Boatbuilding News 06.04.23 Feat Helm, Focus Motor Yachts & Superyacht UK

📰 This week’s Boatbuilding News! 📰 

🇬🇧 London-based yacht charter broker Helm has been re-acquired by its founders, Peter Harrison-Hill and Simon Morgan, after being sold to Borrow a Boat. 

Harrison-Hill and Morgan sold Helm to Borrow a Boat in June 2021 and continued to work within the group driving the brand and wider business forward. 

Since 2021, helm says the firm has gone from strength to strength — delivering almost 700 booked charters in 2022. The company is on course for over 1,000 charters for summer 2023. 

Now the acquisition has been confirmed, in a transaction led by FRP, Harrison-Hill and Morgan will resume the day-to-day running of the Helm brand. The duo say they are keen to emphasise that existing charters remain unaffected.

“We have always placed our customers’ needs first and believe this is vital to our long-term success. It was a key consideration in taking the company back, and we remain committed to being transparent with our customers while ensuring they have amazing yachting holidays. We’re excited for the future and are aiming for even more sustainable growth in 2023. We’ve seen really high demand lately, and after posting record bookings in FY2022 and Q1 2023, we are very excited about what the future holds for Helm and all of our customers.”

Says Simon Morgan

Boatbuilding News : The Podcast feat Peter Harrison - Hill

🇳🇱 Amsterdam-based boat builder, Focus Motor Yachts, has added a new model to its sportscruiser range.

The all-new Focus Power 44 has a sporty design, built to cater to a wide range of recreational activities, from summer sports to practical long-distance cruising.

Focus says its team of expert designers and engineers were inspired to create a ‘fast, highly sporting cruiser that could handle the most powerful engines, while also delivering far more space and functionality than what buyers of a 44-foot sports cruiser would ever expect.’ 

The Power 44 has a helm station positioned at the centre of the deck, equipped with dual seats and a navigation pod located on the starboard side. A large electric glass sunroof built into the hardtop comes as standard.

The cockpit of the Power 44 features a six-person dining station and an aft beach area with a two-metre sun lounger that extends out over the hydraulic swim platform. Walkaround side decks provide easy access to the spacious sun lounger at the bow. 

Below deck, the port galley is the natural way to service the outdoor social zones, and the boat also has dedicated galley facilities positioned opposite the dinette. There is space for six people to sleep in comfortable cabins.

With a reinforced deep-V hull, the boat can handle rough weather while providing compliant handling at speeds of up to 45 knots.

The engine bay features double-layered insulation and rubber hatch linings for impressive sound isolation. Extensive hull windows flood the interior with natural light, while full-standing headroom throughout ensures space for cruising and leisure.

A versatile layout can be configured either with two ensuite staterooms or three cabins and two bathrooms. Additionally, Focus says the yacht’s semi-custom build process caters to ‘bespoke lifestyle choices’ for either luxury yacht charter or private ownership.

Fitted with twin Volvo Penta D6–380 DPI diesels and a 1000-litre fuel tank, the Power 44 delivers a 300-mile cruising range

🤝The annual Superyacht UK Technical Seminar returns to London on 18 April 2023, alongside British Marine’s London Luxury Afloat boat show.

The SYUK Technical seminar, now in its 12th year, welcomes industry professionals from within the superyacht world to come together to discuss sector-specific topics. 

With a focus on sustainability within the sector and the future of the superyacht industry, the upcoming seminar offers an agenda of industry updates and panel discussions.

“Keeping up with regulations is essential to our business, and attending the SYUK Technical Seminar has always been a great way to catch up on the latest industry developments. We have attended for many years and have always found it to offer a valuable balance of networking, technical insight and learning, all packaged into a convenient single day out the office. We will be there again this year”, 

says Alex Meredith Hardy, chief naval architect, Lateral Engineering.

“It’s great news that this year’s SYUK technical seminar is being held in the heart of London at the same time as London Luxury Afloat in St Katharine Docks. t’s a great opportunity to get a technical update while also meeting up with industry colleagues”, 

Says Stephen Hill, chair, Superyacht UK.

“We look forward to welcoming superyacht industry professionals to this year’s technical seminar. We have an incredible line up of speakers in store, covering a host of diverse topics which are sure to ignite interesting debate and discussions and we hope that attendees will come away with some really useful insights to help shape future thinking in the sector”

commented Lesley Robinson, CEO, British Marine

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