Royal Huisman's record-breaking slup: Aerial acrobatics for sections of the 85-metre cascade

Royal Huisman and mega-sailors have gone hand in hand since the early 2000s, when the Dutch company built the 90-metre-long three-masted schooner "Athena". The shipyard facilities occupy 30,000 square metres in Vollenhove, but Huisman had to expand Hall 2 to produce the 85-metre aluminium hull of Project 410 - and recently reopened it. What was initially welded keel upwards now had to be undocked, lifted by four (!) mobile cranes, turned round and transported back into the hall, probably using a self-propelled heavy-duty module. Specifically, this involved the 61 metre long main section, which is so high that it can be divided into cabins on the main and lower decks.

The yacht builders from Vollenhove have been welding their hulls from aluminium for 60 years and have recently started using Alustar. According to the traditional shipyard, the special alloy has a 20 percent higher tensile strength than conventional aluminium. Royal Huisman is responsible for the hot work around the interlocking of stringers and frames in-house - an exception for sail and engine projects of this size. Many Dutch shipyards utilise the services of local hull builders. Royal Huisman's employees are assisted in welding exoskeletons from the German prosthesis manufacturer Ottobock, among other things.

Minimalist lines by Mani Frers

The client, described by the shipyard as experienced, wanted an eye-catching and iconic lighthouse project. He turned to Germán "Mani" Frers, the son of the Argentinian designer of the same name. Schematic depictions show a negative stem and a barely built-up, sheer deck. "We had to use all our experience from the last 30 years in design, construction and sailing in various fields from the America's Cup to superyacht sailing and motor yachting to achieve the ambitious goals we had set ourselves," says Mani Frers, whose studio is based in Milan.

"What began with a few sketches and ideas together with Gill Brown and Rob Wetzels is now a New World Sloop that has been designed and constructed down to the last detail." The interior by Wetzels Brown is intended to take guests into a "New World". The Amsterdam studio's design history features modern under-deck worlds in which white dominates.

Royal Huisman installs record-breaking systems

The two megawatt-hour battery bank, which is to be installed on board during the outfitting phase, will also be record-breaking, at least in the sailing sector. For comparison: the 84-metre motor yacht launched at the beginning of the year "Obsidian" relies on a battery capacity of 4.5 megawatt hours. Project 410 should also be diesel-electrically powered in calm conditions and in harbours, but should also be able to move silently. Royal Huisman has experience with hybrid drives; the ketch "Ethereal" (58 metres) was launched in 2008 with electric motors, lithium-ion batteries and diesel generators.

Mast could break the 100 metre mark

No details of the rig have been announced, but Royal Huisman has a supplier on the shipyard site, Rondal, which belongs to the same group. The 93-metre mast of the current second 80-metre project is also laminated and baked there. As project 411 is four metres shorter than the more advanced project 410, the Kasko currently being built could have a mast that rises over 100 metres into the sky. The 81 metre project 411 "Noir" is a little behind schedule as far as the milestone plan is concerned. Huisman's second XXL aluminium slup has so far only existed on paper and on Malcom McKeon's computers.

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Commenting on the turning of Project 410's hull, Royal Huisman's CEO Jan Timmerman said: "Each of these oversized yachts is an example of the advantages of large sailing yachts over motor yachts. These include the fun of setting sail, cutting through the waves and advanced technologies that increase comfort and reduce the environmental footprint."

New owner of Royal Huisman

Just a few days after the spectacular and brief undocking, the Dutch shipyard announced that it was seeking a new majority shareholder together with the refit offshoot Huisfit and Rondal. The Royal Huisman Group is to be transferred from the family holding company Koninklijke Doeksen and Parcom to the Dutch investment company O2 Capital Partners.