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Pendennis Refit Projects: M5 Starts, Heavenly Daze Wraps Up

May 14, 2012 by

Pendennis welcomed one superb superyacht, Mirabella V, in for a refit while it was getting ready to say goodbye to another, Heavenly Daze.

When Pendennis announced in March that its Pendennis Plus division was to refit Mirabella V, being renamed M5, our website lit up like a Christmas tree. The hits haven’t stopped, either, as Mirabella V is hands-down the most popular sailing yacht we’ve ever featured.

The megayacht sold last year, and the new owner decided to make some major modifications, including a nearly 10-foot (three-meter) transom extension, the addition of a side-boarding platform, and some new systems. The 290-foot-high (88.5-meter-high) mast and rig are further being refurbished. The gallery above show the de-masting process recently undertaken at Pendennis Plus.

As for Heavenly Daze, her owner mostly wanted an interior spruce-up, to make her more modern yet honor her 40-years-young heritage. Wetzels Brown was tapped to redesign the 105’9” (32.22-meter) Feadship’s saloon and dining area, VIP suites, and guest staterooms. However, some physical repairs outside were also needed. These included replacing the steel support for the aft caprail, repairing some tanks and parts of the hull, and recaulking and repairing the teak decks. Other improvements: new wheelhouse electronics, a new exhaust system for the engines, and an overhaul of the steering and stabilizers. The steel hull and steel and wood superstructure received new paint, too.

Heavenly Daze is back on the charter circuit for the summer, in the Med.

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Auckland Wants New Superyacht Dry Dock

May 8, 2012 by

Wynyard district in 2007, pre-development

Government officials in Auckland, New Zealand want to see more services for more superyachts in their city. They’re focused on a hauling facility being developed and are therefore courting private investors, but they also want residents to help foot the bill, to the tune of NZ$16.8 million (about US$13.37 million).

According to a story in the New Zealand Herald, the draft of the mayor’s long-term budget proposes redeveloping a vacant section of land for a NZ$45.3-million (US$36 million) megayacht dry dock. Part of the money would come from the private sector, with the remainder from taxpayers. The vacant lot is in Wynyard Quarter, a reclaimed piece of land along the western end of the Auckland waterfront. Late last decade, city officials decided to transform the once-heavily industrial area into a mixed-use area. It now features public accessible spaces as well as marine facilities, including megayacht businesses. For example, project U77, a 253-foot (77-meter)  megayacht, is being completed there by a number of different companies, including the teak specialist Nautical Contracting. (Project U77 started construction in Chile and was towed to New Zealand last year. She’s said to be under construction for Graeme Hart, the owner of Ulysses, the expedition yacht built by Trinity Yachts in 2003.) Furthermore, Orams Marine Services, which refitted Athena, is also among the companies present there.

In fact, Orams Marine Services and Waterfront Auckland, the government body owned by the city council, have a memorandum of understanding over the proposed new development in Wynyward Quarter, The New Zealand Herald states. Orams, which presently operates adjacent to the open lot, will become a private partner.

John Dalzell, chief executive for Waterfront Auckland, tells the paper that the superyacht-hauling facility will create jobs and contribute NZ$161 million (US$128.1 million) to the city’s economy for upwards of 25 years. Auckland’s mayor, Len Brown, also supports the plan. “The council’s involvement would be a catalyst to ensure private companies who wouldn’t otherwise be involved have the ability to get onboard,” the paper quotes him as saying. However, Cameron Brewer, a member of the city council, opposes committing taxpayer funds. “Interestingly, the superyacht industry doesn’t seem to be lobbying us, nor is there much sign of the private sector wanting to throw money towards supporting such a facility,” the paper quotes him as saying. “You really have to wonder if this is a priority for Auckland’s suburban ratepayers at this time.”

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Sanlorenzo’s “Experienced Yachts,” Pre-Owned Certification Program

May 7, 2012 by

Plain and simple, the brokerage market across a spectrum of sizes is still pretty full. Whether a trade-in sitting at a shipyard or a traditional sales listing, the yachts are also of varying conditions. Sanlorenzo is among myriad builders that have taken trade-ins that haven’t budged due to this brokerage glut. Rather than wait for global economies to recover, Sanlorenzo borrowed a page from the automotive sector. Why not create a pre-owned program wherein the yachts are spiffed up and buyers are given a guarantee?

Thus Sanlorenzo’s Experienced Yachts was born.

Experienced Yachts is the first program of its type in the yachting sector that we’re aware of, on a few levels. First, it’s offered by a shipyard. Every staff member of Experienced Yachts comes from one of Sanlorenzo’s in-house departments, such as fiberglass, joinery, or mechanical. Second, it involves not just Sanlorenzo builds, but also other brands. (A quick look at the Experienced Yachts website reveals there’s a total of about two dozen yachts, with most being built by yards other than Sanlorenzo.) And, Experienced Yachts entails a pretty thorough checklist of systems that are inspected and, if required, repaired or replaced.

Sanlorenzo says it worked with RINA to establish Experienced Yachts’ procedures. They start with reviewing more than 450 different items throughout the yacht. Each item is documented, including information on testing and the signature of an Experienced Yachts employee. Whether a yacht is in good shape or poor, she gets engine and genset checks, plus thorough cleaning of grey- and black-water tanks as well as the bilge. The yacht is hauled so that the hull and props can be inspected, too. Sacrificial anodes are replaced, and new antifouling paint goes on, too. Then, sea trials occur to capture speed and engine-performance data. Oil samples are taken for analysis as well.

Once all these steps are taken, the Experienced Yachts team will compile a list of the item(s) needing refurbishment or repair. Once the overhaul is completed, one last test takes place to make sure everything is okay. Then, Experienced Yachts delivers the yacht to the new owner.

Furthermore, anyone purchasing an Experienced Yachts yacht or megayacht can get a variety of free maintenance services for a year. Sanlorenzo’s shipyard in Ameglia will take care of hull cleaning, anodes changing, repainting of antifouling, and filter and bilge cleaning. If that location isn’t convenience, Sanlorenzo says there are also authorized agents to perform the work.

If you’re interested in inspecting an Experienced Yachts offering, there are yachts in the marina adjacent to the Ameglia yard, and in Porto Mirabello in La Spezia.

To obtain further information about Experienced Yachts directly from the team, please fill out our contact form.

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