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THE AMERICAN WAY

The cultural blend that is the 36m botti.

Dutch-made and American-owned, the 36.3-metre Moonen Botti proves she has transatlantic range in more ways than one, says Kevin Koenig

Charl van rooy.

Moonen is a quintessential Dutch yard. Boutique and discreet, it turns out just a couple of boats a year, building its vessels to last with high-tensile steel hulls on proven platforms. While it stands firmly by its choices, it offers myriad customisation. The brand tends to attract a clientele that prefers to go to a smaller yard than a big marquee (not unlike a student who gets into Harvard but chooses to attend Williams College instead) with the assured confidence that the right people will understand why.

Such is the case with the owners of 36.3-metre Botti , part of the yard’s Martinique series , developed with Dutch designer René van der Velden . “We could have gone with a Feadship ,” Jacelyn Botti says. “We wanted Feadship quality, but a 46-metre or 52-metre [ yacht] didn’t make sense for our family. Our kids are dating but they aren’t married and we don’t have grandkids. We wanted the highest-quality yacht but in a slightly smaller package and Moonen produces that. Botti is like a Bentley; those larger boats are more like a Rolls-Royce.”

CHARL VAN ROOY Following her delivery last year, Botti crossed the Atlantic to her US cruising grounds on her own bottom. Although she is part of the Martinique series, the yard allowed the owners to make extensive customisations

Jacelyn and her husband, Jack, are seasoned yacht owners who split their time between New Jersey and Palm Beach and, although previous Moonen owners, they are the first American owners for whom Moonen has built a new boat. They have lived aboard previous yachts they’ve owned and had a lot of knowledgeable input to offer when designing their newest boat. Or should we say, Jacelyn did. She took the reins on the design during the difficult years of the pandemic when travel was all but impossible. And she had the boat delivered to the docks in Palm Beach amid a cacophony of bagpipes and the engine noise of a small plane flying a sign that heralded the boat’s arrival, nearly as a total surprise to her husband.

When he stepped aboard for the first time, he recognised a style that was all her own – equal parts old Florida and modern Americana. It’s hard to look around Botti and decide if the boat is classic or cutting edge, and one soon comes to the happy conclusion that she is both at once.

JOSH CZACHUR

Owner Jacelyn Botti describes the yacht’s style as a mix of edgy and contemporary with a dose of old-school Palm Beach. It’s both classic and cutting edge. Both the main deck (bottom right) and bridge deck (bottom left) offer outdoor dining on the aft deck

“I was going for a look that wouldn’t be dated or trendy,” Jacelyn Botti tells me as we walk around her Palm Beach neighborhood with her King Charles cavalier spaniel, Maximilian. “And it wouldn’t look like my grandmother owned the boat. What I wanted was a little edgy and contemporary with some animal prints and artwork, but also a little dose of Palm Beach – not too much though.”

To achieve this goal, Botti looked to London-based interior design firm Studio Indigo . The choice was kind of a no-brainer. Studio Indigo’s creative director, Mike Fisher, designed and owns Botti’s award-winning sistership Brigadoon . These Martinique series yachts are designed with a shallow draft for access to the skinny-water destinations in the Bahamas and the Caribbean.

“From the beginning, Jacelyn had strong ideas about what she wanted for this boat,” Fisher says. “A lot of it had to do with where the boat would stay in Florida and the Caribbean. She wanted strong colours and boldness in the interior. And also she wanted the boat to be fun – that was important. They do a lot of entertaining, so they wanted their guests to be able to walk from room to room and go on a journey. And of course, it had to be glamorous because [Jacelyn] is quite a glamorous lady.”

Some of the design elements she picked out jump out at me as I step inside Botti in her slip at the Safe Harbor Rybovich marina in West Palm Beach, with Captain Matthew Curtis. The first thing I notice is a chandelier over the forward dining table that twists and glitters in an infinity pattern that reminds me of a roller coaster. The table that the chandelier so playfully illuminates is inlaid with stingray and buffalo bone. “We like that combination of materials because the stingray has bits of bone in it that play off the buffalo, and also the buffalo fits in well with the cowboy theme that exists in other parts of the boat,” Fisher says.

