Let’s make it easy on ourselves and cut the cake into quarters.
1st quarter
The first quarter of 2023 was all about our tank arrangement. Fresh water, Ballast, Grey Water, and Fuel. It sounds like a lot for a boat of 8,5m. It was! We mainly had to figure out our weight distribution and make adjustments where needed. The build’s weight had slightly gone up from original calculations, so we looked in the direction of fiberglass tanks. However, we want to be CE compliant, so we had to go for steel tanks. Then connect all the piping, calculate positions, clear the bilge and start installing the first electrical appliances.
2nd quarter
In the second quarter, we hit a very important milestone; marriage of the hull and deck. The time of making changes was over. We could finally start making some big moves. Finishing the intricate bowplate, installing the electrical equipment and appliances. For that last part, we received incredible help from Wire-up, to install a very complex electrical system that was put together with YachtControl.
It marked the first installation of the custom anchor system, our patented skipole system (‘The Rig’), Swimplatform, bimini, boiler, and many more items to check off the list.
We finished this quarter by putting her in her first coat of primer. Another milestone in our eyes, as we had only seen her quite messy up to that point. And now there she was, in her purest of forms. Gorgeous.
3d quarter
The Cannes Yachting Festival was fast approaching. We had two months to gear her up to have a functioning model at the Cannes Yachting Festival. At the Vennekens Shipyard, two very busy months were ahead. Marine Supply did an excellent paint job. Their meticulous work required many layers of filling, sanding, painting, sanding, layering and finally applying the topcoats. During that same time, the screens were supposed to command all the moving parts, the deck had to be layed, and all the loose arts, e.g. hatches, latches, fittings, custom parts had to be installed and the upholstery was to be made. All of that, with having to arrange transportation, preparing stand materials, promotion, … Three days before the start of the show, after 8 weeks of frustration, stress, but mostly progress, she was gorgeously prepared for the Cannes yachting Festival. Hurray!
The cherry on top; in July, our application for a patent on the skipole received approval.
4th quarter
After a busy 3d quarter and two years of non-stop decision making and construction, it was time for a break. It was time for reflection. With a clear view toward the future, we parted ways with Vennekens Jachtwerf and partnered with Debel Yachts in Holland to finish the build of the prototype. Joris Van Aelst and Pieter Debel have been colleagues at De Voogt Naval Architects, where they were working closely together already. It made sense to continue this professional relationship, now both of them had their own business. Pieter Debel will start in January 2024.
You can find more information here.
We thank all of our partners, many more than the ones named in the article above for their hard work. We pulled it off!