PROGRESS TOWARDS OPTIMUM YACHT PERFORMANCE 1

Dutch Industry Report 26-03-2007 15:36 Pagina 1 PROGRESS TOWARDS OPTIMUM YACHT PERFORMANCE 1 Dutch industry momentum, part one Yards building yachts over 80 feet in length have their production halls filled until well into the year 2009. As the industry in the Netherlands is experiencing stable demand, management and technicians at the yards work on innovative production techniques to meet the rising demand of their clients in terms of quality and ever shorter production time. Optimised logistics not only lead to faster and more economic contsruction, the often unspoken ambition of Dutch super yacht builders is to take advantage of the workfloor conversion to make yachts that perform even better to meet highest design objectives. HSB International Monthly will present an overview of capacities, projects and plans of twelve leading Dutch yards in four parts.this month the first three: Royal Huisman Shipyard, Holland Jachtbouw, and Amels. Coming up next months: Jongert,Vitters, Moonen, Heesen, Hakvoort, Feadship (Koninklijke De Vries and Royal Van Lent), Bloemsma & van Breemen, Dutch Yacht Builders and Oceanco. text: Hans Buitelaar Royal Huisman Shipyard Profile Expertise of Royal Huisman is the combination of aluminium hulls with carbonfibre Known as one of the pioneers in aluminum yacht construction, Royal Huisman Shipyard composite masts and superstructures, creating strong yachts of light displacement. The of Vollenhove has accomplished a reputation of delivering yachts of most balanced weight management, advanced hydrodynamics and ingenious utilisation of interior space. The yard has a history that goes back to 1884, when the great grandfather of the present managing director Alice Huisman founded the yard. Initially only small, wooden fishing - and workboats were built that became locally known as Vollenhovense Bol. A considerable number of these vessels, mostly refitted for yachting puposes, still sail the Dutch waters. They are popular boats to sail the Waddenzee with its sandbanks that dry out with the tide. A Vollenhovense Bol can beach on such banks. In 1964, the grandson of the yard s founder, Wolter Huisman, takes blue water yacht building into a new era as he decides to start building in the then latest available material: aluminium. Royal Huisman still builds with the Alustar alloy from the Dutch metal plant Hoogovens. yard distinguished itself by having literally all aspects of yacht building under one roof. Hull construction, interior design and furniture building, design and installation of electronics and carpentry is all done in-house. The yard works closely together with deck hardware manufacturer Rondal, which has its production halls and offices at the same HSB INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY 2007 1

Dutch Industry Report 26-03-2007 15:36 Pagina 2 site as Royal Huisman. As the constructor of Flyer, in which Dutch skipper Conny van Rietschoten won the Whitbread round the world race, Royal Huisman has a worldwide reputation of building ocean racers. Software pioneer Jim Clark has chosen the yard for three successive orders: the legendary yachts Hyperion, Athena and Endeavour II, to be launched in the fall of 2008. Projects After recent deliveries of 32 meter sailing yacht Gliss, 35.80 meter motor yacht Arcadia and the refit of 25.85 meter sailing yacht Foftein, Royal Huisman Shipyard has orders for five sailing yachts of considerable size, with delivery dates from this year up to 2011. First yacht to be delivered is 51.59 meter schooner Meteor. This classic styled aluminium yacht by naval architecture of Gerard Dijkstra in co-operation with John G. Alden Design will have a double owners suite and two twin guest staterooms and take four crew plus the captain and his partner in a double captains cabin. Exterior and interior styling is by John Munford Design. Delivery is set for june 2007. In August 2008, Royal Huisman plans the delivery of Ethereal, a modern styled 58.04 meter performance ketch by naval architecture of Ron Holland Design and exterior and interior styling by Pieter Beeldsnijder Design. This yacht will have a full beam double owners suite aft with spacious bathroom, a large desk and a settee. A VIP guest suite also has a bathroom, settee and desk. Two twin guest cabins, each with bathroom, make make it possible to sail the yacht with a cruising company of eight. A double captains cabin and six crew beds in three cabins make home for an extensive company of personnel. Three dining areas, at the deck house, the main deck and the lower deck, as well as three lounge areas, make the yacht a spacious and comfortable world cruiser. And a fast one, with a hull speed of 17 knots and 1573 square meters of sail area and a very profitable displacement over length ratio. A very exiting project is the construction of Endeavour II, a replica of the legendary J- class sloop by design of the even-so legendary Olin Stephens of Sparkman and Stephens. This 42.09 meter classic sailor, the replica being of naval architecture and exterior design by Gerard Dijkstra and interior styling by Pieter Beeldsnijder Design, will be launched in 2008. The launch of a 57.53 meter flybridge ketch by Dubois Naval Architects and interior and exterior styling by Redman Whitely Dixon is planned in 2010. A name for this yacht has not yet been chosen. 42 meter sailing yacht Gitana by German Frers is to be launched in 2011. Details of the last three yachts are not known as to date. Plans Royal Huisman hopes to be able to serve a new group of coustomers from Russia, as the yard recently announced the opening of their Moskow office, embedded at Nakhimov Yachts. This company will be responsible for detailed consultations for Russian customers on new building projects, preliminary specifications and general arrangement negotiations, payment and building schedules. It is envisioned that the Moscow office will also offer monitoring of the shipbuilding process in Holland, as well as dealing with the interior designers, exclusive materials suppliers and the production department of the yard as a client representative. Nakhimov Yachts operates since 2001 and offers professional services in new builds, brokerage and the chartering of super and mega yachts. 2 HSB INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY 2007