Top left: In the main salon a distinctive chandelier and exotic materials like stingray and buffalo bone add glamour. Below: a huge television anchors the winter garden

It would be remiss of me to describe Botti’s salon without mentioning the underlit onyx counter that spans most of the starboard side of the room. With the lights flicked on the stone comes to life, dancing in a swirling, nebular pattern of golds, grays and purples, resembling the night sky the moment a bolt of lightning sets it ablaze.

The cowboy theme that Fisher mentions is most apparent in the owner’s suite, forward on the main deck. A starboard-side passageway sandwiched by two pieces of art Botti picked out – one a painting, the other a sculpture – leads to the cabin. The first thing one observes is the king-sized bed, which faces aft, and more specifically, its headboard. The headboard is made from cowhide applied in a zebra pattern.

“ The main purpose of a yacht is to make the owners happy”

JOSH CZACHUR A custom headboard in cowhide is the standout feature in the owners’ main deck stateroom. The en suite employs dramatically veined marble, expertly matched

“It came from sketches of my own,” Botti says. “Lyne [Arbid, associate director at Studio Indigo] sourced the cowhide, we picked out chips of rawhide to match the right colour, and then they followed my sketches. And remember this was all done by Zoom. I must have spent thousands of hours on Zoom with Lyne. I only met her once because of Covid-19, on a few-days trip to the yard, and then I met her again once the boat was delivered.”

Twin light fixtures featuring horsehair, among the most striking elements on the entire yacht, complement the headboard. “We used an American designer, Kyle Bunting, to do the headboard,” Fisher explains. “He is really clever at book-matching hides and whatnot, and the clients loved that we were working with an American designer because they are very patriotic. And we had another company, Apparatus, do those fantastic horsehair light fixtures. It all plays with this interesting idea of cowboys herding their cattle in Texas, which is all very American.”

Another coup in Botti’s interior is found in the yacht’s en suites – both in the owner’s suite and the four staterooms down below. There, Studio Indigo used vein-matched marble, cut in large slabs lined up perfectly with one another, to create a sense of glamour.

“I’ve never seen veining like they did in the bathroom with the marble,” says Botti, who has had a long career in real estate. “I’ve never seen anything like that even in a house.”

Elsewhere on the yacht, another highlight is the “winter garden” on the bridge deck. This space, which can be opened up nearly completely and serves as both an interior and exterior entertainment area, is done in bright colours and light woods reminiscent of the style seen in many of Palm Beach’s poshest lounges, clubs and homes. Another notable light fixture, this one meant to evoke flower petals floating on the surface of the sea, hovers lightly over the room.

A huge television is one feature that the craftspeople at Moonen found remarkable. “To us, that seemed like one of the most American things about the yacht,” Nicky van Zon, Moonen’s technical director, says.

Despite all of Botti’s treasures in her interior, she isn’t simply a floating palace, and van Zon is all too happy to espouse the vessel’s seafaring bona fides. She made the trip from the Netherlands to America on her own bottom and has a range of 4,000 nautical miles at 10 knots and 1,400 nautical miles at 14 knots. And she travels all that way quietly.

Botti’s floating interior ensures very low noise and vibration levels throughout the yacht. The four guest cabins on the lower deck enjoy particular isolation thanks to thick insulation in the bulkheads with no air gaps. The guest accommodations comprise two twin-berth staterooms and two doubles, all equitably sized

“We designed this boat to have low noise levels and low vibration,” van Zon says. “We pay attention to every detail in that regard. The engine rests on rubber construction mounts, and our entire interior is free floating from the rest of the ship; it sits on a layer of foam so sound and vibration doesn’t transfer into it. And between cabins, we have thick insulation with no air gaps; we are very careful about that because any gap will immediately become a source of noise.”

Van Zon is quick to tout another less glamorous aspect of the yacht: the crew space. When I toured the boat, one of the interior crew I met in the crew mess told me that the crew space on Botti is better than the 45.1-metre vessel she had worked on previously.

“The main purpose of a yacht is to make the owners happy,” van Zon says. “And there is the old saying that a happy crew means a happy owner. So we tried to make use of and maximise every inch of space, be it in the bunks, by the laundry, the eating space, whatever.

CHARL VAN ROOY An extra-long sundeck both shelters the al fresco dining on the bridge deck aft and makes room for a Jacuzzi with water feature on the top deck

And you know, every crew bunk has its own TV – it’s an American crew and it keeps them smiling.”

