S E A FA R I N G
A Shipyard Expedition
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ONE WEEK IN THE HOME OF CUSTOM YACHTS Imagine the excitement I felt after the confirmation of my first visit to Europe in 20 years; the land under sea level, where windmills and wind turbines are aplenty, where cows are mostly in black and white, aromatic coffeeshops, De Wallen, Delft Blue, Stroopwafels... and my personal favourite, home to custom yacht building.
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s I’ve not made an effort to v isit Eu rope i n a l most 20 years, this was a good tr ip for a refresher. Furthermore, this was a t r ip to v isit the cra f ter s of mu lt im i l l ion Eu r o s c u st om pr o duc t s or what I call, ‘f loating sea mansions’. I was to exper ience 6 brands, 1 design architect and 1 naval architect over a little less than a week. So, for me, this would be an educational trip on custom yacht building, all thanks to Mr. Oh Kean Shen of Pen Marine. For him, it’s a trip to show a mutual friend & client the art and the extensive possibilities of c u stom bu i ld i n g a yacht. T here was tons of knowledge learnt on this trip and I feel obliged to share a little journal account of that exciting week.
T.Y. L i m
DAY 1 – 13th JUNE I ar r ived at Sch iphol early mor n ing loca l t i me to a cool temperat u re of about 18 Degrees Celsius. Greeted by queues of Teslas, which was a prett y refreshing sight compared to the usual smel l of d iesel. Fra n k Laupm a n, a n architect extraordinaire, was enroute to pick us up but was caught up slightly in traf f ic. Sti l l, it was not the Asian kind of congestion as I found out later du r i ng ou r jou r ney back to Omeg a Architects. Driving here was orderly, and traff ic is hardly on standstill. After about what wa s a shor t wa it, Fra n k arrived - in a Tesla. This would be my f irst time ever in a Tesla and I have to say, the best word to descr ibe it is
indeed a technological amazement, a review for another day of course. The f irst day was spent entirely at O meg a A rch it ec t s , s it u at e d i n t he qua i nt tow n of Dr uten - about one hour’s dr ive f rom Sch iphol A ir por t. Upon a r r iva l, we were g reeted a nd int roduced to the tea m member s of Omega A rch itects. Th is is the same t e a m w h o h ave p r o d u c e d q u i t e a nu mber of awa rd w i n n i ng de sig n s, from interior designs, yacht designs and architectural designs. We’ll cover that in a dedicated stor y soon, on Frank Laupman and Omega Architects. Frank fur ther spoke to me casual ly about a current work in progress, a superyacht de sig n com m i s sioned by h i s cl ient which was inspired by the Lamborghini
Avent ador, a nd to be a sked for my opi n ion, I wa s honou red. W hy t he Lamborgh in i Aventador? Fran k sa id that this particular client has 100s of supercars & collectibles, but chose on the Aventador because of its bold & sharp design lines. Highlight of this f irst day were the three meeting s we had in getting to know the shipyard’s owners/managers and an introduction of their histor y & capabilities; a greet and meet before the actual shipyard visit to view the daily operat ions and act ua l craf tsmansh ip and capabilities. The three meetings were with Van der Valk, Moonen and Storm Yachts. T he t h ree meet i n g s took up t he af ter noon ha l f of d ay. A f ter the last
meet ing, we adjour ned to the hotel De Twee Linden at Beneden Leeuwen which was a 15-m inute dr ive, a cosy hotel in yet another quaint town. In a way, the day felt really long, probably because summer has longer days (the sun only went down at about 10pm), w ith multitude of infor mation to be absorbed but yet It felt serene upon reach i ng t he hotel, w it h bi rd s st i l l chirping away and the local folks riding their bicycles. At which this time, the lack of sleep on the f light star ted to show. DAY 2 - 14th JUNE It started with an early with breakfast at De Twee Linden and a br isk walk
a r ou n d t ow n w it h M r. O h w h i l e awa it i n g for Niel s Moer ke of Va n Oossanen to ar r ive. Day 2 would be the f ina l d ay of in- of f ice, sit- dow n meet ing s, a nd th is round, it wa s to be held at Va n Oossa nen’s HQ Wa g e n i n g e n , w h ich w a s a b out a n hour and a half ’s drive away from the hotel. A long the scen ic route f i l led w it h w i nd t u r bi ne s a nd d a i r y cow f ields, we made an abrupt stop over a small stall selling freshly picked berries from the far m r ight behind the stal l. Cher r ies, Strawber r ies, raspber r ies red succulent cherries primarily. Once we arrived at Van Oossanen, and the customar y int roduct ion a nd g r e e t i n g s we r e m a d e , we g o t st r a i g ht i nto it. Va n Oo s s a nen a re