Dutch Industry Report 26-03-2007 15:36 Pagina 3 Profile lifting keel mechanism were accountable for A relative newcomer among the super yacht winning the award. yards, Holland Jachtbouw has proven itself Working procedures at the yard are optimised by the implementation of the man- by delivering award winning and speed record breaking yachts since the company agement, logistics and processing philoso- was founded in 1990. By opening the yard in Zaandam, Holland Jachtbouw chose location in the centre of clustered Dutch yachtbuilding industry. Whereas other yards that build yachts over 80 feet length also offer predesigned hulls, to be customized by client s choice for shorter construction timeslots, Holland Jachtbouw expressively chooses to build full custom yachts. The yard wants to actively involve owners in the project of conceiving a yacht, optimised to their desired specifications and achieved by mutual effort. Holland Jachbouw s 2001 launch Windrose, a 46.32 meter schooner of Gerard Dijkstra naval architecture, broke the 97-year old standing speed record for an atlantic crossing in the Transatlantic Challenge of 2002. The André Hoek designed schooner Skylge, launched in 2005 won the prestigious Highest Technical Achievement in a Sailing Yacht award from ShowBoats International. Skylge s clean deck lay-out and innovative phy World Class Manufacturing. Companies applying this method strive to create transparent processes, minimise waste and implement ideas from the workforce up towards mangement, instead of the usual top-down approach. The preference to involve clients in the projects neatly conform with this philosophy. Holland Yachtbouw Projects Production halls at Holland jachtbouw are full with the major refit of 42 meter motor yacht Life Saga and the preparations for the construction of André Hoek designed 62 meter schooner Awesome Athos. Current production halls are not big enough to house this enormous vessel, so it will be built in a new hall. Construction of the casco hull has started elsewhere, it will arrive when the new hall is finished in September. Design models for Awesome Athos underwent extensive tank testing at the MARIN institute and wind tunnel tests at the Wolfson Unit in Southampton. This led to the choice of an aero and hydrodynamic shape with a deep-v hull, shallow draught keel and integrated centreboard configuration. The 11-metre beam will allow for an enormous amount of interior volume, including a private owners area aft with deckhouse and cockpit. The aluminium structure will feature three boarding platforms, two boarding ladders and a wide passerelle that can connect to the shore as easily as to the water surface. Integrated side platforms will constitute ideal landing possibilities for dinghies, while large deck lockers provide storage for two 29-er sailboats, two optimists, two motor- HSB INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY 2007 3

Dutch Industry Report 26-03-2007 15:36 Pagina 4 bikes, and scuba gear. The sailing systems will include furling booms, carbon spars and captive winches on sheets and halyards, creating an almost entirely pushbutton-operated sailing yacht. One of the largest schooners in the world, she will nonetheless be capable of passing the Bridge of the Americas. Launch is planned for early 2009. The refit of Life Saga has grown into a rebuild. As work proceeded on the ship, more and more items to be overhauled came up. This led to completely stripping the yacht until only a casco was left for refit. Life Saga will therefor be in the yard longer than foreseen, but will leave it as new late 2008. Plans As the construction of a new production hall has already begun, some of the nearest future plans of Holland Jachtbouw are quite clear. With the hall finished, inhouse logistics will dramatically improve. In between two halls, one 44 meters, the larger one stretching 65 meters, will be a three store tools and timber building, providing access to the ships on different levels. Because of this setup, fittings, furniture and accessoiries can be prepared practically on site and be mounted to the yacht directly on the right spot. This saves extensive traffic over the docked yachts deck, saving working time and making the technicians work more pleasurable. The new hall will increase production capacity by 80 per cent. When it is in use, three yachts can be at the yard indoors, with three more at the quays. Holland Jachtbouw hopes to create a yard that is attractive to yachting enthousiast clients, so they will like the time they pass there, participating in the production of their own new yacht 4 HSB INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY 2007

