Building it up from its bare bones
Puglia Shipbuilding's 1992 build, 'Sea Falcon II' is nearing the completion of a major refit at Varadero Port Denia. When she is launched at the end of July, this 23-year-old vessel will be fully future-proofed for her new owners, having been rebuilt from the steel plating.…
The 45.72m Sea Falcon II, originally constructed by Puglia Shipbuilding in 1992, is nearing the end of a comprehensive refit at Varadero Port Denia, which has served to future-proof the 23-year-old superyacht via the installation of new systems throughout.
SuperyachtNews.com spoke exclusively to the yard’s general manager, Albert Morrell and the yacht’s captain, Ray Sealey on the eve of the yacht’s relaunch about the challenges of bringing a vessel approaching her silver anniversary into the 21st century.
Morrell explained that the engine room, in particular, presented a real challenge and required the removal of the engines, gen sets, air conditioning, all of the pumps, and around 90 per cent of the piping. The W6 CAT 3508 twin engines were then given an overhaul, while new generators were fitted.
“The boat is over 20 years old and there has been very little planned maintenance conducted”, Sealey explained. “We had her surveyed and we realised she was in need of a restoration.”
The hull’s steel plating was in urgent need of treatment, in accordance with ABS rules, which because of its invasive nature, effectively meant an overhaul of all of the systems on board. “There’s nothing on the vessel that we haven’t touched. We basically stripped the boat down to its bare metal. The steel work was very complicated and time-consuming because it all had to be replaced and the wiring was a challenge because we had to rewire the entire vessel.”
With a yacht of this age, locating the parts was a logistical problem, threatening to impact upon the delivery schedule. “We stripped the engines to their bare bones and removed them component by component so they were like brand new”, Sealey said. “We had new electronic packages on them and new monitoring systems integrated into the pilothouse. The owner is coming out with a brand new boat –that’s for sure.”
Sea Falcon II is a recent purchase for her new owners, who intend to use the new vessel to circumnavigate the globe, which made the need to bring the yacht ‘up to spec’ all the more pressing. The Port Denia refit has, on the one hand, retained the essence of this elder statesman, while future-proofing it for the rigours of active ownership.
“Port Denia’s steelwork was fantastic and their ability to subcontract was crucial; the project manager did a fantastic job”, he concluded.
She is now expected to hit the water at the end of July/beginning of August. She will then cruise Palma and Ibiza before heading up to northern Europe for summer 2016.
SuperyachtNews.com spoke exclusively to the yard’s general manager, Albert Morrell and the yacht’s captain, Ray Sealey on the eve of the yacht’s relaunch about the challenges of bringing a vessel approaching her silver anniversary into the 21st century.
Morrell explained that the engine room, in particular, presented a real challenge and required the removal of the engines, gen sets, air conditioning, all of the pumps, and around 90 per cent of the piping. The W6 CAT 3508 twin engines were then given an overhaul, while new generators were fitted.
“The boat is over 20 years old and there has been very little planned maintenance conducted”, Sealey explained. “We had her surveyed and we realised she was in need of a restoration.”
The hull’s steel plating was in urgent need of treatment, in accordance with ABS rules, which because of its invasive nature, effectively meant an overhaul of all of the systems on board. “There’s nothing on the vessel that we haven’t touched. We basically stripped the boat down to its bare metal. The steel work was very complicated and time-consuming because it all had to be replaced and the wiring was a challenge because we had to rewire the entire vessel.”
With a yacht of this age, locating the parts was a logistical problem, threatening to impact upon the delivery schedule. “We stripped the engines to their bare bones and removed them component by component so they were like brand new”, Sealey said. “We had new electronic packages on them and new monitoring systems integrated into the pilothouse. The owner is coming out with a brand new boat –that’s for sure.”
Sea Falcon II is a recent purchase for her new owners, who intend to use the new vessel to circumnavigate the globe, which made the need to bring the yacht ‘up to spec’ all the more pressing. The Port Denia refit has, on the one hand, retained the essence of this elder statesman, while future-proofing it for the rigours of active ownership.
“Port Denia’s steelwork was fantastic and their ability to subcontract was crucial; the project manager did a fantastic job”, he concluded.
She is now expected to hit the water at the end of July/beginning of August. She will then cruise Palma and Ibiza before heading up to northern Europe for summer 2016.
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