BLOG 3. ‘The making of a modern classic’ – Creating a 3D hull scan

Does an old hull mean you have to settle for old tech? Amsterdam Yacht Service says no, and they are set to prove it as they take on a 25-year-old, part-completed 17-metre Pieter Beeldsnijder steel hull, re-imagine the build, and re-engineer the design to skilfully blend classic style with modern hybrid systems and amenities. Follow the AYS team through each stage of the process as they work from the purchase of the hull through to the launch of the completed (re)build.

With the classic Pieter Beeldsnijder 17-metre steel yacht hull – known as Hull 405 – safely ensconced in our advanced facilities, the team has been able to begin the detailed engineering work needed to bring the hull to completion. Consideration of the technical aspects of any project – whether maintenance, refit, rebuild or newbuild completion – has always been a key focus of the AYS team here, which boasts extensive inhouse expertise across design, engineering and fabrication.

The Hull 405 project is a classic example of why this approach is essential to ensure a successful project. “We have very minimal copies of the designs for Hull 405, and even the ones we do have are hand-drawn and copied, and as such as not much use in terms of modern computer-based engineering and CAD systems,” says Robert Binnekade, managing director of AYS. “Therefore we have undertaken a complete 3D scan of the partially completed hull and superstructure which we can use as the basis for the rest of our engineering and design work on the yacht.

“However,” he continues, “it is important to realise why we need to make the scans, because that’s central to our philosophy here at AYS. As with any project, we start by considering what we want the ship to be able to do and assessing what its capabilities are. We ask ourselves what we need to ensure those capabilities in terms of machinery and systems, then we extend that to factors such as weight and hydrodynamic properties that we adjust where necessary. Then of course we consider the aesthetics – but the twist with Hull 405 is that we are reusing an existing hull, not starting from scratch with a new design.”

3D scanning is a tool that we often use across a variety of maintenance, repair and refit projects, from redesigning exhaust systems to reconfiguring cabins, although Hull 405 represents the first time we have undertaken a scan of an entire vessel. The scan itself took one and a half days, but this was then followed with the intensive process of translating the scan and its data points into a full 3D model with flat surfaces that can be used for design and engineering purposes. “That part actually took months,” says Binnekade. “What we would view as a flat surface the computer might not, so you have to tell it what is flat and what is curved, and how it is curved. There’s no golden gun that you can shoot and have instant results!”

With the scan complete and the 3D model created, we have been able to move on to the next phase in the project – redesigning the aft end of the hull. Watch this space!