Stowage in the crew area is abundant as well, with a generous bilge space running beneath the entire area, as well as a creative lofted stowage space reachable via a ladder.

Another ladder that Botti particularly likes is the custom, linen upholstered step that Moonen made for Maximilian, so he is able to get up into the bed in the couple’s stateroom.

He no doubt was comfortable there as Botti sailed north from Florida to the owners’ favourite summer cruising grounds in New England. There the yacht spent the season among the Yankees. And for what it’s worth, most linguists will tell you that the word “Yankee” stems from Dutch origins.

First published in the November 2023 issue of BOAT International US Edition. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.

The seven-person Jacuzzi with attached sit-down bar was designed by the owner

In lieu of a sky lounge, the winter garden can be either an exterior or interior space

The owners’ walk-in wardrobe is as large as the en suite

The crew quarters for six were carefully considered to make use of every inch

An almost-5.8m tender fits in the garage

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Meet ‘Moonshine,’ a New 119-Foot Superyacht With an Otherworldly Interior

The interior palette was inspired by the light of the moon., rachel cormack.

Digital Editor

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Moonen Yachts wants you to bask in the 119-foot Moonshine .

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Designed for long-range, transatlantic voyages, Moonshine is equipped with twin Caterpillar engines that enable a cruising speed of 14.5 knots, a top speed of 17 knots, and a range of 4,000 nautical miles at 10 knots. With an interior volume of 345 GT and a beam of 26 feet, the newcomer is plenty spacious, too.

The owners tasked Hollander Yacht Design with creating “a rich and characterful interior.” The Dutch studio’s co-founders Simon Hollander and Alexandra Nicolaescu opted for an elegant blend of otherworldly textures and a palette inspired by the moon. The silver and beige hues on the main deck evoke the light side of the moon, while the blues and grays on the bridge deck reflect the dark side.

“The end result is a yacht that keeps you entertained and surprised every time you turn a corner,” Nicolaescu said in a statement . “The owners emphasized the importance of infusing distinct personalities into each area of the yacht based on its function.”

As for accommodation, Moonshine can sleep 12 guests in one owner’s stateroom, two VIPs, and two guest cabins. The twin has pops of reds and oranges that feel more akin to Mars than the moon. The yacht can also sleep up to seven crew via one captain’s cabin and three crew cabins.

The highlight of the exterior is the sundeck. The alfresco area is adorned with a striking spa, a five-seater bar, and plush lounge seating from which you can soak in the sun or moon.

Moonshine will be delivered to her owners before the summer season, according to Moonen. The yacht will spend the rest of the year cruising the Mediterranean and the Caribbean before reaching her new home in San Diego, California.

Click here to see all the photos of Moonshine.

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

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• By Dudley Dawson
• Updated: October 4, 2007

The newest delivery from Moonen Shipyards is proof that the theory of evolution is valid, at least in yacht building. Better yachts don’t come from “big bangs”, but rather develop from the designs of successful predecessors. Far from revolutionary, the 84-foot motoryacht Gogar Lass is a flush deck cruiser with a round-bilge displacement steel hull, designed for long-range cruising rather than speed. Yet there are many clues that she is a step beyond previous launches from the Dutch yard.

Based on Moonen’s 72- and 83-foot motoryachts, Gogar Lass is the second in the series, following the Moonen 83 Mimi , which was launched late last year. Moonen is one of the few builders still producing custom yachts under 100 feet, which allows improvements on each individual design. With Gogar Lass , Moonen set out to make a quiet design even quieter, and to improve turning time with a feature seldom used on yachts.

When I saw Gogar Lass under construction in Hertogenbosch, Holland, before she launched this year, that feature was one of the first to catch my eye: a pair of Barke foil rudders. Working on the same principle as the flap on an airplane’s wing or the articulating trailing edge of a high-performance wing sail, the after third of a Barke rudder is a separate piece hinged to the main portion of the rudder.

