Boat International US Edition — November 2017

WWW.BOATINTERNATIONAL.COM NOVEMBER 2017

wrote the list of everything he wanted to take, the end

result was the 67 metre [220ft]Garçon, which we

delivered in 2012.”Garçonwas the first Damen Yacht

Support vessel. Since then, the yard has regularly

unveiled YS models built on spec, which have found

homes with owners worldwide.

It wasn’t an entirely new idea, though. The 447ft

Fulk Al Salamah(nowAl Dhaferah) was one of the first

purpose-built support vessels when she was launched

in 1987 to escort 340ftAl Said(nowLoaloat Al Behar).

Golden Shadow,a 218ft launched in 1994, still shadows

Prince Khaled bin Sultan’s Golden Fleet, assisting its

philanthropic research with its seaplane, dive boats

and recompression chamber. In the early 2000s,

Shadow Marine popped up in Fort Lauderdale, billing

itself as the world’s first manufacturer to specialize in

the design and construction of superyacht support

vessels. It was responsible for several conversions of

existing offshore vessels before the recession hit.

Today, two other builders, Lynx Yachts and Piriou, have joined Damen in looking

for a slice of the support vessel pie. The founder of custom yacht builder Lynx Yachts,

Slim Bouricha, is an experienced yachtsman who saw first hand the need for smaller

yachts to have better tenders – the type only a 200ft to 230ft yacht could fit. His solution?

In 2014 Lynx launched its Yacht-X-Tender series, stylish utility boats ranging from 70ft

to 116ft that can carry tenders and toys and extra space for stores, fuel or something like

a gym or galley. It is building its third now, with a fourth in negotiation. The Dutch yard

has been attracting interest from clients who own 100ft to 130ft yachts. “In this size

range, you really are limited in the tender you can

carry on board and the owner may not want a bigger

yacht that would have difficulties entering some

marinas and shallow waters,” says Filippo Rossi, sales

and marketing manager at Lynx Yachts.

French yard Piriou, like Damen, is a commercial

builder, having launched more than 130 boats for the

offshore industry, and it’s these that form the basis of

its YSV range. Its concepts run from 130ft to 206ft, but

can be lengthened to suit. One project on the drawing

board is for a 328ft vessel with an astounding

Previous spread,

left: an aerial view

of 226ft Damen

support vesselGame

Changer; right: the

toy stocked deck of

Damen’sfirstYS

vessel,Garçon.

This page:Garçon

has a top speed of

25 knots, thanks to

its Sea Axe bow.

Speed enables the

vessel to beat the

mothership to the

next anchorage

“When you turn

upinabayof

superyachts, you

arepartofthe

show. You don’t

want to be the

PHOTOGRAPH: JEFF BROWN ugly duckling”

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