While the Amsterdam Yacht Service team brings a wealth of experience and expertise across a broad range of disciplines, they will still freely admit that every day is a learning day. In the case of the 16m Amel Super Maramu sailing yacht Trinity, the learning came from the yacht’s owner who, in the course of outlining how she wanted the yacht’s interior refreshed, showed the potential of AI as a quick visualisation tool.
The yacht had arrived for a technical refresh of the generator, main engine, shaft and rudder, plus a cosmetic refresh of paintwork and antifouling, a new fixed sprayhood-cum-deckhouse in aluminium, and an extensive interior refit. The first part was straightforward – standard fare for the AYS team, even with the owner wanting to switch to a more environmentally friendly, silicon-based antifoul coating, and with the sprayhood demanding a full 3D scan of the top of the yacht and some inhouse design work – but it was with the interior that things got interesting.
The Super Maramu was a centre-cockpit, bluewater-cruising ketch built by Amel in the 1990s, and as a well built and highly capable world-girdling yacht had proven very popular. That meant, however, that her interior looked a little dated by today’s standards – beautifully put together, but a sea of mahogany and oak. “The owner wanted a more modern, fresh look,” says Robert Binnekade, Managing Director of AYS. “So first of all, because the yacht is really well built, it has been a case of mixing and matching the interior to bring it up-to-date while retaining the good elements of design and craftsmanship of the original.”
The works have included changing out some of the 1990s-style rounded couches and squaring off some of the rounded edges, brightening the interior with a light paint palette, revamping the galley and its equipment to get rid of the top-loading dishwasher and top-accessed storage bins, and replacing the countertops. For the look, the team was trying to understand the owner’s wishes until she came up with a brilliant idea, and presented a rough visualisation put together by AI. “It really opened our eyes – not just in terms of being able to see exactly what she wanted, but in terms of how AI can be used as a really quick visualisation tool,” Binnekade enthuses. “We’ve used it that way multiple times now with other customers and other projects – it’s not suitable as an engineering tool, and probably not for marketing-quality images, but as a tool to quickly show and discuss options with a client it’s really useful. I have to give credit to Trinity’s owner,” he adds, “for opening our eyes to that!”
The refit project is still ongoing, with the aim to relaunch the yacht before the summer season. “It’s been such a great project,” Binnekade concludes. “It’s a perfect demonstration of how AYS can work across a whole concept – visualising it, engineering it and executing it with the best available tools and the best team of people.”
It’s not only yachts, tourist boats and commercial vessels that get a revamp at Amsterdam Yacht Services – the shipyard itself is constantly upgrading its facilities. Most recently, AYS has taken a proactive approach to expand the drainage and water treatment system that serves the one and a half hectares of hardstanding, where vessels will frequently undertake out of water repairs and maintenance.
While a lot of the more intensive work we undertake at Amsterdam Yacht Service revolves around refit, repair and maintenance of steel and aluminium vessels and their systems, our team has the flexibility to tackle pretty much any material. That was ably demonstrated this winter when we took in a 29-metre Maiora called Three Point 4 for various works.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]