When holding a steady course, the flap is in line with and forms a part of the overall foil shape. When the wheel is cranked over, an internal mechanism forces the flap to a greater angle than the forward section, yielding the hydrodynamic equivalent of a cambered foil. This increases lift, or turning force, and results in faster turns with a reduced turning circle diameter. It also augments the effectiveness of propeller thrust when maneuvering. As this provides some of the advantages of a stern thruster without the added expense and complication, I think it may make sense for other yacht builders.

Also apparent at the stern was a generous amount of clearance between the propeller blade tips and the hull. The clearance was about 30 percent of prop diameter; standard is 15 to 20 percent. The purpose of the extra spacing is noise and vibration reduction, another of the evolutionary steps Moonen took with Gogar Lass . The five-blade propellers are swept back with high skew and include special unloaded blade tips to further reduce hull vibration.

Carrying the propellers and shafts are oil-bath tubes welded into single-leg struts. After these are fabricated, Moonen technicians test them to ensure their natural frequency does not correspond to the propeller blade or shaft operating frequency, which could lead to excessive vibration.

Other components in the quest for quiet include insulation of the engine and accommodation spaces and isolation of all machinery from the hull structure on resilient mounts. Also part of the program is operating the Caterpillar main engines at their 1800 rpm reduced-horsepower B-rating, which will also result in longer engine life. According to Moonen’s sea trials, sound levels at the 11.2-knot cruising speed are a subdued 59 decibels in the saloon, and less than half that in the owner’s and VIP staterooms.

Visits to Moonen Shipyards are always a pleasure for the technically oriented. The company’s managing director, Emile Bilterijst, is a naval architect who delights in sharing details of his yachts. Knowing that Gogar Lass was a collaboration between outside designer Rene van der Velden and naval architect Stolk Marimecs, I asked Bilterijst if he also had a hand in the engineering. With a smile, he quickly pulled out a binder filled with notes, charts and graphs of such minutiae as sectional area curves and hull coefficients.

Although Bilterijst doesn’t prepare the drawings himself, it is his continued attention to the basics of design that makes yachts such as Gogar Lass possible. Her added propeller clearance was achieved without excessive draft or hull pockets by allowing the hull’s lines to rise nearly to the waterline aft. This, in turn, was possible only because of an early decision to place crew quarters at the stern and locate the engineroom, and its concentrated weight, closer to amidships.

The resulting hull is a full-bellied form with tapering ends. This yields a relatively low prismatic coefficient for reduced resistance at displacement speeds, appropriate to cruising yachts such as Gogar Lass . As I sighted along the hull’s smooth lines, Bilterijst confirmed what I suspected. This is not a developed hull form, which consists entirely of two-dimensional curves and is easy to plate with sheet materials such as steel. Rather, the hull has significant areas of compound curvature, requiring more work but allowing a less restrictive shape.

Other Moonen yachts of similar size carry semi-displacement hulls or planing hulls of aluminum, each appropriate to its speed. This approach-matching hull form and materials to purpose-has long been a hallmark of Moonen.

The yard delivered the 120-foot White Heaven III last year, but most of its production is between 70 and 110 feet LOA. This is in line with the yard’s stated goal, to “create pocket megayachts of the highest standard, combining traditional elegant styling with today’s requirements in terms of comfort and state-of-the-art equipment. To fit a cruising yacht into a planing hull, for example, just to save a bit of work or cost, or to utilize existing designs or molds, is not part of the Moonen plan.

Even if a yacht is part of a standard series, as is the Moonen 84, each launch has her own interior design, outfitting and equipment package. Gogar Lass is similar to Mimi , but sports a clean minimalist cherry interior, stained dark with a satin finish. Mimi has a closed galley and a more formal layout on the main deck, while Gogar Lass carries an open galley with a casual bar at the corner of the saloon and dining area. Most of the joinery is constructed at the yard, so special owner requests are no problem.

Gogar Lass carries eight guests in four staterooms belowdecks. The master stateroom is amidships, shielded from the heat and noise of the engineroom not only by a heavily insulated bulkhead but by the master bath and a large hanging locker. A VIP stateroom is forward, and two twin-berth staterooms occupy the space between.

The wheelhouse is separated from the dining area and saloon by the galley and day head. As Gogar Lass is expected to spend many nights under way, this will help keep light intrusion to a minimum. Full side decks and lockers on the foredeck will allow the crew to handle docking chores with ease.