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nava l a rch itect s - specia l isi ng i n f luid dynam ics & naval architecture. In lay man ter m s, ef f icienc y and performance of sea going crafts. Founded by Piet van Oossanen, now it is headed by Perry van Oossanen and Niel s Moerke. W hen v isit i ng these off ices, you can’t help but realise the accompl ish ments - hung at the wa l l wa s a big canva ss w ith side prof i les of d if ferent boat s and sh ips - a l l which have been worked upon by Van Oossanen. One that particularly caught my eyes was the Mercedes-Benz Style luxury yacht “Arrow460 Granturismo”. You can learn more of Van Oossanen in our separate article in this issue too. Once again, being guests, we were t reated w it h sc r u mpt iou s br u nch -
this time, stroopwafels with a mix of amazing sandwiches. The 2nd half of the day was dedicated to the shipyards presentation by Jetten and Balk after which, we had to head to Amsterdam to receive our said friend and client from his journey from London. The journey to Amsterdam took about an hour and 45 m inutes from Wageningen. A fter this, our par t y headed back to Hotel De Twee Linden for our said friend and client’s check in and then for dinner, where Fra n k a nd Niel s joi ned. The dinner ended up with drinks together with Mr. Oh, JB, Frank and myself. DAY 3 - 15 JUNE D ay 3 w a s s e t t o b e e x t e n s i ve i n
travelling. Then again, in Netherlands, the farthest distances one would drive from one end (south) to the other end (north) would take only a total of four hours, unlike here in Malaysia, where from JB (south) to Perlis (north) would take 14 hours on average. The f irst shipyard we visited was Van der Valk in Waalwijk, which was about an hours dr ive f rom the hotel itself. There, we were greeted with the sight of a Malaysian f lag been hoisted up full mast at the Van der Valk facility. We were welcomed by Patrick Lankhuizen (Director of Sales) and Bram Kooltjes ( P r o d u c t i o n M a n a g e r ). We w e r e escorted into the brief ing room, where a short introduction was given, before the tour of the faci l it y. We had a lso
an opportunity to meet Mr. Wim van der Valk, the founder of Van Der Valk shipyard were tour ing. Three yachts of va r ious sizes were bei ng bu i lt a s we saw on the tour, with a few ready yachts outside at the r iverbank. Van der Va l k uti l ises steel or a lum in ium for their hulls and aluminium for their superstr uct ures, w ith capabi l it ies to build yachts of up to 40m. It is dur ing the shipyard visit that one can actually go into the details of the processes in place and the minute details of the Dutch craftsmen, which actual ly heightens one’s appreciation towards the building of a yacht. This sh ipya rd tou r took close to about a good hour or so, as there were much quest ions being asked by our f r iend
and client, a good sign of real interest f rom h i m. A f ter t he tou r, we were t re ated by t he g ood people at Va n der Valk a seasonal Dutch delicacy Maatjesharing or New Herring and we then shot off for our second shipyard: Stor m Yacht s, wh ich wa s just r ig ht behind, within the vicinity. Stor m Yachts is a smal ler shipyard run by two passionate friends, Rob van Kesteren and Corné K nippels. Being small, the attention to details however on the sem i-bu i lt yacht s in the ha l l nex t door wa s second to none. We were taken through a tour for the yacht under construction, and the detailing was impeccable. Once again, our friend and client was enthusiastic about his questions, hence prolonging our stay at
Storm Yachts a little longer. The third shipyard we visited was Moonen. Moonen has two shipyards, but we were taken to the one at GrootA m mers, wh ich is about 45 m inutes nor thwest from Waalwijk. Moonen’s G r o o t - A m me r s f a c i l it y w a s hu g e , biggest of the lot we had visited thus far. However, the odd part of it all was that it wasn’t busy, w ith the lack of visible workforce. There was however a super yacht inside the shed - about 60% completed. We were taken for a tour, and upon explanation, we learnt how the i nter ior of Moonen yacht s a r e a c t u a l l y d r aw n out , a nd l a s e r cut to precision (the f loorboa rd s of the yacht in itself is a scaled up laser e t che d d r aw i n g of t he blue pr i nt),
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before a ssembly to the i ntensiveness of having visited three shipyards in a day, or perhaps the lack of liveliness at Moonen , t h i s v i s it wa sn’t lon g. From Moonen sh ipya rd, we headed back eastward to our hotel - De Twee Linden, for a n ight-cap d inner w ith our friend and client, JB, Mr. Oh, with Frank and his wife joining in too. DAY 4 - JUNE 16 The f irst shipyard on Day 4’s list was one that had me very pumped: Heesen Yachts, as they are considered to be the #1 aluminium custom yacht builders in the industr y, (building nothing less than 40metre yachts). This alone was enough to get me out of bed excited.
