The world’s largest aluminium sailing yacht, the truly breathtaking three-masted Royal Huisman schooner SEA EAGLE II, is the largest superyacht to emerge from the company’s facility in Vollenhove.
Earlier this year, SEA EAGLE II, designed by Dykstra Naval Architects and Mark Whiteley, was transferred from the shipyard’s headquarters in Vollenhove and launched in Amsterdam. Her three carbon Rondal masts and booms were installed and tuned at Royal Huisman’s Amsterdam facility. The 81m or 266ft contemporary schooner was perfectly on schedule for her delivery date, but Covid-19 restrictions in the Netherlands prevented the finishing touch from being completed.
Nearly all board systems, such as gensets, air conditioning, waste water treatment and electronics, were thoroughly tested in the year prior to launch to avoid any surprises during the commissioning stage. Strict Covid-19 regulations and detailed protocols introduced in Spring eventually allowed the team to safely “pick up where they left off” in these extraordinary times. The sail handling and remaining propulsion systems were successfully tested and signed off during recent trials, which even during testing gave very promising insights into this yacht’s capabilities.
Spectacular speeds over 21 knots can be achieved by the world’s largest aluminium sailing yacht by powering up SEA EAGLE II’s Rondal rig, which can carry over 3500 square meters of sail area evenly distributed over her carbon Panamax masts. The full sail area is controlled by 34 winches from sailing system integrator Rondal. The largest winches for the world’s largest aluminium sailing yacht – for the yankee, staysail sheets and mizzen sheet runners – are capable of a tremendous 18 tons (18000 kg) pulling load.
Royal Huisman’s largest yacht ever was commissioned by the owner of the 43m or 142ft sloop SEA EAGLE (Royal Huisman, 2015) who in doing so, reaffirmed his confidence in the ability of the shipyard to build his ultimate dream-yacht. SEA EAGLE II features a plumb bow, ensuring she is not only powerful but recognizable all over the world. The Royal Huisman team made this grand aspiration into a striking reality, keeping its promise of “If you can dream it, we can build it”.
“It may look like a contemporary modern sailing yacht now but in 50 years’ time it will be a classic,” said Dykstra Naval Architects, who was responsible for the naval architecture, as well as working with Mark Whiteley Design on the exterior styling.