Contact: Moonen Shipyards, (011) 31 73 621 0094; [email protected] ; www.moonen.com .

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Moonen Yachts

About Moonen Yachts

MOONEN YACHTS is a Dutch shipyard based in Den Bosch, Holland, building motor yachts from 65′ to 150′ (19m to 45m) since 1963. Moonen is a leading yacht builder known for elegance, quality, and competitive prices – without compromising perfection.

World-class new yacht construction by Moonen includes the 124′ (38m) NORTHLANDER, the 137′ (42m) SOFIA, the 119′ (36.30m) MARTINIQUE and more, with design by some of the top stylists from around the world, including Rene Van Der Velden , Stolk Marimecs, Dixon Yacht Design and others, to create a yacht with thoughtful precision and detail to the client’s liking.

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YN202 ARRIVES AT MOONEN YACHTS

23 December 2021

Moonen Yachts’ latest project, YN202, has arrived at our shipyard in Den Bosch and will now remain in the outfitting shed until her next milestone; the joining of the hull and superstructure, due to take place in early 2022.

Designed by René van der Velden in collaboration with naval architects Diana Yacht Design, YN202 is the 34m (Moonen 110) classically designed Gentleman’s yacht, that draws inspiration from the shipyards popular builds of the early 2000’s; the Moonen 84 and Moonen 97.

Once complete, YN202 will be a head turner with her classic navy hull and white superstructure. Her exterior will be complemented by her high end, luxury interiors by London designers Studio Indigo. She will feature a spacious five cabin layout for 10 guests, floor to ceiling windows on the main deck, panoramic views and twin stairways from main deck aft leading down to the swim platform.

YN202 is on track for delivery in April 2023.

Never miss a Moonen moment ! Follow @moonenyachts

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JohnS Member

I have heard much about the quality of Moonen Shipyards, however, little seems to appear within the forums about Moonen. My suspicion is that this is due to the fact that Moonen (up until now) have only built up to about 120ft (White Heaven III) and most people seem more interested in talking about the yachts above 150ft!! The 84' range (Mimi, Gogar Lass, Moon Bels, YN180 etc..) are beautiful yachts, and so are those in the previous range of 80-83ft yachts (Dolce Vita, Blue Symphony VI etc...) So why do Moonen not have the same sort of following as Feadship, Amels and other Dutch yards?? Also, who else makes (steel hull, displacement) yachts of similar quality within this size bracket?? I hope this stimulates some discussion and look forward to reading some responses! Regards John C S

AMG YF Moderator

Hi John, there was another member asking about Moonen last week and I have given him some general advice since I have spent more than three years living on a Moonen 85, the classic canoe stern yacht. I also followed the construction. I think the reason we don´t have any discussions on Moonen is the fact they have not built so many yachts yet, some are also built for other brands. But today they have little competition, the other dutch builders have moved to bigger yachts or closed, such as Lowlands who were building similar yachts. I have made a couple of designs that I would like to be built by Moonen, you can see them in the "Perfect Yacht" thread, one is 85´ and one is 100´. This size is what they can build without any problems, bigger than 120-130 have restrictions to get out to the sea, which I think is just as good! Better to see them be the best in it´s class than in worst case fail among the big guys... /Lars

Thanks for your rapid response! Interesting to note the reason that Moonen is limited is by the sea passage! I wonder if they will ever be able to overcome this. Although i agree wholeheartedly with your statement about remaining "best in class". With much experience of these yachts, how do you percieve the quality of construction? Being a dutch yard, i guess the quality is impeccable, but how does it compare to, for example, feadship? Just out of interest, do you have an opinion on the direction you see Moonen going in in the next 10 years or so?? Regards John P.S - the Moonen 85 (Jumbo, Mayflower...) range is also a beautiful design - i didn't mean to leave it out of my previous post!

I am not sure, but I think they will never be able to get higher yachts under a fixed bridge, but certain things, masts and arches can be fitted outside. On quality, they should be equal to Feadship if the buyer are willing to pay for it, since as you probably know, they have access to the same subcontractors. The two sisterships of Moonen Princess and Moonshadow where I was involved, were almost over-engineered. The quality was on top, but the yachts were a little too small to have all of this equipment and also we were very early with that amount of electronic stuff that have since become more easy to install. So the kind of technical problems we had were mainly because of too high ambitions from both the buyer and the shipyard With new owners you can´t tell how it will look in ten years time, but most of the old staff is still there and their after sales service has always been good. There is no reason why they should not stay on top as a unique mini-superyacht builder.

