Hakvoort Deliver Apostrophe

The Hakvoort shipyard in Holland have just delivered the 40m (131ft) Apostrophe. She was fully custom built with the owner working closely with Hakvoort and Reymond Langton Design who were responsible for her smooth exterior lines and her art deco interior. She will now embark on her maiden voyage to Norway where her owner will cruise the fjords for the summer months before heading back down to the Med to take her place at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.

Apostrophe is the owners first megayacht built by Hakvoort but he is an experienced megayacht owner. At the keel laying ceremony three years ago he had described the project as his "baby" and said he was going to push himself to the limit make this one of the best megayachts on the water today.

"He was certainly true to his word," explains project manager Alexander Speksnijder. "Every suggestion made by the interior and exterior designer was accepted regardless of cost, and there have been no compromises in any area of the boat. Looking back at the early renderings of the exterior colour scheme and the glass art aspects of the interior, it is extraordinary how Apostrophe has turned out to be everything the owner intended."

Her smooth exterior lines and large curved windows in the owner's area on the main deck and similar in the sky lounge above make you look twice at her thinking she has to be larger than 40m, surely. She has a magnificent open stairwell and custom designed chandelier that awaits guests as they enter through her main entrance. She will be able to accommodate 10 guests in 5 cabins which include the owner's master suite forward on the main deck and 4 guest cabins on the lower deck.

Hakvoort Launch Their Newest Megayacht "Apostrophe"

The Hakvoort shipyard in the Netherlands launched Apostrophe at the weekend on Saturday the 13th, the newest addition to their ever growing fleet of megayachts. She measures 40m (131ft) in length and was fully custom built with the owner working closely with Hakvoort and Reymond Langton Design who were responsible for her smooth exterior lines and her art deco interior.

A Russian Orthodox priest blessed Apostrophe in a ceremony which took place on Saturday at the Hakvoort yard and was attended by the owner, his guests and the Hakvoort staff responsible for her construction. This is the owners first megayacht built by Hakvoort but he is an experienced megayacht owner. At the keel laying ceremony three years ago he had described the project as his "baby" and said he was going to push himself to the limit make this one of the best megayachts on the water today.

"He was certainly true to his word," explains project manager Alexander Speksnijder. "Every suggestion made by the interior and exterior designer was accepted regardless of cost, and there have been no compromises in any area of the boat. Looking back at the early renderings of the exterior colour scheme and the glass art aspects of the interior, it is extraordinary how Apostrophe has turned out to be everything the owner intended."

During the launch ceremony, both the yard and the owner spoke openly about how the project had required everyone to pull together in a tough economic climate. "When we first signed the contract for Apostrophe five years ago we were living in a very different world," said Klaas Hakvoort, co-director of the family run shipyard. "Soon afterwards the recession began to bite and the usually cooperative banks refused to finance the construction. The owner’s business was also facing challenges and, together with the brokers Moran Yacht and Ship, whose contribution has been way beyond the norm, we came up with a unique solution. The fact that Apostrophe has already so successfully battled her first storm makes us all the more proud that she is one of the finest yachts ever launched by Hakvoort."

Her smooth exterior lines and large curved windows in the owner's area on the main deck and similar in the sky lounge above make you look twice at her thinking she has to be larger than 40m, surely. She has a magnificent open stairwell and custom designed chandelier that awaits guests as they enter through her main entrance.  

She will be able to accommodate 10 guests in 5 cabins which include the owner's master suite forward on the main deck and 4 guest cabins on the lower deck. She will now go through vigorous sea trials and testing, after which she will be delivered to her owner in mid June.

  

The Mighty Zeus

The Dutch shipyard Hakvoort have just completed the signing of a contract to build their largest megayacht to date. Project "Zeus" will measure 63.33m (208ft) in length and has bold strong exterior lines that are ready to dominate the worlds oceans. Diana Yacht Design is responsible for the naval architecture and the interior will come from the design rooms of Sinot Yacht Design. The sale was arranged in close cooperation with Moran Yacht & Ship.

She is the second major new order for Hakvoort within the space of a few months and justifies the significant investments the yard has made in recent years to expand its facilities. Zeus will require a further extension of the yard, cementing Hakvoort's position in the market for the building of megayachts up to 65m (213ft) in length.

The owner of Zeus has a longstanding relationship with designer Rene van der Velden and asked him to draw a modern classic with a difference. "He was very keen that the yacht should not be a repeat of anything else that is currently afloat but something genuinely fresh and bold," explains Van der Velden. "The owner admires a type of styling called streamlining, which was especially popular in the 1930s and 40s. A streamliner is a vehicle or vessel given a specific shape that reduces air resistance: Examples include the famous ferry Kalakala and the record-breaking car Bluebird. This is the first time streamlining has been so clearly integrated into the design of a superyacht." 

A crucial part of the layout brief was the location of the tenders. "The owner has a lot of experience and knows how difficult large tenders can be to launch," Van der Velden continues. "Seeking a very practical solution we chose to place two nine-metre tenders on the main deck. As this eats into a lot of prime real estate, we have skipped the traditional saloon, dedicating the main deck to the owner's quarters, galley and captain's cabin. This has freed space on the deck above for pure socialising."

