Heck, might as well include the entire quote, it's a good read.
Attessa Refit: Retaining Premium Quality
December 19, 2005 | Feadship
De Voogt Yacht Services and Royal Van Lent Shipyard have provided a wide range of support to the unprecedented restoration of the Feadship Attessa (ex-Aviva), which was re-launched in Canada in May 2005. The services provided have enabled Vancouver Shipyard to ensure that Attessa completely retains her brand status as a Feadship. It is a testament to the quality of the work carried out by the yard.
Launched in 1998 and acclaimed as one of the finest Feadships ever, Aviva suffered a fire in the Red Sea in May 2000. Despite this happening in the middle of the night, Aviva’s crew succeeded in putting out the fire and saving the vessel. After Aviva had returned to Holland, De Voogt Yacht Services facilitated the surveys required to assess damage levels. Once insurance issues were resolved, the yacht was sold to Dennis Washington in April 2003.
The interior was removed and cleaned, all mechanical systems checked, repaired or replaced, and engines started. The vessel was brought back to Lloyd’s standards for the trans-Atlantic trip to Canada and Vancouver, British Columbia, and during the restoration Feadship and Vancouver Shipyards brought the vessel to MCA Class.
A totally new design was drawn up by the owner in close cooperation with Glade Johnson, and the work was carried out at Vancouver Shipyards. This was the same team who had successfully refitted Mr. Washington’s previous Attessa, a 43.43m (142’ 5”) Feadship, originally launched as Impromptu in 1988. For this latest and most exacting project, a giant new climate-controlled building was added to the facilities at Vancouver Shipyards, which is also owned by Mr. Washington.
The new hull design was tank tested at Marin in Holland. The hull of the Attessa has been extended 6.58m, giving her an LOA of 68.58m and a large lazarette in the cockpit. A hydraulic hatch offers access to a Novurania tender, three waverunners, a jet ski, four kayaks, ten bicycles and other toys. The bridge deck and main deck were both lengthened and the second transom is fitted with a vertical pantograph hatch and crane.
Other major structural changes include the addition of a helicopter pad to the club deck, the former sun deck onboard Aviva, now turned into a totally enclosed deck. An entirely new sky deck has been added above the club deck, with the upper superstructure made as a single infused composite piece for weight reduction.
The main and lower decks were all redesigned and detail changes made. The addition of cabinets on the aft deck area, which has been opened up and decorated in varnished teak, is an example. Attessa also has a brand-new interior in a traditional design. Her engine room has been updated with new C9 Caterpillar generators, and new generator dry exhausts with Unicat Combifilters. A new main exhaust system built with lightweight stainless steel now goes out the top of the mast with minimal emissions. A zero speed stabilization system has also been added.
Indispensable assistance
The assistance of De Voogt Yacht Services and Royal Van Lent was indispensable for the re-creation of all systems to maintain the standards of the original build. 4,500 Pictures were sent to the craftsmen at the yard who had originally been responsible for the interior. Amazingly, these people seemed to remember everything they had done to the boat, right down to which valve belonged where.
De Voogt also returned to the original companies and suppliers. Eventually, every part of the boat was purchased in the Netherlands with the exception of the steel. It was an extremely efficient setup to create the one-stop shop approach—an e-mail to De Voogt and Van Lent and the ball was rolling. Both parties were exceptionally helpful and highly professional throughout.
False economies
“One of the biggest errors people make when refitting a Feadship is to try and cut corners on costs on parts, “ said Rutger Merks, After Sales Purchasing, at Royal Van Lent. “It only needs one specific part of an application not to communicate properly and you end up having to pay far more money for a much lower quality system. The Feadship yards always deliver the right piece and know exactly what went into the original vessel. If a part is no longer in stock, a solution will be found. Moreover, most of the information we provide is free of charge and the parts are sold at the normal price.”
