Come September, megayachts seeking refit work at Pendennis’ six-acre shipyard in Falmouth, England will be able to take advantage of the first phase of a multi-year reconfiguration and expansion.
Of course, new builds will also benefit from the changes, which will continue to be made for the next two to three years. But, given the approaching winter season, refits seem more likely to be the first to put the new facilities to the test.
Specifically, Pendennis is reconfiguring its main construction hall, built in 1995, and the aptly-named White House, added in 2009. Currently, the main construction hall measures about 230 feet long by 131 feet wide (70 meters long by 40 meters wide) and contains two construction bays, workshops, and offices for Pendennis’ new-build team as well as owners’ project managers. The White House measures about 180 feet long by nearly 53 feet wide (55 meters long by 16 meters wide). It serves alternately as an outfitting area for new builds and an extra covered refit space. Pendennis has already raised the first frame of the new buildings that will replace these sheds: two 295-foot-long (90-meter-long) halls and one nearly 148-foot-long (45-meter-long) hall. All three of the new halls will face the water and further contain various workshops as well as crew offices and crew hospitality suites. The offices and suites are expected to be done next spring.
When the first building frame was raised, Pendennis paid homage to traditional megayacht construction, in which a gold coin is positioned beneath the mast. The mothers of Pendennis’ joint managing directors, along with two first-year apprentices working at the megayacht yard, placed two gold coins beneath the first steel column.
To put the three-year expansion of the megayacht facilities into perspective, this video documents the construction of Pendennis’ first build hall. It was shot from 1994 to 1996.
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