Mega Schooners Return to Holland for Refit

　　Royal Huisman has announced it will be working on two of the world’s largest sailing yachts this summer. Sailing yachts Eos and Athena will return to the Dutch shipyard’s refit division, Huisfit, with the latter 90m having arrived in early August and Eos expected to arrive later this season. Both vessels will be at a deep seawater location in Holland for several months during the winter.

　　“There can be little doubt that returning clients are always ‘a shipyard’s best ambassador’,” commented Bert Tromp, sales manager at Huisfit, “so we are particularly pleased that this announcement concerns two of the world’s largest and most prestigious sailing yachts – both of them long-term Huisfit clients. Not only that, but we will have the privilege of working on the world’s fifth and sixth largest sailing yachts at the same time, which is quite an accolade for Huisfit.”

　　Eos, built in 2006 by Lürssen, is a 93m three-masted schooner that is one of the world’s largest sailing yacht behind Sea Cloud (96m) built in 1931 by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft and Black Pearl (106.7m) built in 2017 by Oceanco. Eos has been a regular customer for Huisfit and has undergone several projects during previous visits to various sites in Holland.

　　This year, the team behind Eos has booked the schooner for a 2018-2019 Huisfit programme with a master list that will keep her on schedule for many years to come. The works include a major overhaul of her MTU 4,000 series main engines; a rebuild of three gensets; servicing and overhaul of shaft lines, gearboxes, thrusters and stabilisers; servicing of the rudder and rudder motor; general servicing of various board systems such as the watermaker, treatment unit and so on. There will also be a survey and inspection of the Rondal rigs; and a repaint and varnish of the hull, superstructures and rig.

　　The 90m three-masted schooner Athena, built by Royal Huisman in 2004 and with a seriously impressive log book of globe-circling adventures, has booked the same timing for her latest refit programme. In 2014, the sailing yacht underwent a small maintenance project for various aesthetic and technical updates from the Huisfit team, which sent out a team of specialist personnel to Athena during a stopover in the Mediterranean.

　　Royal Huisman’s Huisfit team are preparing for the range of service works that must be undergone to maintain Athena in first-class operational condition. Works will include the overhaul of her main engines and gensets; survey and updates of various board systems and piping; full service of her rigging; teak replacement on the main and bridge decks; a repaint of the hull, superstructures and rig.