A perfect (re)fit

"..refit yard with a great reputation."

More about Huisfit by TIDE Magazine:

Based in Amsterdam with state-of-the- art facilities, the yard offers an attractive and perhaps more serene and project-based alternative to the busy Mediterranean options, without being too far off the usual yachting routes. In addition, Huisfit has access to Royal Huisman’s renowned standards of craftsmanship and technical expertise. “Every refit is tailored to the yacht’s unique needs, but they are all supported by the in-house design engineering and with access to specialist trade skills and equipment,” says Mark Boom, Sales Manager at Huisfit. “Many of our projects are undertaken for repeat clients, others from word-of-mouth recommendations, always based on the team’s understanding that today’s client is tomorrow’s ambassador.” Renowned for taking on complex, transformational projects, the team was responsible for the makeover of the record-breaking racing yacht Mari Cha IV into the sleek performance cruiser Samurai.

“Many of our projects are undertaken for repeat clients, others from word-of-mouth recommendations, always based on the team’s understanding that today’s client is tomorrow’s ambassador.”

The 42-metre carbon-fibre Mari Cha IV was originally designed to be the world’s fastest offshore racing monohull. First built with a lightweight racing interior, the new owner wanted to preserve her powerful performance but make her into a genuine Superyacht capable of comfortably cruising the world. As a result she now boasts a suite of Superyacht features, including restyled deckhouse and cockpit areas, a myriad of electronics and entertainment upgrades and a completely restyled and fully fitted-out luxury interior designed by Rhoades Young Design. A project like this is where shipyards such as Huisfit excel, creating a bespoke yacht from a donated vessel so that it is as if the owner had built it from scratch, but at a far lower cost, and more rapidly.

Indeed, Huisfit has refitted a range of yachts from leading shipyards including Lürssen, Feadship, Abeking & Rasmussen and Heesen and Vitters, to name just a few. The past six months alone have seen a cross-section of refits delivered by the yard, including the 33m (106ft) sailing yacht Uriel, formerly Nyima. Originally built by the Dutch shipyard Holland Jachtbouw in 2003, this was the first major refit for the yacht, whose owner wanted to restore her both aesthetically and technically to her original glory.

“We had all of the interior design and system drawings, so for us this was really straightforward – we were excited to reimagine and refresh one of our original designs”

Another boat that has recently completed a refit at the facility in Holland is the hybrid sailing yacht Ethereal. As the world’s first yacht to feature a hybrid propulsion system, she was, and remains, a fantastic example of the yard’s capabilities in working with hybrid conversions and green technology upgrades. Having successfully delivered the groundbreaking 58m sailing yacht in 2009, the owner then chose to return to the same facility in 2020, when they replaced her main systems – in essence the nerve system of the yacht – and at the end of 2024 for a further technical and cosmetic refit. The hybrid sailer was recently relaunched with all the latest technology updates to futureproof her systems, with advanced, efficient propulsion.

Location, facilities, quality, reliability, availability and costs can all influence the decision over which yard is chosen for a particular refit. Ultimately, however, it all comes down to, quite simply, the owner’s personal preference.

Words: Miriam Cain - Photos: Jeff Brown

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