The Nordhavn 72 project is moving along smoothly and on schedule. As of this writing, the hull mold tooling is nearly complete and the deck plug tooling is 80 percent complete. We are on schedule to begin lamination of hull no. 1 in June as originally planned.
As you will see from the tooling photographs, we have built the various plugs meticulously to be used one time for the construction of the final polished molds. Since the plugs are exact duplicates of what the final hull or deck pieces will be, they give our managers and engineers a chance to observe every part of the boat in full size before making final commitments to the molds. Naval architect Jeff Leishman, U.S. project manager Trever Smith and Taiwan project manager Roger Zhang and others have fine tuned and adjusted the design at this stage to make function and appearance as perfect as possible.
Aft pilothouse
We now offer a second version of the N72 in an aft pilothouse configuration. Using the same hull, Jeff Leishman has cleverly designed another deck and interior layout along the lines of the Nordhavn 62 and the classic North Sea trawlers. Those who have admired the Nordhavn 62 and love that style of boat will find their hearts racing at site of this magnificent new design. We will begin tooling on the aft pilot house deck mold upon completion of the original deck mold and will be able to offer it beginning with hull no. 3.
Bow options
The hull mold for the N72 has been designed in a way that enables us to offer the boat with or without a bulbous bow. The bow section of the hull mold is removable and interchangeable with bulbous and conventional bow molds so that the buyer can choose either bow and still receive a one piece seamless hull.
The standard configuration of the N72 is as a single screw vessel with dry exhaust. The N72 is also available with twin engines. In the twin screw configuration, special inserts are installed in the N72 mold which allows the molding of the twin skegs to be part of the original integral lay-up of the hull.
Specifications online
Also now posted, please see the complete standard specifications list for the Nordhavn 72. The N72 is the “flagship” of our Nordhavn line, so, we have chosen to raise its level of standard features to the highest possible point and include many items as standard in the base price which are options on other models. For example, nearly all of the options available on the N62 are standard on the N72 and included in the quoted price of $3,365,000. The N72 is packaged in such a way that we will not have an additional options list. Other than the electronics package that will be developed separately, there are very few other big items that the N72 will require.
The Nordhavn 72 is the product of more than 30 years of boat building and hundreds of thousands of sea miles made by the P.A.E. owners and staff. No expense is being spared in the design, engineering and tooling phase of this project. The N72 is destined to be a classic by which others will be measured for many years to come.
Unmatched value
Upon close inspection, you will find that the pricing for the N72 represents an excellent value. After considering the depth of design and quality and the long list of standard features, you will find that the N72 is priced nearly $1 million below comparable yachts coming out of the finer yards of Europe and the Pacific Northwest. Our attractive pricing is achieved through our direct sales process and the efficiencies of our low overhead privately owned company. Our other “secret weapon” in offering attractive pricing is the low labor costs at our Asian factory. Those low labor and materials costs are further reduced by the current strength of the U.S. dollar against the Taiwan currency. While we have all seen the recent headlines about the decline of the U.S. dollar against the Euro, little has been said about the fact that the dollar is at a 12-year high against the Taiwan NT. Combine these facts with the aggressive attitude of PAE during these uncertain times and you will find that the decision to purchase an N72 today will look brilliant in the years to come.
Two N72s sold
As of this writing, the first two Nordhavn 72s have been sold. Hull no. 1 has been purchased by the current owner of an N62 and hull no. 2 has been purchased by the current owner of an N50. Hull no. 3 is available for purchase and has a factory completion date of February 2005.