The Yachting Year 2018

112 | THE YACHTING YEAR 2018

prettiest boats in the class. “She’s gorgeous-looking,” said

Hoek, who also cites the pleasing balance between bow

and stern overhangs. With such an e­ective handicap

system, the real key to winning in the J-Class is crew work.

Velsheda, with her tried-and-tested crew, is the perfect ex-

ample. Svea provided a unique opportunity to make a clear

improvement in this area. Because the original drawings did

not include a deck plan, Hoek was free to come up with a

deck arrangement based around crew communication, key

on a boat this size.

Unlike some Js where the winches and crew stations are

‘all over the place’, there are three distinct areas on Svea:

the helm’s cockpit, with a large wheel to allow the helm

to sit out and see the tell tales; the main cockpit directly

in front of that, from where the main, genoa and running

backstays are operated on the primary (hydraulic) winches;

ABOVE: The

main racing

cockpit

transforms into

a comfortable

dining and

relaxation area

with a table and

soft settee

inserts

BELOW: Interior

space is

considerable

and the ‘pit’ forward of the mast, where the halyards and

spinnaker sheets are handled on the secondary winches (also

hydraulic).

The result of this is that the helm has good sight lines

forward and good communication lines, being able to speak

to the main, genoa and backstay trimmers without a headset.

Similarly, the spinnaker trimmer, who is always standing

highside to see the action, can act as a comms bridge be-

tween the spinnaker winch men and the afterguard.

“She’s got by far the best communication lines of any J,”

said Hoek. The other area in which Hoek had carte blanche

was in the deck housing. Hoek came up with very low-pro-

file upperworks, which honour Tore Holm’s own aesthetic

sensibility, and as you can see from the photos, it’s another

factor that adds to her appearance.

BELOW DECKS

The interior was designed by Pieter Beeldsnijder, who died

before seeing the fruits of his labour. “He was brilliant, great

to work with,” said Hoek. Michiel de Vos of De Vos De Vries

Design, who acted as interior decorator, was in Palma and

gave me a tour of the interior, which is in classical raised

and fielded style, but with a dash of modernity in the

choice of wood – claro walnut with its vivid tiger stripes –

and in the striped blue-and-white fabric settee coverings.

The interior is more commodious than you might imag-

ine given the slim, overhang-heavy shape of a J.

A full-width, en-suite owner’s cabin aft leads (as we go

forward) to a double guest cabin, a twin-single guest cabin

(both en-suite), day heads, full-width saloon, galley, crew

mess and crew quarters. The galley can open into the

saloon, so the owner can access it for small things like a

co­ee without rousing crew. The engine and generators are

accessed through a large, lifting sole hatch.

TYY4 Svea RP.indd 112 04/12/2017 17:14