Dutch Industry Report 26-03-2007 15:36 Pagina 5 Tim Heywood. A client that chooses for the quick delivery that is possible with these yachts, will not change the hull. To speed up production time even more, clients can choose for one of the three pre-designed interior lay-out and interior styles by Laura Cessa. The 52 meter Limited Edition Amels 171 has been ordered 7 times since its introduction 2005, the first 64.7 meter Amels 212 construction starts in May this year. Allthough only 20 per cent longer than the 171, the 212 is still about twice as big a ship. Gross tonnage of the 171 is 612, whereas the 212 has a gross tonnage of 1503, with all the interior volume that comes with it. Interior design and lay-out of the 212 is by Andrew Winch. The Limited Editions Concept saves not only production time, but will save money, too. Amels strives to give their clients maximum yacht for money. Amels Profile Located side by side with Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, a yard producing fast ocean patrol vessels and a company of the same Damen Shipyard Group, Amels builds yachts at the docks of Vlissingen, embedded in Dutch maritime history. The yard is known for building the finest motor yachts, usually among the largest of leisure craft of overall lengths from 33 to 75 meters. Two launches of yachts by the name of Tigre d Or, a 49,90 meter in 1997 and a 52 meter in 1999, have made Amels fame. The extensive refit of motor yacht Rio Rita also turned heads. The yard proved its capability of flexible co-operation with the crew and delivered this immense project as to schedule. Clients like to have their yachts as soon as possible, even if they order 200 feet vessels. In order to shorten production time, Amels has come up with the Limited Editions. Two types of motor yachts with pre-designed naval architecture can be built quite fast, as the design process of the hull can be skipped from the process and technicians at the yard know the hull they are building from previous projects. Limited Editions feature a 171- foot long yacht and a 212-footer. Naval architecture is by Amels, exterior styling by Projects Times are busy at Amels, as the yard is working on ten yachts at the same time. Two complete hulls are now indoors at the Vlissingen halls, both yachts from the Limited Editions Amels 171 design. Another yacht just like that is docked at the quay, as it is reaching completion. My Shanti, a 64.5 meter motor yacht of Terence Disdale design is also nearing its launch. This is the second Amels yacht built for the owners, and she is largely a stylistic development of their first yacht, a 50-metre designed by Disdale. She is also the twelfth Amels has built to Disdale s design. HSB INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY 2007 5

Dutch Industry Report 26-03-2007 15:36 Pagina 6 Conceived to be self-sufficient during global cruising, she features extra stowage, an amazingly large sundeck, a hot tub and swim-jet pool, extra-large monitors for adults and children to watch films, and a waterslide for the children She will accommodate the owners, 20 guests, and 18 crew, and is Lloyd s Register classed and MCA compliant. She is set for delivery in 2006. Eight more Limited Editions Amels 171 steel hull motor yachts are ordered, two of them to be delivered 2007, two in 2008, two in 2009 and two in 2010. Two Limited Editions Amels 212 s are to be launched in 2011. Plans To be able to keep up this high rate of production, Amels needs to expand. The yard will employ two extra halls that have gotten available on the shipyard terrain of Damen Shipyard group in Vlissingen. These new halls are being set up with the specific equipment that is needed to build a super yacht at thids moment. The yard has also reached agreement with Schelde Naval Shipbuilding to share the use of the dock hall. Vessels can sail into this hall, that can be pumped dry and has all the necessities for climate control to do paint jobs at the desired level of perfection. With the new dry halls and the dock hall, the total of yachts in the yard at the same time goes up from two to five. More plans that are being brought about, are the construction of a new quay for newly built yachts to receive final treatment and finish, plus an new bridge over the yard terrain. All of these construction activities will be finished within one year, to make Amels able to meet rising demand and have a doubled production capacity. Nog een foto opzoeken!! 6 HSB INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY 2007