If you ask anyone at Nordhavn what their favorite model is, the question might be met with a squeamish silence. After all, it’s akin to a parent being made to reveal the name of their favorite child. There are qualities about every Nordhavn design that’s got each one fighting for its rightful place among the fan favorites. Certainly in the three-plus decades Pacific Asian Enterprises, Inc. (PAE) has been manufacturing Nordhavns, the stand-out star has evolved. It makes sense since aesthetics and the design characteristics of a great boat changes with time. In 2024, however, the Nordhavn that many have found themselves exceedingly bullish on is the new Nordhavn 71. 

The reasons are many, but the first thing that comes out of practically everyone’s mouth when considering what makes the N71 so incredible is its sheer volume. “It’s a big boat,” said PAE President Dan Streech, “in every way.” (Just check out the photo of her being offloaded in Ensenada, Mexico last April. She’s more comparable to the N96 in the back row than she is to the N625 and N59CP just to her bow.) Standing on the dock looking skyward, it’s almost unfathomable this boat is only 71 feet long. From behind the cockpit, the feeling is the same. “With her twenty-two-and-a-half-foot beam, this model has the volume to provide impressive sleeping, living, and entertaining spaces.”

Indeed, take a walk through the #3 boat that recently arrived for commissioning in Dana Point, CA, and you might catch yourself thinking you’re on the Nordhavn 80, which is only a foot wider. That’s because her interior comprises of a crave-worthy full-beam Owners Suite, two large ensuite guest staterooms with queen berths, a massive saloon and galley, pilothouse with full head and off-watch berth, and a roomy and versatile sky lounge. As big as she is, the real kicker is that the N71 is designed to be run without crew. “The target candidate absolutely is the owner-operator,” Streech reveals.

The owners of the first two N71s are proof of that, and each came to the 71 after running their smaller Nordhavns, a 68 and 63 respectively. Still, the sky lounge can be configured as captain quarters as needed, which will be the case for the owners of hull number 3, for whom the N71 is the first boat they’ve ever owned.

Not only does she have the sense of a vessel much larger in size, the Nordhavn 71 has the fit and finish of a superyacht. “She truly is a work of art,” says Streech. And it’s not just in the way the craftspeople at the Ta Shing factory have fabricated with precision the interior joinery from top to bottom. “The equipment and systems are beautifully installed, and from a design perspective, she masterfully reflects our latest thinking in hull form and style.”

That latest thinking, courtesy of Chief of Design Jeff Leishman, has produced a very slippery and efficient hull, even at 228,000 lbs. The hull form with bulbous bow was fine-tuned by Nordhavn’s in-house CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software which has led to impressive speed and fuel numbers. Sea trials of hull #1 yielded fuel burn numbers of 1 gallon per mile at 8.5 knots. When you combine this with the N71’s 4,500 gallon fuel capacity, the result is a yacht with amazing range.

A CUSTOMIZEABLE PRODUCTION BOAT

The Nordhavn 71 does come with a very comprehensive spec, but buyers do not have to worry about owning a cookie-cutter yacht. One look at the three N71s that have been built to date, and it’s obvious these are three distinctively different yachts. The first 71 has a bar in the sky lounge, while hulls 2 and 3 have cabins incorporated for an additional private/captain’s suite. Hulls 3 and 4 will have hot tubs installed in the flybridge. Hulls one and three were built with teak for a more traditional look; the owners of hull two opted for walnut. When you take these different features into consideration and then add to the mix buyers’ freedom to select loose furniture versus built-in settees, distinct fabrics and stone, it gives each of these boats a completely individual vibe. 

Aesthetics will ensure the boat is 100 percent a buyer’s own, but everything else for the most part is all PAE. And that is done completely by design. For one, the designers and engineers at Nordhavn have been doing this for a long time and recognize from decades of experience, owner feedback and a persistent connection to industry trends, what equipment makes for the best performance and enjoyability. The gold standard in items such as air conditioning and inverters to windlasses and anchor chain have been purposefully selected. “We have seen an incredible evolution of products and features and design ideas over the years,” said Streech. “And we have made it easier for the buyer of the Nordhavn 71, as well as the sales and project management staff, by packing the standard specification full of the latest in equipment and features. She is so perfectly spec’ed out, a buyer doesn’t really need to do much other than buy electronics and shore boats.” 

With just three boats finished, PAE is already seeing benefits from offering the Nordhavn 71 as a mostly-complete boat. The aforementioned ease in the order process not only eliminates stress in having to make choices, it also eliminates the need for change orders…which dramatically reduces the chances for errors. From there the advantages are exponential: build time is condensed and extra costs typically associated with changes and customizations are curbed. It’s no coincidence that the first three Nordhavn 71s have been completed and shipped from the factory in just over a 12-month span. Streech says the goal is to build three or four per year.

Perhaps the central reason a buyer comes to Nordhavn is due to the reputation of the brand on account of the capability and seaworthiness of the hulls. The N71 does not waver from the design philosophy that has driven the company since the first Nordhavn was delivered in 1989. Her hull form is fundamentally a typical full displacement carrying 30,000 lbs. of ballast, but was optimized in the design phase for the most favorable output. She is a twin-engine boat with twin keels for protection of the propellers and has been incorporated with the Vee Strut design that has been used with enormous success on the N80 and N96 models. “We anticipate seeing the N71 in production for the next 15 years,” Streech said. “The expectation and hope is to produce 50 or more hulls.”

Learn more about the Nordhavn 71 by clicking here or contact info@nordhavn.com.