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Van der Valk at 50: New Launches and a New Shipyard
Dutch shipyard Van der Valk is this year celebrating its golden jubilee, marking 50 years of yacht building with a new facility and seven launches scheduled over 2017.
The new Van der Valk production hall will allow the builder to craft tri-deck motor yachts up to 40+ metres in length – cementing the yard’s move into the larger yacht market. Construction of the facility has already started, with the steel framing of the construction completely finished.
These new developments – and the celebrations of half-a-century of yacht building – follow up on a successful 2016 for Van der Valk. The yard launched some highly-acclaimed yachts, of which the 23-metre Grey Falcon (one of the fastest Van der Valk’s ever launched with a top speed of 32 knots) was one.
The yard also received a number of new orders, the most recent being a semi-custom sister vessel to Grey Falcon, which will be delivered in 2018.
Among the new orders are current projects - seven to be precise - each due to be launched in 2017: three flybridge yachts of 18, 23 and 27 metres respectively, two 26-metre raised pilothouse yachts, a 25-metre explorer and the 19.05-metre BeachClub 600.
As new projects and concepts continue to emerge from the yard, Van der Valk will also be focussing on new refit projects as the new facilities continue construction, hinting at another busy 50 years ahead.