The Huisfit division of Royal Huisman performs some refits at the shipyard’s headquarters. However, others can and do take place in various locations, leased on a case-by-case basis. Huisfit wanted to find a permanent additional base especially well-suited to deep-draft yachts and not restricted by length. Therefore, it’s signed an exclusive agreement with Emden Dockyard, a German refit facility.
While Royal Huisman’s yard in Vollenhove, The Netherlands, has four sheds, the longest is 266 feet. Emden Dockyard, by comparison, has several sheds, to a maximum 387 feet. That longest shed has 72 feet of overhead clearance, too. Furthermore, Emden Dockyard has two floating docks and a graving dock. The smaller of the two floating docks still measures 446 feet long. As for the graving dock, it’s 715 feet in length.
Emden Dockyard, which dates back to 1903, has abundant experience in the commercial and military sectors. In recent years, it has also refitted cruise ships and megayachts. The Huisfit team was particularly attracted to working with Emden Dockyard for other reasons as well. The deep-water access is non-tidal, for example. The craftspeople are skilled in aluminum, steel, and fiberglass repair. Workshops related to various specialties line the interior of the covered sheds, too. Since Emden is close to the Dutch border, Dutch subcontractors that Huisfit regularly employs can contribute to refits. In addition, the city of Emden is accessible via train from a number of Dutch and German airports. Emden further has an airfield of its own. See the map above for the proximity to Royal Huisman, too, marked with an “H” in a circle.
Since the agreement between Huisfit and Emden Dockyard is still new, no yacht refits are there yet.
In related news, three Huisfit projects are ongoing in The Netherlands. Two are at Royal Huisman’s Vollenhove facility. The sloop Gliss and the sloop Heartbeat are getting technical system upgrades and other maintenance. The third refit is in Urk, also involving technical upgrades. She’s Surama, a ketch.
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