Home away from home
One of the things that always strikes us is the vast array of projects that float through the Amsterdam Yacht Service facilities, from classic sailing superyachts to commercial vessels, tourist boats, and even bridge components.
Atlantic crossing
Few things can match the glamour, beauty and sheer elegance of the 64.5-metre sailing yacht Atlantic – a 2010-launched recreation of the original schooner Atlantic which first touched the water in 1903. So when she arrived at Amsterdam Yacht Service for some maintenance work, including a haul-out and other works – commissioned by Talsma Shipyards, the main contractor for the project – it was a true pleasure to have her gracing our modern facilities.
First off we unstepped the rigs – a two-day operation – and stored them on-site while the hull was floated to Talsma Shipyards for paint works, during which time we did maintenance and upgrades on each of the three spars. After her return we undertook some other works and maintenance that included removing the anchor and chain, renovating the boom support, and removing the generators for maintenance. But then they asked us to have a look at her controllable pitch propeller (CPP) and we discovered it was out of alignment – something that it turned out had been a longstanding issue. Cue the music, and the AYS-Team leapt into action.
Trying to sort out CPP alignment is no small job, but we faced additional pressure with just four days to get it done before the yacht had to leave for a charter. “It basically involved redoing the whole installation of the CPP,” says AYS Managing Director Robert Binnekade. “There weren’t any adjustment options with the original installation, so we identified those issues and set about adding roto-chocks – basically, adjustable mounts – along with screw bolts and sea fasteners, to give us the flexibility to get everything lined up.”
The work didn’t end there, however – the AYS team soon discovered that the real issue was not the CPP but rather the misalignment of the flywheel on the main engine. “We discovered that the day before she left AYS,” Binnekade says. “They couldn’t simply postpone the charter, so once again we got to work, this time the old-fashioned way – remove the bolts, align the flywheel using a crowbar, check for high points in the flywheel’s rotation, rinse and repeat a couple of dozen times until she was good. I give it to my guys,” he adds, “because they absolutely stood up to the challenge and made it happen.”
With the yacht leaving the yard on schedule to begin her charter, there was a nervous moment an hour after she had sailed out of AYS. “The captain called me, and I was braced for impact – you wouldn’t normally send a ship out when it has had significant drive shaft changes without a sea trial first,” Binnekade recalls. “But he just wanted to tell me that even a vibration that had been present from the original launch was gone!”
Merry Christmas and a Happy 2026
2025 has been a dynamic and rewarding year for Amsterdam Yacht Service. Our team has continued to expand and refine its expertise, successfully delivering a diverse range of maintenance, refit, and custom projects for clients across the globe.
Multiplying returns
It’s perhaps the greatest compliment we can receive when customers come back for a return visit to our state-of-the-art facilities in Amsterdam. Sometimes it’s for larger works that make use not just of our hardstanding areas or large sheds but also our expert inhouse team of engineers, carpenters and fitters – and sometimes it’s for general maintenance jobs.
Join AYS at Metstrade 2025!
The Amsterdam Yacht Service team will be present at the Amsterdam RAI exhibition centre for all three days of Metstrade, 18–20 November 2025. It’s the ideal moment to meet us in person and discover more about our state-of-the-art facilities and onsite expertise: everything you need to ensure your next build, maintenance, or refit projectruns seamlessly from start to finish.
Meet us at the MYS
Members of the Amsterdam Yacht Builders team will spend two days in and around Port Hercules this week as they visit the Monaco Yacht Show. If you would like to meet up and discuss any potential project we would be delighted to do so on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 of September. It’s sure to […]
Happy days
The long summer days are finally here, and it’s time for most yachts to switch from maintenance mode to magical-days-on-the-water mode. For the team at Amsterdam Yacht Service, of course, the work never stops – even during summer, we have vessels coming through for haul-outs, services and all manner of works.
Simplifying survey
While the Amsterdam Yacht Service team can turn its hand to pretty much anything, and while the shipyard itself can handle pretty much any type of vessel, not every project involves complex hull repairs or hotwork.
A bridge too far?
We pride ourselves on the variety of vessels and projects we work on here at Amsterdam Yacht Service – from yachts to tourist boats to commercial vessels and workboats, they all come to take advantage of our in-water berthing, haul-out and hardstanding, refit sheds and inhouse expertise.
Near and Far Niente
It’s perhaps fitting that a 32.7-metre modern classic motor yacht styled after the Dutch herring luggers of the early 1900s should land in a Dutch refit and maintenance specialist shipyard, and that’s exactly what happened in the Autumn of 2024.