Attached Files:

Moonbridge.jpg.

That looks like the bridge on the Canoe Stern Moonen 85 - Mayflower! I have some pictures of the Moonen 84 YN180 - and the interior quality appears to be top drawer. In fact, the whole interior design is as good as i have seen on yachts in a much higher price bracket and size. To me, it seems as though Moonen should be the choice for those wanting the best of the best, but limited to 25 - 30m. (The Feadship - La Masquerade also springs to mind however!) Is there anywhere we can find a list of all the Moonen yachts ever built?... i have tried to compile one but am finding it difficult to know where i stand with regards to number of yachts in each series etc... John

Yes, I think it is Mayflower. Our boats had even more electronics... Mayflower had a less classic interior and you can see the mirrorlike support under the handrail going down, this was otherwise in burmese teak. Best if you like to know all the boats built must be to contact the shipyard? I only kept track on the 85´:s where Cassiopeia was the first. On the teak joinery which was made inhouse, I once had Carlo Riva as a guest and he was really impressed and added; As I have built 2.000 wooden boats, I should know!

Well, that certainly is some praise for moonen craftsmanship! Also, Cassiopeia: do you know if this is anything to do with the 32m Holland Jachtbouw yacht delivered last year with the same name? same owners maybe?... Can't seem to find any info about Cassiopeia the Moonen 85 either.

YachtForums Administrator

Now we're talking about Cassiopia? OK... you've got my attention. I love this boat! As best I remember, the new Cassiopia was built for an American owner based out of... I think, Chicago. Was the original Cassiopia (Moonen) owner from the states?

I am not really a ************ and not very interested in the owners either but from what I remember, Cassiopeia S was built by Moonen in 1986 for a German owner, later sold to a Norwegian and renamed Midnight Saga II. This owner also ran the 188´ Cammenga (ex Feadship-yard) Midnight Saga, as a charter yacht through a company in the Bahamas. This big and beautiful yacht is a W. de Vries Lentsch design built in 1978 which later got a decoration by no less than Jon Bannenberg. She was built as Majestic M, and is today under the name of S Cape. I believe that Midnight Saga II is also sold as the owner built a new Willem de Vries/Ken Freivokh design at Hakvoort in 2002. She got her build name of Midnight Saga replaced by just Saga and has a norwegian flag. I don´t know if there is any connection between this new Cassiopeia and the Moonen 85´, which btw had MAN diesels of 450 hp while the following boats of this class had MTU 409/420 hp. Here is a picture of the 2002, 111´ Saga from Hakvoort, another classic beauty:

How do Lowland yachts compare?? They have built some nice yachts in the 24-30m bracket in the past, and: "All of the Lowland yachts exhibit Dutch quality in their construction" ( www.yachts.com ) Any ideas?? John [Sorry if this slightly off the topic - couldnt find a "Lowland" section]

I have inspected a number of the smaller Lowlands for a buyer and they are nice little ships, I think they were all W. de Vries designs. Somewhere I have the specs, but anyway the quality was diffferent in between them, some seemed to be built on low budgets and a few were top. The last I remember to have seen is the 32 m Evnike which was of the same quality as Moonen. I think she was built after an old Feadship more or less. The faster boats that was built under the Netship brand I never saw in detail.

WrittenWord Guest

Moonen Yachts Hi All: I'm a Johnny-Come-Lately (actually Jackie) to your Forum, but I happen to know a bit about Moonen, as I'm writing a book about their 25-year history for publication end of 2006. The Moonen 85 Cassiopeia S (launched 1985) was the first of six built to DIANA design, and yes for a German client. The others were Lady M (1987), Moonen Princess (1989, Marly Queen (1990), Moon Shadow (1991), and Mayflower (1992). They were the big break for Moonen's entry into that size market, and really put the yard on the map. I personally love the DIANA design as an example of the ideal Mediterranean style, truly timeless, and in talking to some of Moonen's odlest employees I get full agreement, although below you'll see how things are looking up at the shipyard. Since they moved over to building designs by Rene van der Velden, they have had a resurgency (after some tough times in the 1990s under some, well, weak management). But they are building the seventh Moonen 84 in just four years, and have recently delivered the first Moonen 96, and will this year deliver the first Explorer 114, an ice-class vessel for an owner who really plans to get into the ice. They also have just signed orders for two new all-aluminum 25-knot 94-foot models. Yes, they still have the problem of getting big boats out through the bridge, but worse they can't get anything big back in for the lucrative refit business. As to the other Cassiopeia she was built by HJB for an American, who lives not far from me in Connecticut. You can check my review in ShowBoats International last year, but I can't recall what month. Check their website. More later. Jack

