The challenge begins in a garden in Düsseldorf, where Sven Messner refitted an aged compact cruiser that was only eight metres long, a solid Hurley 800 that he bought for little money. Inside, it meets neither the aesthetic nor the functional expectations of the man who, when not working on boats, works on Japanese jeeps. Messner guts it down to the main bulkhead and creates a modern yet cosy interior according to his personal ideas. All of this in a self-build tent, tolerated by the neighbours, who sometimes come over for a drink in the evenings.
The boat is equipped to a high standard and prepared for ambitious projects: Transatlantic, Intracoastal Waterway, Great Lakes and later Japan ("I have friends there in the Subaru Club") and Australia ("I have family there"). The plan is to set off in three years. But why with a boat that is only eight metres long? Messner: "The Hurley has enough space for two, is seaworthy, solidly built and small enough for my tent yard in the garden. What's more, the boat is unique, I don't want another one."
Visit the refit project worth seeing. Interview with self-builder Sven Messner in the current issue 08 of YACHT, available from newsagents from 6 April. You can also order the magazine Order directly from the publisher or as download the digital magazine conveniently.
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Fridtjof Gunkel
Deputy Chief Editor YACHT