Her upper deck includes a spacious saloon forward and sky lounge aft that has sliding doors that open up to create a giant inside out area. The bridge deck includes the wheelhouse and a large area for the gym, that can also be opened up for the ultimate in al fresco fitness. She also features a beach club with lots of storage and a sauna. Twin Caterpillar 3512Cs will give her a top speed of 15kts and a cruising speed of 12.5kts.

Hakvoort Sign New 61m Megayacht

The family run Dutch shipyard Hakvoort have just put pen to paper and signed their largest contract to date, a 61m (200ft) fully displacement yacht. Its a step in the right direction for the yard to make the most of their recently upgraded facility to accommodate builds up to 63m (207ft), they are certainly make good use of their expanded yard. The contract was sold in close cooperation with Moran Yacht & Ship.

'We saw gap in the premium market for boats between 30 and 65m, and decided to fill it', Hakvoort explains. 'Some people expressed surprise when we started investing in new facilities in the current economic climate but we have always been confident about the future of this yard based on our track record and the satisfaction of our clients'.

She will feature the prefect balance of indoor and outdoor spaces, with one of the most striking features, the positioning of the four guest suites and VIP stateroom that will be located on the main deck. Having the guest accommodation on this deck will give guests magnificent uninterrupted views out over the water. The main deck will also feature a large dinning room and lounge, with the owners accommodation housed on the above private deck that will include the master stateroom forward with his and her bathrooms, a master study and a bar with sky lounge.

The lower deck will accommodate the crew and also feature a massage room, Hammam and a steam room shower, all for the guests to enjoy. The spacious sun deck features a huge swimming pool for a yacht of this size that measures 8m in length.

Her interior and exterior styling will come from the drawing boards of Sinot Yacht Design and her naval architecture, construction and engineering design will be by Diana Yacht Design.

Specifications:

• Length: 61m (200ft)
• Beam: 11m (36ft)
• Draft: 3.37m (11ft)
• Max Speed: 15.5kts
• Cruising Speed: 13kts
• Guests: 12
• Crew: 15
  

Hakvoort's 55m World Cruiser

The Dutch shipyard Hakvoort have joined with Moran Yacht & Ship for their new 55m (180ft) project. Together they have designed a semi custom 55m Superyacht with a fast displacement hull to reach speeds of up to 30kts. She will be available in different layout configurations for the owner to customise to his/her desire. One of her more interesting features is the touch and go helipad located forward on the sundeck, as seen in the below image. This helipad is suitable for a maximum helicopter weight of 2000 gross tonnes.

She will be able to accommodate 12 guests in 6 cabins, which include a full beam owners suite which is forward on the main deck and has an en suite bathroom with his and her heads. Adjacent to the owners suite is a private office/saloon. The other 5 cabins are located on the lower deck and include a spacious VIP cabin and 4 double cabins. The double cabins can be changed to twin cabins depending on the set up the owner chooses during the build.

She will feature an adjustable MTU engine package providing various top speeds. The clever design shows a very efficient fuel consumption 15% lower than other displacement hull designs found in market today. For top speeds of over 17kts the hull needs to be built out of aluminum. The top speeds that she can reach with an aluminum hull and depending on the engine package are 21kts, 24kts and 27kts.

The New Hakvoort In Build YN247 'Apostrophe'

Apostrophe, build name YN247 is the new 39.7m (130.25ft) that is currently in build by renowned Dutch shipyard Hakvoort. She will be able to accommodate 10 guest including the owner in 4 en suite double guest cabins on the lower deck and a full beam owners stateroom forward on the main deck which also includes a private study. The tender will be stored in a custom aft garage behind the engine room. A fold out swimming platform will be intergrated into the stern so guests can take a quick dip on those hot days.

The naval architecture, construction and engineering design for Apostrophe will be by Diana Yacht Design, who have been asked to optimise technical accessibility and keep the maintenance requirements to a minimum. Reymond Langton will be responsible for both the interior and exterior styling. The interior styling can be seen in the below images of the main saloon and the owners stateroom. They have got the balance between the dark woods and soft colors spot on creating a modern homely interior.

She has a scheduled launching date for December 2012.

SuRi Refit at Bay ship & Yacht Co.

The well known expedition yacht SuRi 173ft will be under going a major refit in which she will be extended to 208ft in length due to the mid body hull and superstructure insert of 36ft. The task of this refit has been taken by Bay Ship & Yacht Co. who are going to be collaborating with naval architects Kirilloff & Associates and with Herringbone Design for the interior side of the refit.

The enhancements that SuRi will gain out of her refit will include a 24ft extension of the sun deck which will allow the guests enjoy more space and a new alfresco dining area. There will be a new guest lounge just off the main lounge which will have floor to ceiling glass panels that can be opened to bring the outside in. She will gain two full beam guest cabins on the mezzanine deck, also the other cabins will be expanded and changed.

Due to the increase in length the storage hanger on the main deck will gain a extra space to store even more toys for water activities. On the lower hold deck she will have a new gym/yoga room, a meeting room that can be converted in to a childern's play room if needed, a media room with state of the art music and tv systems. The most extraordinary new feature will be her two large viewing windows in the hold deck which will bring the guests closer to the ocean floor and the lights will attract the sea life for guests to see.

SuRi is the support vessel for JeMaSa the 164ft Hakvoort and it will be her second refit 5 years. her first refit was in 2007 where she grew from 166ft to 173ft.