The jour ney took us south-bound towards Oss, home of Heesen Yachts. It was about a 45 minutes drive before I g ot t o s e t my e ye s on t he l a r g e signage that read: Heesen Yachts. The i nt roduc t ion s were m ade by Joh a n Kaasjager, a representative of Heesen and also a friend whom I met two years ago. Within the of f ice space itself, I chanced upon a mock interior with the various materials the brand work with. Heesen’s sh ipya rd wa s huge, a nd professiona l ly managed. At any one point in time, f ive mega yachts were bei ng worked upon si mu lt a neously, each with its own launch countdown t i c k i n g a w a y. B y t h e w a y, e a c h meg ayacht t a kes up one whole shed ent i rely. T here i s even a ded icated
a lum in ium work ha l l and car pentr y h a l l, u n l i ke t he prev iou s sh ipya rd s we had visited. I think you can tel l, by far, Heesen’s shipyard is the most impressive. However, as mentioned, they do not build below 40m yachts, and the price point for Heesen is rather high but rightfully so, as their standards are also to the highest as I’ve witnessed now in the f lesh. After a courteous lunch at Heesen, we then departed for Lemmer, almost t wo hou r s away up nor t h , for t he sea tr ia l of a Stor m Yacht. Once we ar r ived at Lem mer however, we met up with the German couple that owns the Stor m Yacht to go out on a sea trial. However, when we arrived, the weather wasn’t at its best, with strong
winds and rough waters. The owners apologised, and instead, gave us a tour onboard. We then headed to Jetten Shipyard in Sneek thereafter, which was further up north, and yet another half an hours d r ive. We were g reeted by Jea n not Gr i m, Ma nag i ng Di rector of Jet ten Yachts upon our arrival. Jetten is a medium sized shipyard and still growing, building aluminium and steel yachts. We toured the shipyard brief ly in the evening, as well as three of their moored yachts. The faci l it y wa s med iu m si zed w it h t wo yacht s in prog ress of completion, however, due to the time we have arrived (late afternoon), it was pretty much quiet. Our sea t r ia ls here took place on
t he Je t t e n B e a ch , c r u i s i n g out t o Sneekemeer, a lake with multiple river ways lead ing to other tow ns. It was a blissful exper ience to say the least, one that evokes feelings of freedom; hav ing the set t ing sun and the cool breeze against your skin, with views of classical sail boats enjoying an evening sail with seagul ls trailing the yachts. The Jetten Beach was rather smooth, a nd qu ick t o t he t h r ot t le a s wel l . However, due to rest r ict ions of the lake (one of which is no speeding, as it creates waves affecting other smaller sailboats), it was on ly a shor t stretch that we could sample the speed. T he sea t r i a l m a rked t he end of the day, and we pushed on to dinner in Sneek, at a quaint restaurant called
De K a st a nje. Sneek cit y i s i n it sel f i nt e r e s t i n g , w it h a h i s t or y d a t i n g back to the 10th centur y but that’s for another story. Then it was back to hotel after dinner. DAY 5 - JUNE 17 Th is wa s to be the d ay of our f ina l shipyard visit- Balk shipyard, situated in Urk, which is slightly northbound, about 1 and half hours drive from the Wolf heze hotel we had switched to the night before. Balk is a fam ily r un shipyard, and it dates back to 1798, currently run by its 8th generat ion Ba l k- Daan Ba l k. It is a lso a sh ipyard by appoint ment to the Court of Netherlands and also
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presented with the unique opportunity to bu i ld a sh ip in honour of Queen Beatrix’s silver jubilee. Balk does majorit y ref itting works - for yachts like Feadship (which states a lot com i ng f rom t he world ’s best in steel). The sh ipyard is as you can imagine, big, and stands at least four stor ies high, w ith t wo ha l ls for ref it works for yachts up to 45m and 65m range, and a constr uction hal l. From wh at I w it ne s sed , pa s sion f i l l s t he humble craftsmen at Ba lk. A fter a l l, it’s a long line of history, having come to this day from 1798, t wo centur ies now in 2017. A f ter the Ba l k sh ipya rd v isit, we
made our way to A msterdam, which was about an hour’s dr ive southwest from Urk, to visit the Maritime History Mu seu m ( Het S cheepva a r t mu seu m in Dutch). To see actual paintings of mar it ime h istor y, one of wh ich was t he f i r st m ap of t he wor ld , it wa s on ly f itting that we spent the whole a f ter noon at the museu m, wh ich honestly, isn’t quite enough. It was here where we parted ways with Niels and Frank who was with us the entire time from day one. After a cosy dinner at the day’s end, we rested wel l and looked forward to leaving the next day, with a slightly heavy heart. Nontheless, I can tell you that this
Netherla nd s sh ipya rd excu r sion ha s elevated my knowledge on the process of custom yacht bu i ld i ng. More so, it ha s m ade me appreciate what the c r a f t s men do i n t hei r t r a de. F rom Mr. Oh, who’s passionate on assisting people build dreams, Frank Laupman of Omega A rchitects ( look out for a stor y on them in this same issue) and Niels Moerke (a story on Van Oossanen Nava l A rch itect s a lso in th is issue), t o t he ve r y p e ople c ut t i n g wo o d , welding steel, shaping teaks; with this k nowled ge, hopef u l ly somed ay, I’ l l be able to guide interested parties in building up a custom yacht someday, and maybe even my own.
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