The gold standard
It’s one thing finishing a summer season then heading to a shipyard with a list of works to do over the winter and plenty of time to complete that list – but quite another when you arrive in the Spring and need to get those works completed in time for the summer charter season.
BLOG 5. ‘The making of a modern classic’ – An inside job
As we make steady progress with the construction of Hull 405 – the Pieter Beeldsnijder-designed 17-metre steel yacht that had laid part complete for two decades, before we acquired her in 2023 in order to finish her build – we are starting to think about some of the fun stuff.
A true Grand Dame: AYS-refitted superyacht wins major St Barths Bucket prize
Excellent news reaches us from the Caribbean of a stunning performance by one of our recent projects. A key remit from the vessel’s highly experienced owner for the refit of his 56-metre Perini Navi Panthalassa was to bring her technically up to speed and highly competitive in sailing races.
BLOG 4. ‘The making of a modern classic’ – Redesigning the aft end
If there’s one thing we’ve learnt here at Amsterdam Yacht Service after decades of experience working on commercial and, in recent years, yacht and superyacht refit and rebuild projects, it’s that you don’t always need to go for the most high-tech solution in every aspect of the vessel.
Solving the chromium-6 conundrum
When a shipyard’s refit project needed to be lifted out to undertake remedial works ashore, Amsterdam Yacht Service proved to be the ideal choice – and as it turned out, not just for its yard facilities and location. The project in question involved a vessel originally constructed in the middle of the last century, but […]
BLOG 3. ‘The making of a modern classic’ – Creating a 3D hull scan
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.
Base jumping
While the Amsterdam Yacht Service teams are always on hand to assist with serious project work – from hull replating and finding solutions to other engineering challenges to the capabilities of the new woodworking department – the extensive AYS facilities are also highly prized by other shipyards and superyacht builders who need a base for […]
BLOG 2. ‘The making of a modern classic’ – Making short work of a long lift
Having acquired a classic Pieter Beeldsnijder 17-metre steel yacht hull that had been laid up unfinished for more than two decades, we faced our first big challenge – how to get the part-built boat back to the AYS shipyard facilities near Amsterdam.
Extended refit works – The art of adaptation
The experienced team at Amsterdam Yacht Service is no stranger to adapting on the fly to the changing demands of projects. This flexibility and expertise was highlighted by the team’s work on a 24-metre commercial vessel in 2024, which came in for a leak to be fixed and left with an extensively rebuilt aft section […]
BLOG 1. ‘The making of a modern classic’ – A build, re-imagined
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.
Meet the AYS team at METSTRADE
As the annual METSTRADE exhibition at the Amsterdam RAI from 19-21 November heaves into view, it offers the perfect opportunity for owners, owner representatives, yacht managers, captains and other interested parties to come meet the Amsterdam Yacht Services team. We’re looking forward to talking with you about the superb facilities we offer and the onsite […]
AYS expands with new jetty and hardstanding
From fishing vessels, steel commercial ships and classic Dutch barges to yachts and superyachts, Amsterdam Yacht Services has welcomed vessels of every type to its extensive facilities. Now, as the shipyard continues to grow its business by offering its broad expertise to a range of sectors including classic yacht and superyacht refit, it is expanding […]
AYS electrifies tour boat sector
Amsterdam has its fair share of famous features (aside from Amsterdam Yacht Services, of course), from the clattering throng of myriad bicycles to the enchanting fan of canals that radiate through the city centre. Those canals also play host to more than 100 cruise and tripper vessels that offer tourists a unique view of the […]
Hendrika
Steering toward success It’s one thing being able to offer first class facilities for maintenance, refit and rebuild projects, but it’s quite another to be able to back that up with an experienced team for whom the demands of design and the pressures of time are just two more things to be taken in their […]
A Fantastic Union: Hull and superstructure marriage of 64m Hakvoort at AYS
December 2023 marked another significant milestone for Amsterdam Yacht Service, as its highly experienced team carried out its first ever marriage of a hull and superstructure. The event took place over the course of just one day for the 64-metre Hakvoort motor yacht (build number, xxx, the shipyard’s newest project) which has a steel hull […]
Come hull and high water
A measure of a good shipyard is the range of services it can offer and the range of works it can undertake, and there’s no doubt that Amsterdam Yacht Services has those elements covered thanks to its background as a commercially orientated shipyard. The measure of a great shipyard, however, is not just the scope […]