Zeelander is going to great lengths to ensure you don’t wait too long for your next yacht.
The Dutch yard has increased the size of its existing waterside site in Groot-Ammers by 40 percent thereby enabling more new hulls to be ordered and built.
“By adding capacity to our shipyard, we have created new build slots which weren’t previously available,” Zeelander’s founder Sietse Koopmans said in a statement. “It means that a select few will have the opportunity to order a new Zeelander yacht in 2023, where they would otherwise have had to wait several years.”
Zeelander has added additional building sheds and office spaces, as well as a dedicated paint booth for yachts up to 82 feet (25 meters). This means that for the first time ever Zeelander yachts can be entirely spray-painted in-house. It’s still quite a painstaking process, of course: After the hull comes out of the mold, it is faired, painted and sanded, before seven final coats of paint are added with Zeelander’s signature deep shimmer.
Zeelander’s expansion follows a year of steady growth. There has been strong demand for the yard’s yachts, especially in the US and the Netherlands. As a result, the brand has also increased its skilled workforce by 45 percent to support the extension of the yard and the uptick in construction.
At the same time, Zeelander says it has created a “new visual identity” to appeal to a new wave of yachtsmen. The yard launched the restyled Zeelander 6 back in October, shifting the dial from retro classic towards a more timeless contemporary design. The line is currently made up of three models—the Zeelander 5, 6 and 7—that all run under 100 feet. It appears the family is also growing bigger, though.
“We were always clear that we would increase the model range once we had simplified our offer and perfected our styling,” adds Koopmans. “When the first new Zeelander 5 is launched in the spring of 2023, that process will be complete, and we will be able to lift the covers on a new, bigger yacht.”
Koopmans didn’t divulge any concrete details about the newcomer but says it will be every bit as sophisticated as the smaller fleet members. We shall see if that’s correct next year.
