Not looking is not buying in the United States. No Limit Ships in Groningen therefore crosses the ocean with a pleasure yacht.

Hans Molenaar, the commercial man behind the Groningen yacht builder, knows an American won’t easily buy a flight ticket to buy a pleasure yacht worth several million in the Netherlands. And even though American agents do manage to drum up interest in the cool seaworthy yachts, they won’t succeed in selling one purely based on a picture. A private individual will sail his yacht from Amsterdam to Florida at the request of the shipyard, to participate with the largest American boat show in Fort Lauderdale in November and subsequently investigate the real opportunities.

Show

Superyacht greats like Feadship and Amels have always been there. Dutch builders of smaller pleasure yachts will sporadically participate. Molenaar states the costs for participating with a show like this are high in relation to the purchase price. That starts with the transport of the yacht. It’s common practice to charter a freighter for this purpose, but that became too expensive for the shipyard. Sailing the No Limit Four Seasons yourself makes it all affordable, according to Molenaar. The ship will have an extra water maker on board for the trip, as well as internet and extra air conditioning. "It can certainly get very hot in Florida.”

No Limit Ships has been building seaworthy ships for twenty years, originally based on the appearance of a lifeboat. Seaworthy, safe, fast and comfortable, that’s how they like to describe them themselves. The Four Seasons is equipped with two 575 hp engines and boasts a top speed of 46 kilometers per hour. These qualities don’t just appeal to water sports enthusiasts, but also to the professional world. Several of the ships are already sailing as research vessels.

But Molenaar is primarily targeting private individuals for the latest adventure. ,,The American market mainly offers polyester ships. Many of the same type. We’re targeting people who’re interested in a special steel ship. A real niche market in the US and Canada.” Molenaar says the time is now right, thanks to the advantageous dollar-euro ratio.

No Limit Ships has pinned its hopes on wealthier and travel-hungry retirees. "Cuba is a day's sailing from Florida, but this does mean you need a really safe ship.” Plus he feels the sailing conditions in Canadian waters demand the same. "The seabed along the coast is often rocky and weather conditions can change very quickly.”

PR campaign

The visit to Fort Lauderdale in the US will be preceded by a PR campaign. This will include an article about the ship in an American water sports magazine shortly before the show. A photograph and film report will be made of the journey from Amsterdam to Florida, with Greenland, Canada and New York as stopovers.

The travellers have until mid-October to complete the route. After that, the shipyard will still have a few weeks to prepare the ship for the show.

We’re not expecting a huge turnout at the show right away. Molenaar would already be very satisfied with just a few orders. The shipyard, which has four permanent employees and a large number of suppliers and freelancers, builds an average of two yachts a year.

No Limit in het Amerikaanse blad Passagemaker geschreven door Dag Pike