The 45-metre motor yacht “Awatea” has arrived at Balk Shipyard in the Netherlands, where she will undergo an extensive programme of technical and aesthetic upgrades.
Delivered in 2008 by Royal Hakvoort, the yacht is now set for a significant modernisation phase at a yard located less than an hour from her original builder.
The scope of work includes a complete repaint of her hull and superstructure, as well as the installation of new alarm and monitoring (AM) and power control and monitoring systems (PCMS). It marks a return to familiar territory for a yacht that has long held a special place in Dutch yachtbuilding.
“Awatea” was the first Hakvoort yacht designed by Rotterdam-based Cor D. Rover and, at the time, was the fourth-largest yacht ever built by the shipyard – and the largest Rover had designed up to that point. She emerged in a particularly dynamic year for the Dutch superyacht sector: in 2008, no fewer than 21 yachts were delivered from the Netherlands, including Feadship’s 72.8-metre “Predator” with its axe-bow and 23,000 hp four-engine propulsion package, as well as the 75-metre Oceanco “Wheels” (ex “Anastasia”).
“Awatea” also broke new ground in terms of technology, the shipyard says. Her web-based onboard and entertainment systems from VBH were among the first of their kind aboard a yacht. Her interiors, created by Felix Buytendijk Yacht Design, brought a contemporary twist to traditional yachting, blending sailing-yacht themes with New England influences.
For Balk Shipyard, preserving this heritage is central to the project. “The post-millennium period of Dutch yacht design saw an influx of experimental design and a new wave of innovation,” says Evan Kortmann of Balk Shipyard. “This now semi-classical styling has a majestic charm, and as a shipyard that has been at the heart of Dutch yachting since 1798, there is no greater place for Awatea to be preserved, enhanced, and ReCrafted. We have been here throughout every wave of Dutch yacht design and understand deeply how to maintain yet modernise each era’s great spirit.”
