Dutch studio Vripack has teamed up with Netherlands-based yard Doggersbank to present a new 23.5-metre series called the 77 Offshore.
Vripack is responsible for the exterior, interior and naval architecture of the new model, and the pocket explorer series will be built at the Altena Shipyard in the Netherlands. The keel is scheduled to be laid in early September 2023 and the first model is set to be delivered to her owner in 2025.
Destined to be the flagship of the Doggersbank fleet, the new model aims to revive a classic trawler style with some modern upgrades. “The owner had a specific desire for an owner-operated 77-foot (23.5m) Doggersbank with a narrow beam and single engine,” said Vripack co-creative director Bart Bouwhuis. “The result of our naval architectural design focus is an efficient hull shape coupled with a highly interesting propulsion package.”
As well as the efficient hull shape, the yacht will have a bulbous bow that has been optimised using Vripack's in-house computational fluid dynamic analysis. It will also be the first Doggersbank to be fitted with a single-engine PTO/PTI hybrid propulsion system, allowing it to cruise silently on batteries for up to two hours at six knots, with a fuel burn of just 50 litres per hour.
The yacht will also be the largest owner-operated member of the Doggersbank fleet and the yacht’s dimensions were specifically requested by the owner to ensure the yacht will fit into a recently-purchased berth on the northwest coast of the USA.
“An efficient propulsion system, high level of comfort and the elimination of noise at low speed epitomises what Vripack’s holistic design is all about,” added Bouwhuis. “By pairing onboard comfort with performance redundancy and efficient design, we ensure the owner’s time spent aboard is nothing short of perfection.”
A full custom interior features a generous laundry and utility room on the lower deck, a watch bunk in the bridge for night crossings, and an open spiral staircase that connects the decks and is topped by a skylight. The interior features quarter-sawn American walnut and neutral base fabrics, complemented by "decorative soft furnishings in warm tones that reflect North America’s radiant Indian summers", according to Vripack.
“Owning a durable, Dutch-designed, steel-hulled explorer built in the Netherlands has been a long-held dream for this owner,” said Bouwhuis. “Realising his own full-custom Doggersbank is something he’s delighted to be able to tick off his bucket list.”
The news comes shortly after Vripacl its collaboration with CRN and Nauta on a secretive 70-metre named Project Thunderball.