Y8 Yacht, German-Built to Sail the Med & More

With a firm focus on the 70- to 100-foot (20- to 30-meter) size range, YYachts has an even firmer focus on lightweight, fast sailing yachts. A customer of Denison Yachting has warmed up to these ideas, commissioning a YYachts Y8 yacht for delivery next year.

YYachts got its start in Germany in 2016, thanks to Michael Schmidt. Schmidt previously owned Hanse Yachts, another sailing-yacht builder, though offering smaller sizes. Additionally, he’s a well-experienced, passionate sailor himself, further having participated in regattas. He believed fellow experienced sailors would appreciate projects prioritizing easy handling. Likewise, Schmidt believed that newcomers to large sailing yachts would want easy handling. Both types of customers have resulted, not surprisingly, on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s fitting, then, that YYachts’ motto is “keep it simple.”

Y8 yacht from YYachts — PHOTO: Nico Martinez

Employing carbon composite construction, YYachts has just three models, although it does offer custom construction, too. The Y8 yacht is a nearly 80-footer (24-meter) conceived as a follow-up to the first YYachts project from 2016. (A Y8 sistership is pictured.) Since the shipyard regularly collaborates with different designers, the Y8 bears naval architecture by Surge Projects. The design studio’s principal, Javier Jaudenes, has contributed to racing boats, production sailing yachts, and fully custom sailing superyachts. Performance-wise, he and YYachts intend the Y8 yacht to sail in light winds. Halyards and sheets are concealed, mindful of the owner running her with a small crew. She has a self-tacking jib as well.

YYachts also tapped Surge Projects for styling, resulting in a beamier stern than her predecessor. Combined with her mast set back farther, that could result in better speeds. “It is an essence of our experience and will be fast, but at the same time very safe under any conditions,” Jaudenes says. “I would describe her as a good-mood yacht.”

YYachts Y8 interior — PHOTO: Irina Boersma

Inside, meanwhile, the owner is tailoring the interior layout. Denison Yachting hasn’t specified how many staterooms will be onboard. Regardless, the Y8 yacht offers clients a variety of configurations for four to five staterooms in total. Crew also have separate access, a standard offering. Furthermore, the shipyard says the owner will benefit from 20 percent more interior volume compared to earlier models.

With a transverse garage and a flat deckhouse, the yacht should see delivery in May 2025. The owner intends to spend the summer season sailing the Med.

Denison Yachting denisonyachtsales.com

Surge Projects surge-projects.com

YYachts yyachts.de