A few days ago I happened to be in Kiel, the “Sailing City” of Germany, and thought it might be a good idea to make a crash surprise visit to Pure Yachts. You may have read my article about this new German shipyard and boat brand from last October. If not, do it now because this is one of the more exciting stories unfolding: In times of recession and so many rather somber news, a glimpse of hope and confidence, as the team around Matthias Schernikau is working on a truly remarkable project here.
Arriving to the premises I can see indeed the progress they have made in the last months. Little things as well as big leaps. For example, such an apparently tiny feat like getting permission to build a proper, road exit from the shipyard property to the public road may seem insignificant, but is indeed a huge undertaking. Now, heavy duty trucks can enter and leave the shipyard via a thorough, seamless ramp. That´s for the small things. Standing in front of the “glass shipyard”, that is now finished, is testament to some bigger items crossed of their to do-list as well.
Eight months: Attack on all fronts
Back in October last year Matthias told me that it was his vision to not just build aluminium yachts but to build a proper shipyard for them first. I´ve visited locations and production sites of so many sailboat brands, let me assure you that it is hair raising sometimes (to choose a rather diplomatic wording here) under which circumstances some pretty high priced and renown brands are producing their yachts! Holes in the ceiling, shocking working conditions in terms of temperatures, lighting and sometimes also personal hygiene … I´ve seen it all. Well, not so at Pure, apparently.
Hall one out of three is completely finished now. They have conserved as much as they could from the old working here, but inserted a completely new steel beam structure, roof and large chunks of complete glass fronts. It is indeed literally a “glass factory”! Soundproof isolation, lots of natural light: The working environment for the staff here is exemplary. The idea of making production transparent has been transformed into reality and I can only applaud to these efforts! More so because such heavy investments in times like these are underlining the eagerness and dedication here.
All machinery is running. Matthias decided to rely as little as possible from third parties or suppliers, at least when it comes to the core manufacturing of his product, the very sailboat. This means that this hall alone is a showcase of the whole variety of top-notch state-of-the-art machinery needed in metal processing. A CNC-milling machine, a fiber laser (later more on that) and a whole bunch of tech I cannot even identify. I just see the company names printed on them, like Mitsubishi Electric. Spotless, fascinating machines. Pure yachts also stepped up in terms of staff employed: They haven´t reach the full 20 yet, but being able to pay good salaries for almost 20 people is indeed a milestone for any entrepreneur. Still, there´s a lot to do here, but I can also definitely see huge steps forward.
How far is the Pure 42 build?
Apart from meeting Matthias and his staff again, I initially came to take a look at the Pure 42, the very sailing yacht this new brands start off with. Last time I saw here, the raw hull had just arrived from the aluminium builder. After a short round through the production hall, I can see her bow lurking behind one of Matthias´ machines: Unmistakably, a Berckemeyer Design! So what´s the progress been here?
The hull had received a sanding treatment. The raw aluminium surface is now as smooth as a baby´s bottom. Matthias shows me some details, like transition areas or stacks – I can feel nothing when softly touching these areas. And it´s not even finished: The yacht will receive a final sanding to achieve a homogenous aluminium look. The guys have also already applied the full bottom paint, which make her look even more “boatlike”.
The current state of the Pure 42 build reminds me of my own Omega 42. One of the guys was just working on a brand new Yanmar Diesel engine, readying it for being fitted into the boat. This yacht´s motor will provide 56 horse power, enough to sufficiently propel the projected 9.8 tons empty displacement. Just as in my own boat, the saildrive has been fitted first. We climb into the cockpit where the three big hatches are open:
The yacht has now received a watertight and completely sealed off engine room, Matthias tells me. The base mount for the Diesel engine is ready to take on the weight of the motor, yet, there´s still much of the auxiliary parts missing, like piping, ventilation and such. Just as in my boat. I smile a bit: Who will be faster in launching the yacht? Another detail catches my attention: The mini skeg at the bottom of the yacht.
The Pure 42 is a double rudder sailboat, sporting a drop keel. As the keel can be considered as a protection against flotsam, designer Martin Menzner of Berckemeyer Yacht Design went for a mini skeg here to improve protection. At the same time, it serves as a surplus protection for the hull when falling dry: So if by chance underneath the saildrive a rock happens to be, you won´t destroy it. It´s a nice detail and beautiful to see how the curve of the skeg follows the saildrive. My boat does not have a thing like this …
Preparations for interior fittings
Back on the yacht´s deck, not much has changed here. The guys have fitted a makeshift decking to walk on, simulating a wooden deck. Up until now I have only seen and sailed Berckemeyer-designed boats with pure aluminium decks, neither wooden nor PVC-based deckings applied, but maybe that´s a hint if the future owner decides to have one here. I´d opt for an all-metal boat, if you ask me.
