Some of the most famous megayacht builders worldwide are family-run. So, too, are some lesser-known shipyards. Balk Shipyard is among the latter. However, the brother-and-sister team of Daan and Marjolein Balk are intent on making its manufacturing sheds more top of mind among clientele worldwide.
Holland-based Balk Shipyard traces its roots to 1798. That’s when Sijbrand Balk bought a shipyard in the town of Elburg—the same shipyard where family members had been employed for nearly two decades. Its primary focus at first was wooden fishing boats, but wooden ship repair was soon added to the mix. When Daan and Marjolein’s grandfather ran the yard starting in the late 1930s, he switched construction material to steel and the focus to yachts because the fishing industry was in decline. Balk Shipyard built yachts on behalf of other yards as well for some clients of its own. Bart Balk, Daan and Marjolein’s father, switched its offerings to yacht repair when he took over a few decades later.
Fast forward to 2011, and Daan and Marjolein Balk represent the seventh consecutive generation at the helm. While the original construction hall still stands—the black building in the photo above—it’s no long used for yacht construction or repair. Rather, it serves as a museum and restoration shop. Balk Shipyard moved to the neighboring city of Urk in 2004. “We wanted to stay in Elburg, but there was no possibility to grow there,” Daan explains. “We already had clients who we couldn’t fit in the shed.” By June 2007, Balk Shipyard was fully moved, operating out of three buildings in Urk.
Among Balk Shipyard’s clients at the time was Putty IV, the famed expedition yacht designed by Vripack and built by Palmer Johnson as Turmoil. Balk Shipyard was tapped for an extensive refit in late 2006. It involved redesigning and re-engineering Putty IV for purely luxury-yacht service, not hard-charging explorations. In just six months, the helideck became a sundeck (complete with hot tub and teak caprails), and some of Putty IV’s systems were swapped out.
Another ambitious project spanned 2008 to 2010. The 72-foot (21.95-meter) Amazone, dating to 1939, was refitted extensively to look the way she did when she was first launched. The work entailed stripping the decks and superstructure, then cleaning and revarnishing the wood. Balk Shipyard’s craftsmen also removed the wheelhouse roof for stripping and revarnishing, then found new locations for the modern-day navigation and communications necessities.
Balk Shipyard continues offering refit services, though it’s also home to new builds. Among the most notable is a current project, the 213-foot (65-meter) sailing superyacht pictured above. Mikhail S. Vorontsov is being built in conjunction with Dream Ship Victory, based in Turkey. Dream Ship Victory constructed the wood hull, which was transported to Balk Shipyard to be paired with the wood superstructure and final outfitting. The three-masted, staysail-rigged superyacht bears design work from Dykstra & Partners as well as Ken Freivokh Design. Mikhail S. Vorontsov is expected for delivery in 2012 and will meet RINA classification. Among her design highlights: ten staterooms, including the owner’s suite; an owner’s saloon separate from the main saloon; and 15,909 square feet (1,478 square meters) of sail area.
Balk Shipyard isn’t done there. It recently joined a handful of other Dutch yacht firms to create the Holland Yacht Experience. Located in Cannes, the Holland Yacht Experience promotes Dutch craftsmanship and quality to customers on a global scale. (The other members of the Holland Yacht Experience are Mulder Shipyard, Arie de Boom Marine, Van der Vliet Quality Yachts, and Wajer & Wajer.)
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