| Holland Jachtbouw 121 |  |
There can be few pleasures quite as rewarding to the soul as
sailing a 37-meter (121-foot) sloop off Italy’s Ligurian coast on a balmy spring
day in a steady 10-knot breeze. The yacht in question was YII, built by
Holland Jachtbouw with naval architecture by Bill Dixon and interior styling
by John Munford. The experience was all the more pleasurable because we were
sailing in the company of both these gentlemen and had waited some eight months
for the privilege after the yacht was first presented at the Monaco Yacht Show
last year, presumably because the owner was having too much fun enjoying his
boat to give up any time on it. "The owner was looking for a comfortable performance sailing
yacht to replace his old 30-meter," explains Dixon, who also designed the
owner’s previous boat. "It had to sail nicely in the Med’s fickle breezes, which
meant making the yacht as light as possible." Hence, the yacht’s all-Alustar
construction and full Nomex-core interior. | Click on the Specs tab at top to see complete list of resources. |
Tank tests were conducted to see where draft and keel could be
pared away to minimize drag but maintain windward performance. At 33 tons bare
weight with a 4.3-meter draft and a 46.5-meter mast, YII will power up
very quickly in anything up to 12 knots of breeze with her big reacher and
light-air genoa for full-on sailing. But with the blade jib, which can be
flipped over without the need to furl when tacking, the yacht is also easy to
handle short-handed. Mechanical steering with Spectra cables means tracking is
both smooth and responsive.
Top: Bill Dixon at the helm. Middle: Interior designer John Munford. Bottom: Tako van Ineveld, production manager for Holland Jachtbouw. Photographs by Justin Ratcliffe. (Click images to enlarge)
Clean exterior lines were a prerequisite, and one of the key
design issues facing Dixon was how to keep the deck height low but retain decent
headroom in the forward owner’s suite. This meant scouring the market for the
lowest profile captive winches, which were eventually supplied by Lewmar. To
keep the foredeck clean and uncluttered, YII features one of the first
Reckmann under-deck furlers and a Starlite anchor system that drops through the
hull bottom so there is nothing hanging over the bow. The yard has earned a reputation for innovative engineering, but it had to pull out all the stops when it came to meeting the owner’s
automation requirements, such as hydraulically operated coaming hatches, dodger
and bimini. "It took us six months to develop the hydraulics systems, and
this is the most expensive bimini we’ve ever built," exclaims the yard’s
production manager, Tako van Ineveld. There is even a small pneumatic-hydraulic
TV screen in the guest cockpit, which is quite a novelty on a sailing boat.
Since all this requires a huge amount of power, the yacht’s hydraulic and
electrical systems can be run from the generators or the main engine, or in
parallel. A great deal of collaborative thought went into the interior
design to ensure it coincided with the owner’s needs and the yacht’s exterior
styling and performance requirements.
Top: YII’s clutter-free decks as seen from the bosun’s chair. Middle & Bottom: Munford produced a masculine, yet stylish and
evergreen interior. (Click images to enlarge)
"It was a pleasure and a refreshing change to design this
comfortable, modern yacht," admits Munford, who is best known for creating the
traditional style and detailing of such yachts as Endeavour, Jessica (now
Adix), Velsheda, Aurora and Mari-Cha III. Coming up
with balanced proportions within the limited confines of a sailing yacht is
always a challenge, and Munford produced a masculine, yet stylish and evergreen
interior that complements Dixon’s sleek exterior styling. In the full-beam
salon/dining room, the bespoke sofas are positioned under the side decks to keep
the central area and passageway forward clear. The combination of a dark wengé
sole and pale pear joinery by de Ruiter in Holland further enhances this
sense of space, while the pear coffee table is mounted on stainless steel
plinths to reflect light around its base. Soft lighting is a feature throughout
the yacht, from the shoji-style sheers in the cabins to the opal Perspex hatch screens and traditional deck prisms. The starboard dining area is a wealth of warm, mahogany-colored
leather with iconic Mario Bellini Cab chairs and leather-tiled countertops. A
subtly molded fiddle edge—an often-overlooked necessity on modern sailing
boats—provides firm finger holds where needed. The door and drawer handles were
designed by Munford and manufactured by Turnstile using the same stitched
mahogany leather with stainless steel push buttons. A small study area on a
lower level to starboard neatly houses a computer terminal, repeat instruments,
printer and fax machine. The crew quarters are located aft, which means
crewmembers won’t have to tramp over or through the guest areas when the yacht
is moored stern-to in the Med.
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