Interview With Mark Cavendish, Director Of Sales And Marketing At Heesen Yachts

LM: What influence did Heesen have over the design of Project XVenture?
MC: We had a lot of influence over the design. We worked together as a team with Winch Design. They created a real monster of a yacht the first time around, but we wanted to create manageable proportions, so we scaled it back to a sub-60-metre size, so it would appeal to a wider audience. It’s easy to make one that is 100 metres, but only 20 people in the world would be able to afford it, so we wanted to make Project XVenture a more attractive proposition.

LM: When will Project XVenture hit the water?
MC: That depends on when we sign a contract to make it! If you were to order one tomorrow, it would take about 42 months (three and a half years) to build the yacht. We need half a year for design, engineering, approval and testing, just over a year for metalwork and construction, and then around two years for the fitting out of the yacht, commissioning and delivery.

LM: How customisable will Project XVenture be?
MC: You will be able to do anything you like with it, as long as it’s feasible and you have the money.

LM: As 2019 draws to a close, what have been the highlights of the year?
MC: The highlights were selling both the 67-metre yacht that we are now building, based on Project Avanti and the 59-metre Project Skyfall, which has got slightly more horsepower than Cosmos and will have a top speed of around 37 knots. These are two full custom yachts, and most of our time is spent building speculations boats, ones that we have pre-designed and engineered.

These two boats really do bring to a maximum the capacity of the shipyard. All of our engineering and construction departments are fully occupied, and we are going to hit a peak of using resources, which is great. All of our dry docks are full, and if you ordered a boat from us now, the earliest delivery would probably be into 2023 or 2024.

LM: What can we expect in 2020?
MC: In the early part of next year, we will be delivering two 50-metre yachts. One is a steel traditional yacht, and the other is a lightweight aluminium yacht – the 50-metre, 500 gross tonne sister ship to Home, which has two 600 kW (804 bhp) engines, as well as a hybrid propulsion system. You can run it in hybrid mode at something like 70 litres of fuel an hour. This is what a family sailboat in Southampton does! It’s very impressive.

LM: Thank you very much for your time Mark, and it has been a pleasure talking to you.

Heesen Yachts – Where and How?

For more information on Heesen Yachts, Project Cosmos and Project XVenture, visit www.heesenyachts.com.
Photo credit: Heesen Yachts and Breed Media.

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