Major Refit Completed For The 74m 'ILONA' By Amels

The 74m (243ft) ILONA returned to her birth place at the Amels yard in Holland last August where she under went a successful 8 month refit, which included the addition of a helipad and a pool with movable floor. These were the changes the owner wanted to make to the yacht especially the large helipad so that he could accommodate his Agusta 109 Grand New helicopter, check out the below video for the first landing of the helicopter during her sea trials.

An interesting feature is the swimming pool with movable floor that enables the pool to be replaced by an additional deck space depending on the needs of the owner and guests. The pool can be filled with up to 40,000 liters of sea water, which is then purified through a filtration system. The water can be heated up to 6 degrees higher than the original sea temperature in just one hour. To make way for the swimming pool the below deck helicopter hanger was removed, now he can keep his helicopter up top on the helipad.

Due to the work load and the short period to complete the refit, the yard constructed the deck extensions prior to the yachts arrival at the yard, a great idea to complete the project in time. Justin Redman of Redman Whiteley Dixon commented 'Adding the additional superstructure to accommodate the helipad would have affected the lines of the yacht, so we extended the owners deck and the bridge deck by 2 meters in order to bring the aesthetic appearance back into balance. We also used metallic gray paint to reduce the visual impact of the helideck, and the overall result is that the yacht, despite all the changes, looks every bit as streamlined and well proportioned as before'

Specifications

• Length: 74m
• Beam: 12.1m
• Gross Tonnage: 1836
• Owner & Guests: 14
• Crew: 18
• Speed: 17kts