Looking into the boat´s interior through one of the skylight hatch openings, it is still one giant empty hull. As a defining element the both elegant but also intimidatingly huge drop keel housing stands firmly in the middle of the hull. You can look forward to my next article on the Pure 42 by the way in this respect: I will show you how nicely this large element is indeed integrated into the furniture so that it almost disappears …
„Not at all!”, Matthias insists. He points toward the hull´s walls and there I can see it. The boat´s insulation is completed. Aluminium yachts, for many reasons, should receive a proper insulation, dampening noise and also making for a better climate inside. As he explains how much effort and thought went into this part of the project alone, I decide to make another detailed article on this. It is indeed a very interesting manufacturing step for this yacht, full of interesting details: Look forward to this piece too!
The guys have begun to install the piping for the fresh water circuits as I can see them to portside fitted. Matthias tells me that simultaneously the making of the furniture, especially the floorboards, is also in full swing. I want to see this, as I have also just finished working on the floorboards for my yacht as well. The comparison between my completely handcrafted Omega 42-floor and the thins they do here, is staggering.
Cutting edge!
I´ve already mentioned that the idea behind Pure is to have all possible production steps made inhouse. This gives full control over the quality, from the raw materials used to the finishing touches. As for the floorboards – and later also the rest of the joinery – Pure utilizes cutting edge technology in the fullest sense of the word´s meaning.
The first step in employing the CNC- and laser-machinery of course is a fully digitalized boat. Pure Yachts now employs two designing engineers who are meticulously transforming the construction designs by Martin Menzner into a full 3D-plan of the boat. A full plan! One of the guys shows me the CAD file of the Pure 42 and the level of detail is absolutely staggering: They have broken down the boat into the smallest parts, the layers show not just the aluminium frame or general furniture but also the single little quad of insulation for any location within the boat. I wouldn´t be surprised if there would be a layer showing all screws of the boat …
Now, in spending so much time and effort to digitalize the full boat and all of its parts, they are now able to send whatever data needed to the CNC or laser to start cutting. They can do whatever they want this way: Metal, wood, foam. Precision manufacturing for optimal fit, reducing offcut and waste. It also significantly raises the level of manufacturing quality. No aberrations, no handcraft-marks, no individualities – just perfect straight cuts, rounded edges or slopes. Matthias takes me to the fiber laser as another aluminium plate just went into it …
I´ve never seen a machine like this in real life. Up until now I only have witnessed CNC-milling machines working. Somehow I´d expected a similar proceeding, but the sheer speed of the laser is amazing! Through the green tinted glass I can see how incredibly fast the laser head is literally running over the plate. Sparks and lightning flare up and after under a minute the three by one meter big plate has been cut. “Imagine this done by hand …”, Matthias says. So it´s not just the higher precision and clean cutting, it´s also a significant boost for production time.
High precision manufacturing for spotless fit
This could turn out to be one surplus selling point for Pure: As waiting times for aluminium yachts are traditionally much longer than those for ordinary GRP boats, winning weeks or possibly months in making such a boat can potentially be a nice add on in contract negotiations. Anyway, take a look at this main floorboard, finished after cutting – the boreholes are done in absolute precision, the edges, the slopings, even the chamfers are beautifully done. It´s a piece of art, really. But it doesn´t stop here. One production step further I can see how innovative Pure has been with choosing the right raw materials.
Here, some smaller floor boards are awaiting their next treatment. The dark green surface is how the floor of the Pure 42 will be looking like when she is finished. The very material they chose for the floor, is very interesting: It is used in highly frequented public places, like in buses or trains. Called Altro Transflor Artis, it´s not just beautiful and highly durable, but also very thin and thus lightweight. Remember: A Pure sailing yacht is a performance-oriented cruiser!
The shipyard is full of those details and I could go on describing them. Matthias says that in the coming weeks and months, when furniture works really starts, the progress aboard the Pure 42 will become much more visible as will the frequency of finished building steps.
A good constellation
He refers to the mock-up, I´ve seen in one corner of the assembly hall: Instead of testing things out in the real boat, they rather went on to make this model. Not wasting precious material, they were able to check for sizes, fits, alternatives and solutions utilizing cheap plywood or even offcut planks. “That has cost us some time indeed”, he tells me: “But we were able to better understand the true volumes and really push the level of detail, spot-on solutions and design much further!”
Upon saying Goodbye to the crew and Matthias, I celebrate a last, long walk around the boat. Her nicely inverted bow, the integrated bowsprit, the sexy hard chine … there is truly nothing like a Berckemeyer Yacht out there! From the first day I saw one of these out of my office window being transported by a travel lift I fell in love in Martin Menzner´s work, which is really one of a kind. I am happy to see this Pure 42 taking shape now!
For some reason the guys of the shipyard had hung a decorative winter rose above the boat. One of the kind we see during Christmas time here. It´s like a lucky star, watching over this project. And indeed, lucky is will be the one finally sailing this beautiful boat! And so, by the way, I think to myself, that LUCKY STAR may be a wonderful name for this first Pure 42, wouldn´t it? Or maybe SIRIUS? Well, that´s up to the future owner. I leave with a good feeling – and look so much forward to seeing her next time!
You might as well be interested in these articles:
Visiting Pure shipyard at the beginning
The Pure 42 sailing yacht is born
A good decision: Sailing the Berckemeyer BM 50!