BREAKING NEWS: Nordhavn 68#26 was shipped last Saturday.

It seems only fitting that hull 68#26, Thetis II, should be the 500th Nordhavn to be planned, constructed and shipped in the 24 years since Pacific Asian Enterprises, Inc., (P.A.E.) began producing the innovative line of passagemaking motoryachts. It’s because Thetis II embodies so much of what Nordhavn has come to represent a near quarter-century after Naval Architect Jeff Leishman drew the lines of the first 46.

In short, she is one of the most luxurious yachts P.A.E. has built, which is saying a lot, because it seems every new boat born out of P.A.E.’s two factories betters the last in craftsmanship, space layout, details and extravagance. Project Manager Garrett Severen explains what sets Thetis II apart from other yachts:

“Nordhavn 68#26, Thetis II, has a highly specialized interior, which includes stained mahogany wood, custom joinery details and many other unique touches such as distinctive etched glass pieces; one-of-a-kind cabinetry; and a unique handrail design that’s backlit throughout the boat. On the exterior, the teak caprail wraps the entire boat around the Portuguese bridge level. Other advancements are a hinge-able teak diving platform, rail mounted liferafts, a complete cooking station on the flybridge which includes a Tepan Yaki grill and two-burner cooktop.”

Over and above stylistic and build proficiency advances, 68#26 is a reflection of how the marketing and purchase of modern day Nordhavns has become a truly global experience. The owner of Thetis II, a Czech, purchased his brand new boat out of our UK sales office; and because he wants to cruise Croatia and the Eastern Mediterranean coast, the boat will be delivered to – and commissioned in – Malta. As recent as the beginning of this century, catering to an international audience in this way was deemed difficult and improbable. Not so long ago, foreign prospects had to fly to headquarters in Dana Point, CA – or at the very least, a major boat show on the east coast of the U.S. – to view and purchase a Nordhavn. Now, two international sales offices in addition to four American branches, plus an extremely in-depth website, make Nordhavns far more accessible to a worldwide audience. (In this instance, P.A.E. reps flew to Italy and spent a week on board another Nordhavn to discuss all the finer details of Thetis II with the owner and his designer.) On top of this, P.A.E. has the resources to send their highly skilled commissioning techs to any yard in the world.

P.A.E.’s project management team, as well as its two partner factories, Ta Shing in Taiwan and Xiamen South Coast Marine in China, also have become more accustomed to the additional attention that boats built for foreign customers require. During the order and build process of Thetis II, the owner, his designer and representative were all highly involved. Because the owner speaks limited English, most communication went through the representative, so it took extra diligence in making sure nothing was lost in translation. “This added a little more challenge to the build, but communication was open and flowed fairly freely,” notes Severen, who made several trips to Ta Shing with the owner’s team and Nordhavn UK salesman, Phillip Roach.

Construction of the boat has been nearly 17 months, and when it started back in January 2012, no one could have guessed that she would wind up being the 500th Nordhavn to be completed and shipped. She’ll be official once she’s loaded as container cargo on the M/V Rike this Saturday. Yet when it happens, it will be business as usual in Dana Point. “It’s a huge achievement, one we’re very proud of,” notes Production Manager Sky Scott. “But come Monday morning when she’s on the high seas, things will be rolling along like normal here as we work on Nordhavn #501 and beyond.”