“We certainly gave the yard an enormous challenge as the Pilot is different to anything in her size range,” says designer, Cor D. Rover. “Blending masculine proportions with a wealth of curves, her raked bridge windows hint at the sturdiness of a commercial vessel. Together with the air grills, inspired by the automotive industry, these shapes create a dynamic overall feel. I’m very impressed with how Van der Valk has managed to capture all these elements so well.”

Click here to read about the many aspects involved in completing this project in a short timeframe and how well our entire crew, from metalworkers and painters to the inhouse design team, rose to the occasion.

Meeting the challenge
One of the many tricky tasks we faced was to include all the large windows and glass ‘eye’ on the bridge deck, amalgamate these with partitions and black-painted surfaces in the superstructure that look like glass, then finish the rest of the yacht in an innovative colour palette of castle tan and stark white. Van der Valk general manager Bram Kooltjes is proud of what’s been achieved.

“All these exterior details and round forms required lots of skill from our aluminium shapers and welders to create the base shape. The exterior paint crew then had to create perfect straight lines on a perfect curved shape, where the slightest deformation would be instantly apparent due to the different colours used. This was also the first vessel we’ve delivered under American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) rules and our design team worked tirelessly too.”

Al fresco delights
While no details of the complex custom interior are currently released, we can tell you that the yacht has two large balconies: one on the main deck for the master suite, the other in the hull side for the lower deck VIP. The aft platform also has two 7 x 1.5-metre foldout balconies which double the available area close to the water when out. A transformer platform and a full aft lazarette for a large Williams tender and a three-person wave runner add to the watersport fun.

This custom Pilot also offers loads of outside deck space. The aft deck features a large dining table and circular seating that both easily accommodate ten people. A large wet bar with BBQ is on the bridge deck aft, with sacrificial air conditioning installed for the hottest climates. Twin MTUs will give the Pilot a top speed around the 20-knot mark and the yacht has been fitted with CMC stabilisers.