KCook Senior Member

Moonen is one that we don't hear a lot about. Thanks Jack! Kelly Cook

KCook said: Moonen is one that we don't hear a lot about. Thanks Jack! Kelly Cook Click to expand...

Moonen quality I promise, guys, therr will be more. Right now I have a book to write. But Happy Hew Year all around. Jack

Another Moonen fan! excellent! I'd be very interested to know any more details regarding your book! Its Moonens 25th anniversary this year is it not?!! HAPPY NEW YR TO ALL!!

I'd be interested also, but as the author I guess I'm on the hotseat! The book will recount more than 25 years of Moonen history, as the predecessor of Moonen was a small shipyard, de Ruiter, in Harndixveld, which moved to Moonen's present location in 's-Hertogenbosch around 1980. It went belly up and Rien Moonen, who was a client trying to build a boat there, decided to take over end of 1981. (You've heard that one before, Mr. Trump, havent you?) The book covers the rest of the history, right through most of this year with the launch of the Moonen 114 Explorer and development of the new "Alu" line of 94-foot semi-displacement boats (one of whose clients has contributed to this thread). We will publish before the end of 2006, possibly in time for the Monaco Yacht Show in September, if the author does his duty! If not, it will be ready at year's end. Stay tuned . . . .

Mov-it! New Member

I never understood why Moonen never concidered in building larger yachts. It would be so easy to build the yacht and simply add the flybridge and radar tower at a subcontractor near the sea. Concirning the bridge, it is only a couple off meters that block the clearance. I agree on their yachts being over-engineered. Also their styling is up for renewal. If I compare the 84 to for example the Mulder 88 you can see that the glory years of the 84 are fading away. On the other hand it is probably a good idea for Moonen to stick to their size limits. We already have a wide range of mega yacht builders in Holland. I can state a few like, The Van Lent / de Vries Feadship group, Amels, Pantera, Vitters, Holland Jachtbouw, Heesen, Jongert (sails), Bloemsma&van Breemen, Hakvoort, Kuipers, Oceanco, Royal Huisman and some others. I'm still happy to see that there still is also an interest in he smaller dutch shipyards. Kind regards, Björn Moonen

The bridge problem is greater than you think. When Moonen launched the 120-foot White Heaven III a few years ago, it not only had to leave the antenna arch and flying-bridge windscreen off, but had to fill the bilges and tanks to sink her so she could just squeeze under. Moonen has been trying for years to get the local government to raise the bridge by replacing a span section with a hydraulic one that would lift when a big boat comes through. There's a containerport right across the canal from Moonen and they (the government, which owns the propery, I think) would love to be able to bring in ships with one more stack of containers! But the highway (A59) is a busy one and bureaucracy and technology don't seem to mesh. Moonen is putting its big 114 Explorer in the water soon (higher displacement than White Heaven III ) and it too will be "topless" as well until is passes under the bridge. Moonen has been looking for a place to move to but has been unsuccessful so far. Stay tuned. BTW: With a name like Moonen, what's your connection???? Come back!

Actually there is no direkt connection between me and the yard. We come from different bloodlines. I'm descended form nobilty and entitled as esquire and they are not. But that's ancient history. In the present they make tons of money and I have to work to make a living. Funny how times change. . I know the issue with the bridge at first hand. I worked for Heineken and we wanted to ship out more export beer on larger vessels. Take it from me, that bridge will never move an inch. As far as the state is concerned, it is Moonen's own problem that their ships don't fit under it. They should move to the Rotterdam or Zeeland area. That would take care of their problems. How did you get the idea of writing a book on Moonen?

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