Puffin 42: Aluminium, character and a clear long-distance sailing concept put to the test

Hardly any other brand in yacht building divides opinion as reliably as Puffin Yachts. This is due, first and foremost, to their striking, distinctive appearance, but above all to the highly unconventional concept behind the Dutch brand. The yachts in the Puffin range do not seek a safe middle ground; rather, they insist on individuality, appearing visually imposing, powerful and unconventional. And they are truly hard to beat when it comes to unique features. You might like them precisely because they are so different. Or you might not, for that very reason.

Further aluminium vessels for challenging sea voyages:

• ​Ovni 430: A sturdy aluminium offshore yacht for when the worst comes to the worst
• ​Pure 42: This aluminium blue-water yacht is tough and gets you to your destination faster
• Viator Explorer 42 DS: The Silent Wanderer

Behind Puffin Yachts is Olivier van Meer, the brand’s owner and also the designer of its models. Since the 1990s, around 75 yachts have been built under the Puffin name, ranging from compact cruising boats to luxurious long-distance yachts in XXL format. What they have in common is not so much a specific size as their consistent design as Bermuda cutters.

Olivier van Meer’s designs are characterised by their pronounced tumblehome hulls, with their freeboard sharply drawn in towards the stern, and the heart-shaped, positive yacht stern. The striking deckhouse, with its brand-typical windows, and the voluminous hull with its raised vertical stem and clearly visible deck step also define the yacht’s appearance. The visual impression is striking and equally appealing, paying special homage to classic Dutch yacht building. A successful blend of traditional flat-bottomed boats and modern ocean-going yachts.

From individual designs to a more distinct model range

​Until now, Puffin yachts have largely been built as one-off vessels according to their owners’ specifications. With a new model range concept, Puffin is now adopting a semi-serial approach featuring three more or less clearly defined models: the Puffin 42, Puffin 50 and Puffin 58. Within these predefined platforms, extensive scope for customisation naturally remains, both in terms of deck fittings and, above all, the interior fit-out. Wherever feasible from a design and construction perspective, the shipyard is able and willing to take into account and implement as many of the buyers’ special requests as possible in future.

The Puffin 42 is built under licence by VMG Yachtbuilders in Enkhuizen, right next to Olivier van Meer’s design office. The hull is constructed from seawater-resistant aluminium, welded in a round-frame construction over a load-bearing framework of frames and stringers. The design thus fulfils the standards that have always underpinned the Puffin brand: maximum structural robustness, ease of repair and suitability for demanding sea voyages, including, for example, into the Arctic Ocean. Above the waterline, closed-cell insulating foam is injected – a labour-intensive process designed to fill all cavities and thereby eliminate all thermal bridges.

Partitions, insulation and flexible construction methods

​A total of three continuous bulkheads divide the Puffin 42 into four separate compartments: the aft peak, the engine room, the living quarters and the forepeak. In the event of water ingress, this would guarantee the yacht’s unsinkability. The flexibility in construction is also rare: VMG Yachtbuilders can, on request, also laminate Puffin yachts using GRP, as was already the case with the model tested by YACHT in 2017 Puffin 37. A version with a steel hull and deck would also be possible in principle, but this would then no longer be built by VMG, but by a specialist subcontractor.

Spoilt for choice: integral keel or fixed keel

According to the shipyard, around 85 per cent of all Puffins built to date have been constructed as long-keel designs with an integrated ballast centreboard. On the Puffin 42, the centreboard weighs around 600 kilograms and thus serves not only as a variable lateral surface but also as a ballast carrier. To provide additional righting moment, around four tonnes of lead are fitted in insulated containers deep in the bilge. In the version with an integral ballast skeg, a rudder blade – which is also retrievable – is mounted on the skeg. This ensures that the boat, with a draught range of 1.27 to 2.73 metres, remains suitable for dry-docking, which is always a key consideration when operating in challenging waters.

Alternatively, the shipyard can also build the Puffin 42 with a fixed keel. The draught is then 2.20 metres. The keel is not flanged on, but is welded firmly to the hull as a hollow aluminium structure. Later in the construction phase, the cavity is filled with lead and sealed. The ballast is thus completely encapsulated within the hull structure, which means that the dreaded electrolysis should not be an issue. The fixed keel also changes the rudder arrangement: instead of the retractable, skeg-guided blade, a modern, free-standing and pre-balanced rudder profile is used.

​​The second part focuses on the test on the IJsselmeer, the surprisingly good performance and the impression below deck.

The Puffin 42 in detail

Technical specifications of the Puffin 42

• Designer: Olivier van Meer
• CE design category: A
• Fuselage length: 12.72 m
• Total length: 15.55 m
• Waterline length: 11.77 m
• Width: 4.20 m
• Draught (keel): 1.28–3.20 m
• Mast height above water level: 18.90 m
• Theoretical fuselage speed: 8.3 knots
• Weight: 16.0 t
• Ballast/proportion: 4.6 t/29 per cent
• Mainsail: 40.5 m²
• Stag jib: 32.0 m²
• Genoa: 48.0 m²
• Engine (Yanmar): 59 kW/80 PS
• Fuel tank (aluminium): 600 litres
• Fresh water tank (PE): 600 litres

​Hull and deck construction

Constructed from seawater-resistant aluminium (6–15 mm thick). The hull is welded in an S-frame configuration over a framework of frames and stringers.

Motorisation

The test boat is fitted with a four-cylinder common-rail diesel engine from Yanmar (4JH80) with shaft drive and a five-bladed variable-pitch propeller. Customers can choose the manufacturer and the power output of the engine to be fitted themselves.

Is it precisely this uncompromising independence that is the Puffin 42’s greatest strength, or is it the very reason why it becomes too specialised for many sailors? Share your thoughts in the comments.