Dennis and Dean Hennevanger have caused quite a stir with their Se 37 Lounge. Not only because the enterprising Dutchmen have built a new flagship with an eleven-metre hull length, but also because they have polarised people conceptually with a completely new cockpit concept with steering wheels on the cabin bulkhead and a lounge integrated into the aft deck (test in YACHT 10/2018). Now the Dutch company is following suit and, with the Saffier Se 27 Leisure, appears to be focussing more on its actual core business - beautiful and fast daysailers for an exclusive clientele.
The new ship from IJmuiden adapts the look of its larger sister, but remains almost three metres shorter, forcing the Dutch to revert to a more conventional cockpit layout. All sheets and halyards are led back inside the very flat cabin superstructure and in extension through the cockpit coaming to two side-mounted winches. This puts all functions within the helmsman's immediate reach, making it easy and safe to manoeuvre even in single-handed mode. Customers can choose whether they want the Se 27 Leisure with wheel or tiller steering.
As always with Saffier, the Hennevanger brothers designed the boat themselves. They have their designs checked again by the neighbouring specialists at Satellite Yacht Design and run the data through their computers. As the first drawings and renderings promise, the ship will be quite wide at the stern, but the lines will taper in towards the waterline. In this way, the Dutch want to reduce the wetted surface, but at the same time ensure maximum dimensional stability even with little heel. The slim L-shaped keel profile with lead bulb is available in three draught variants: 1.40 metres (standard), 1.05 metres and 1.60 metres. The ballast proportions are naturally adjusted accordingly.
Saffier customers now also have even more choice when it comes to rigging and sails. As an alternative to the standard self-tacking jib, a short genoa with 106 per cent overlap can be ordered, with line-adjustable haul points on the running deck. Either a gennaker or a code zero can be set on the bowsprit, which is already permanently attached at the shipyard. Buyers also have to decide whether they want to equip the boat with a Torqeedo electric pod motor with 4.0 kilowatts of power (this is standard) or with a small built-in diesel from Yanmar (2YM15). The Saffier Se 27 Leisure can be transformed from a daysailer into a weekender with a simple, but at first glance quite cosy interior, and that too straight from the shipyard. The interior offers four berths as well as space for a chemical toilet or a small pantry block with gas cooker.
The first price announcement from shipyard boss Dennis Hennevanger also comes as a big surprise: the Se 27 Leisure will cost 94,000 euros, including 19 per cent VAT, sails (main and jib) and an electric built-in motor. In terms of price, the Dutch company is therefore well behind similarly designed competitors. A current comparison: The A27 from Austria (test in YACHT 18/19) costs around 117,000 euros, the Code # from Black Pepper in France (YACHT 14/17) 130,000 euros and the Domani S30 from Belgium 103,000 euros (YACHT 3/18). Incidentally, these offers do not include the sails.
Hennevangers are currently working on the first Se 27 Leisure boat. The hull and deck are being manufactured at Saffier Yachts in IJmuiden on the Dutch North Sea using the vacuum infusion process. The world premiere is currently planned for January at the boot trade fair in Düsseldorf. However, time is pressing until then. "It's going to be damn tight," says Dennis Hennevanger, leaving a big question mark over Düsseldorf.
The Se 37 Lounge in a strong wind test on YACHT-TV
Unusual concept: Daysailer Saffier SE 37 Lounge
