this economic utilisation but also resistance. TILSE’s FORMGLAS SPEZIAL consists of two or more chemically toughened panels of glass held together with 1.5mm of UV and seawater-resistant resin. The glass also offers UV absorption for interiors and clothes up to 340nm without any yellowing, with continuous heat resistance from –40°C to 110°C.

For yachts heading to the coldest parts of the globe, TILSE has designed MICROCLEAR, a heated glass using FORMGLAS SPEZIAL with a heating foil. This is the solution to prevent icing or steaming up the bridge.

Due to the high quality of the materials used for our glass, we can reduce the thickness of the panels whilst still adhering to all security requirements necessary on board,” 

Notably, the firm recently worked on Abeking & Rasmussen’s largest yacht ever launched, 118-metre Liva^o. The brief for a project of this magnitude is never simple, with the owner and their team voicing incredibly high expectations in the window's quality and design. This presented some challenges, but they were fulfilled by the glass experts.

A striking exterior design is imperative to any superyacht build, so the prominence of a project like Liva^o called for exceptional innovations from the TILSE team. “With the owner choosing a black hull with high reflection properties, this effect had to be matched with the glass,” says von der Thüsen.

With the curved wide-body windows reaching a massive 5 by 2 metres, the glossy surface partnered with the glass reflects the waves perfectly without distortions. “This is what makes the yacht a real eye-catcher,” he adds.

For von der Thüsen, one of the core strengths of TILSE is that it has the strongest quality criteria in the superyacht glass market. “To ensure this, each window is rigorously checked individually during a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT). All windows on Livao were appreciated by the owners, with their team and glass experts expressing favourable comments on how having TILSE YACHT GLAZING as a full turnkey partner had exceeded their high expectations.”

27.09.2023, Superyacht glass