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Rebirth of a Legend

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#yacht #superyacht #catamaran #boat
Published
11/26/2024 by

Nearly 94 years after her launch, Atlantide has been fully renewed and reawakened by the artisans at Huisfit by Royal Huisman. Following a complete rebuild, the Huisfit team is now excited to place the remarkable 37m / 122ft motorsailer in the spotlight she deserves, sharing insights and a stunning new photo library.


In January 2021, this laurelled, historic Little Ship of Dunkirk arrived as deck cargo from the US and entered the shipyard for repairs and interior modifications. In November 2023, she sailed away from Huisfit after a full rebuild with 40 per cent of her hull, deck and frames replaced, her interior fully reimagined and every onboard system except her original Gardner diesels fully overhauled or replaced.

Her current owner, Jim Clark, has built three sailing yachts at Royal Huisman, the sloop Hyperion (1998), schooner Athena (2004) and the J Class Hanuman (2009). When Atlantide came on the market in 2020, he and wife, Kristy, felt that Atlantide would make a charming accompaniment to their J Class racing yacht. 

"Hanuman was in the shipyard for some updates in October and Mr Clark asked if we could refit Atlantide the following year,” said a Royal Huisman spokesman. “The next thing we knew, he’d decided to ship Atlantide to the Netherlands immediately instead of waiting.”  

Since the refit team hadn’t seen the boat out of the water until it was hauled at the shipyard, the actual scope of the project still needed to be determined. 

It wasn’t long before the workmen discovered what appeared to be a crack in the hull. Fearing the worst, they began poking and picking at the gap. As pieces fell to the floor, they were relieved to see that it was filler material, not steel flaking away — but there was a surprising amount of it, about two inches thick in many places.  

The full extent of the problem was revealed when the hull and deck were blasted to raw metal, exposing dented and deformed structure. An exterior refresh just became more complicated.  

When workers began to remove the main deck windows in preparation for sanding the superstructure, they discovered that they were not actually mounted in frames but glued into openings packed and shaped with filler.

Meanwhile, the team evaluating the interior discovered ongoing deck leaks had led to wet interior bulkheads, MDF substrates and built-ins. A straightforward interior refit quickly turned into an order to replace everything. 

WHEN A REFIT BECAME A REBUILD  For the next six months the Huisfit team studied, scanned and redesigned the boat in 3D. They noted that they had to use “sailboat thinking” to plan fitting new equipment, systems and lights as there was almost no space behind the walls or above the overheads. 

There had been almost no insulation in the hull or superstructure and that needed to be remedied. In-house pipefitters began to customize pieces, even sourcing square PVC to optimize space by nestlng pipes and conduit alongside frames. 

The entire teak deckhouse was lifted off in one piece for restoration, preservation, strengthening, and refinishing in a dust-free environment.  

Decorative teak moldings were added to embellish its bright-finished exterior.  

Every piece of deck hardware, including port hole covers, was removed and catalogued for restoration. The work list grew. 

With the interior stripped to metal, new insulation, including anti-drumming panels, could cover every inch before framing the new interior began.   While the Clarks wished Atlantide’s postwar profile to remain untouched, they wanted to simplify the style of the interior, replacing the elaborate Art Deco features installed by previous owner Tom Perkins.

Clark had formed a bond with the late designer Pieter Beeldsnijder over the course of three yachts and now he turned to the firm deVosdeVries design, whose principals had been part of Beeldsnijder’s team, for the refit.  The Clarks briefed a less ornate 1930’s style married with the look of Hanuman’s classic interior that was created by Royal Huisman’s artisans in French walnut.  

 

 

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