Yacht Aquarius II Nearing Completion

A performance ketch for repeat customers of Royal Huisman is taking a journey from her build site to her final outfitting site. A barge is transporting the sailing yacht Aquarius II to Royal Huisman’s facilities in Amsterdam for mast stepping and more, ahead of her formal launch.

The 213-foot (65-meter) project is for the same husband and wife who commissioned Aquarius in 2018. (That yacht, 184 feet/56 meters, has since sold, currently known as Apsara.) The owners cruised and raced her extensively, additionally taking top honors in the St. Barths Bucket a few times. They were so thrilled with her capabilities and comfort, in fact, that they declared her “close to perfect,” according to Royal Huisman. So, in considering an equally powerful new sailing superyacht, they reunited not only with the shipyard, but the full team behind her. This includes Dykstra Naval Architects, Mark Whiteley Design, and project manager Godfrey Cray.

The goal wasn’t simply a bigger boat. Rather, the owners wanted to take advantage of technological advances, particularly for being more environmentally minded. Semi-hybrid propulsion and a battery bank play into this. Equally important, they wanted to provide better experiences for guests and crew alike. An extra guest stateroom, more ample cockpits, an extra crew cabin, plus a larger galley, crew mess, and laundry are all aboard. So, too, are bigger technical areas like the engine room, and a larger owners’ deckhouse. The latter has offset stairs, leaving room for a wrap-around settee and lounging area. Overall, several lessons from the first Aquarius led to the improvements going into the yacht Aquarius II.

The transport to Amsterdam is the first time that Aquarius II is out in the open since her hull turning in March 2023. Once the mast stepping takes place, her dimensions and resemblance to her predecessor will be much more apparent. Her main mast is 221 feet (67.5 meters) tall, for example, while the mizzen mast is 199 feet (60 meters). Upwind sail area will be 21,000 square feet (1,958 square meters), with downwind sail area at 50,700 square feet (4,671 square meters). The sailing superyacht will benefit from improvements in integrated sail-handling systems as well. Godfrey notes, “We are fully aware of the need to be able to push the yacht hard in racing conditions with a crew of 30 and then safely cruise and deliver the yacht with minimal numbers of permanent crew.”

“We set out to build an elegant, muscular sailboat, and the shipyard and the design team delivered a yacht that is both of those things and more,” the owners say about the first Aquarius. They anticipate the same from the soon-to-be-complete bigger sister.

Dykstra Naval Architects dykstra-na.nl

Mark Whiteley Design markwhiteleydesign.com

Royal Huisman royalhuisman.com