Several “ice” going yachts on display at KM Yachtbuilders Open Day

Makkum, 26 February 2018 – KM Yachtbuilders will present some 20-25 yachts, measuring 37 to 88 feet, at its annual Open Day on Saturday 21 April. Five of these will be at different stages of construction, but most of the yachts on display will have been completed and delivered.

Interesting stories

What is so good about the Open Day is that the owners of these yachts are often also present, and they like to talk about their travels and their yacht. It is interesting that most of them prefer voyages to “the ice” to going to, for example, the Caribbean. Spitsbergen, Greenland and Iceland are favourite destinations. Last year there were even three Bestevaer yachts moored in the same Icelandic harbour at the same time.

Jochen Winter, owner of the Bestevaer 55 ‘Morning Haze’ will give a presentation about his voyage from Greenland to Alaska, which led him through the Northwest Passage. His yacht is one of about 25 that completed that journey last year. When he was halfway he met the Bestevaer 56 ‘Tranquilo’ which was following the same route, but in reverse. Beautiful photos and wonderful stories are guaranteed!

A number of ice-going yachts

Eeuwe Kooi, owner of KM Yachtbuilders: “The most striking yacht we can show this year is the polar expedition ship ‘Nanuq’. With a length of 78 feet this is not the longest yacht we have built, but its weight of nearly 85 tonnes (!) certainly makes it the largest. The reason why it’s so heavy is that it has been specially designed - by Dykstra Naval Architects - and built to be able to overwinter in the ice. The extremely thick and strong 25mm aluminium hull has to be capable of resisting force of the ice. At the Open Day we will show this mega project under construction.  The yacht will be delivered to the owner at the beginning of 2019.”

Jildou Huisman, Sales & Marketing: “In addition to the ‘Nanuq’ we have another ship that will mainly sail at high latitudes. The ‘Qilak’ has been designed by the British firm Owen Clarke Design, and will be in operation with paying guests from October this year. She will sail from northern Norway in the first instance, and after that she will also go to the southern hemisphere. But other KMY yachts - including a number of Bestevaer 45 PUREs - also prefer the cold. It's good to see that people know where to find us when they are looking for a shipyard that has the experience needed to build these yachts. The pioneer in this respect is, of course, the designer Gerard Dijkstra, who has been making these kinds of voyages with his own Bestevaer 53 ‘BVII’ for more than 15 years.

Introduction motor yacht

Together with Dykstra Naval Architects and Vripack, KM Yachtbuilders is developing a motor yacht of about 15 metres. The initial drawings and specifications will be presented to interested visitors at the Open Day. The motor yacht will be recognisable as a KMY yacht because of the styling by Dykstra and its excellent sailing properties due the underwater body engineering work by Vripack.

A number of suppliers will be represented at the Open Day, including Harken, Mastervolt, Yanmar, Seldén and Pantaenius, and there will be lifestyle stands and catering facilities. The opening hours are from 12:00 to 16:00 hours.

This year is also the year when KM Yachtbuilders celebrates its 20th anniversary, which will of course be marked during the Open Day.

The following yachts will be present (subject to change). This list will be updated on social media:

Under construction:

- Bestevaer 45 Godewind

- Bestevaer 45 Alias

- Bestevaer 45 Lene

- Explorer yacht 66 Qilak

- Polar Expedition yacht 78 Nanuq

Completed, in the water or on the quay:

- Bestevaer 45 Nescio (for sale)

- Bestevaer 45 Mate

- Bestevaer 49 Zenith

- Bestevaer 49 Zwarte Raaf (for sale)

- Bestevaer 49 Katharos (for sale)

- Bestevaer 53 Best Day Ever

- Bestevaer 53 Aegle

- Bestevaer 55 Albatros

- Stadtship 47 Josephine

- Stadtship 54 Infinity

- Stadtship 56 Merrimac

- Stadtship 56 Oester

- German Frers 88 Tulip

- Koopmans 37 Blikvis

- Berckemeyer 37 Tonger (hull for sale)

- Berckemeyer 41 Magic (for sale)

NOTE FOR THE EDITOR

Attached you will find photos of the mentioned yachts. Don’t hesitate to let us know if you need more material.