Kahalani

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. Take the 55-metre Feadship Kahalani, for instance, which arrived at the AYS yard early in 2025 primarily to undergo her five-year survey, with other works planned at the same time.

Although the yacht had a new owner, the project manager was a previous customer of AYS and recognised that we were the perfect place to undertake not only the mandatory survey, but also to tackle some extensive teak deck repairs, low-key interior refit, servicing of domestic appliances on board, and various other small jobs. All of this was completed with the yacht still in the water – she left briefly for a haul-out elsewhere midway through the project before returning to AYS to complete works in time for the summer season.

“The five-year survey was the main event – that means all the tanks have to be emptied, clean and inspected, and in Kahalani’s case that also meant the AYS team undertaking some paint work, particularly on the fresh water tanks to keep her in survey,” says AYS managing director Robert Binnekade. “But that wasn’t all we did. The interior was emptied of loose furniture and items, and we made sure that before the tank work and other maintenance tasks were undertaken that the interior was fully covered and protected – you’d be amazed how long that takes and how intricate it is to do properly!”

Outside, the AYS carpentry team got stuck into extensive deck work that included replacing broken or damaged teak planking, re-caulking the decks, sanding and treating everything to bring it up to an as-new standard. Other works included replacing various broken valves, cleaning the air-conditioning system, and replacing carpets and soft furnishings in a mini interior refurb.

“She stands as a measure of what we can do even when a vessel remains in the water,” Binnekade enthuses, “as well as showing our capabilities to cater to yachts undergoing mission-critical class-mandated surveys, both in facilitating those surveys and in carrying out key maintenance to ensure survey criteria are exceeded. She also stands testament to the more general service we offer our clients – it’s why so often they return to us with new projects!”