Pacific Asian Enterprises, Inc. (P.A.E.) is pleased to announce that partner factory Ta Shing Yacht Building Company has begun construction on Nordhavn’s brand new 56-foot Motorsailer project. The Taiwan-based yard currently builds five different Nordhavn models, but it originally gained notoriety crafting superior sailing vessels including the P.A.E.- designed Mason sailboats as well as the Tashiba, Norseman, Orion, Sky and Taswell line of cruising sailboats . “With Ta Shing’s heritage of building superior quality power and sailboats, we have all the ingredients necessary to create this truly unique and incredible yacht,” said P.A.E.’s vice-president Jim Leishman.

Motorsailers have gotten a bad rap in the past as being a design that can neither sail nor motor very well. But P.A.E. believes the new N56 M/S model will combine the best elements from both boating worlds to form a world cruising vessel with unequaled capability and comfort.

Displacing over 70,000 lbs., the N56 M/S will be a departure from typical coastal motorsailers. With her sails furled she’ll actually motor faster and farther than existing Nordhavns. “She’ll be more slippery and sleeker than what we’re used to, and with the sailboat underbody she should effortlessly and quietly motor along at nine to ten knots” says PAE’s chief of design Jeff Leishman. Her efficient design will be even more noticeable on long ocean passages at slower speeds. With the engine throttled back, the propeller pitched high, and under full sail she’ll provide a quiet, comfortable, stabilized ride with constant electricity available and with phenomenal range – enough to take on the longest and toughest of ocean passages.

Tooling is well underway and the first hull is expected to be complete within 15 months and will be priced at around $1.3 million which will include hydraulic power furling and winches, Lugger engine, controllable pitch propeller, generator, air conditioning, winch-anchor and chain, bow thruster, along with the finest hardware, doors and windows, steering gear and general equipment available. Additional features will include the superb electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems that are a result of P.A.E’s vast offshore experience and will exude the world class fit and finish that Nordhavns and Ta Shing are so well known for.

The history between P.A.E. and Ta Shing dates back almost 30 years with the introduction of the Mason 43 in 1977. Between them almost 1,000 cruising sailboats were delivered, but in recent years focus has shifted at the Ta Shing factories with production of the Nordhavn 35-, 62-, 64-, 68-, 72- and 76-foot trawlers. The new Motorsailer is particularly exciting for PAE and Ta Shing as it brings both companies back to their roots. The experience and passion both companies are contributing to this new Nordhavn will excite and astonish the cruising enthusiast and prove to be a wonderful alternative for those who wish to cruise the oceans of the world.

For more information or additional hi-resolution layouts, renderings or tooling photos, please contact Jennifer Stern.