Original thinking
The thousands of parts delivered to Attessa included custom-made translator print boards to ensure the alarm system could communicate, based on the way they were originally made. Fire nozzles and hoses of the same model as before were provided, as were a series of storm shutter mounting screws. “These screws highlight the problem refit teams face,” explains Merks. “They may appear to be standard at first glance but were in fact custom-made for Aviva. With parts such as this it is essential to have the identical batch as used before—anything else looks different and will not fit exactly.”
“We try to keep spare parts of everything in stock, and retain close contacts with any original suppliers involved. The value of meticulous documentation has been proven by this project. The miniscule differences between, say, taps or valves are crucial when it comes to a refit of this magnitude. However hard people might try to track something down, we are the only people who know for sure what was delivered.”
Calculated advice
“Meanwhile, in addition to support activities, weight, stability and longitudinal strength calculations were provided,” explains Ronno Schouten, Project Manager at De Voogt Yacht Services. “These were especially important on the Attessa project with an extra deck being added and extensions. Advice was given on MCA compliance, a review was made of the impact of the extension on maneuverability, sea keeping and slamming, and advice on generator capacity and exhaust cleaning system. Contacts with Lloyd’s and support with the Sea Trials were another critical area.”
De Voogt also gave extensive support with a range of design and engineering features. Working upwards from the tank deck to the mast, the following areas were facilitated:
• Conversion of anti-roll tank to fresh water tank and storage space; addition of zero speed stabilization.
• Lower deck: Included in stern extension were a stern anchor, storage for tender underneath hatch, storage for jet skis, steam room, diving equipment, on-deck Jacuzzi, large sunbathing area, small pantry, tank for helicopter fuel and refueling installation. Replacing main engine and generators and exhaust. UPS added to tender garage as emergency power source for the tender crane and hatch. Cranes tested for use as MOB crane according to MCA requirements. Design of the passerelle.
• Bridge deck: Dining room with office area replaced by large lounge. Day toilet added aft of the galley. Gym replaced with an office.
• Club deck: A completely new composite structure with helicopter platform aft, including refueling and firefighting equipment. Includes pantry, massage room, toilet and forward salon. Sundeck with Jacuzzi placed further forward to create additional deck space.
• Sky deck: Included seating, bar, glass panel above staircase, and aluminum cap.
• Mast put back in place 1.5m above original location, dry exhaust system added.
Added value
“It would have been impossible to carry out this project without De Voogt Yacht Services and retain the value, “ concludes the owner. “It was crucial that Attessa remained a Feadship in every aspect—that means having the yard, designers, and engineers fully involved. Anyone who walks onboard Attessa will immediately recognize that she is a Feadship. And any future owners will have the security of knowing that they can call De Voogt Yacht Services should queries arise over a given system. This is the ideal solution when it comes to retaining premium quality.”
Main specifications
Original
Name Lady Aviva
LOA 62.00 m (203’ 5”)
LWL 54.86 m
Beam 11.00 m
Depth 5.70 m
Draft 3.30 m
New
Name Attessa
LOA 68.58 m
LWL 61.31 m
Beam 11.00 m
Depth 5.70 m
Draft 3.45 m
About Feadship:
Based in the Netherlands, Feadship is a co-operation between three of the most renowned names in yachting history, with combined roots dating back to 1849. Today, De Vries, Van Lent and De Voogt have four state-of-the art yards at their disposal, based in Aalsmeer, Kaag, Makkum and Papendrecht, plus a high-tech design and engineering centre. Feadship is recognized as the world leader in the field of custom-built motor yachts, and has continuously been at the forefront of innovations in both technology and design. An aggressive expansion program now underway will allow the organization to launch up to five yachts a year, ranging in size up to 130m.
More information:
FEADSHIP
Zijlweg 148 c
2015 BH Haarlem
The Netherlands
Tel +31 23 524 7000
Fax +31 23 524 8639
Hein Velema, Director
info@feadship.nl
Francis Vermeer, Marketing Manager
francis@feadship.nl
www.feadship.nl
Previous Topic
Index