The Dutch company Younique Yachts produces custom aluminum tenders, chase boats and RIB’s.
It’s hard to call the yacht production process green. They are well aware of that at Younique Yachts. But, they are making an eco-friendly change in the production of their tenders. Instead of using composite/carbon, they use aluminum. Casts for custom composite/carbon tenders are usually only used once and produce a lot of waste. Byreplacing carbon with aluminum they produce less waste and plastic.
Customers often prefer carbon tenders as they are lightweight. But the difference in weight between a carbon and an aluminum hull is minimal, taking into account the total weight of the tender. That makes aluminum tenders an eco- and user friendly alternative for carbon tenders.
New yacht tender concept available for purchase and production
Making their production process more green is the main reason why Younique Yachts chooses aluminum over carbon. Carbon is very suitable for window openings and bimini tops, but for the tender itself they prefer aluminum. “Aluminum tenders feel more comfortable, stronger, stiffer and they produce less noise”, Egbert Wattel, co-owner of Younique Yachts explains. The tender interiors and exteriors are most of the time made of green teak wood. A CNC machine mills the interior parts. This way they can work more precisely and produce less waste. Since they want to keep their footprint as low as possible at Younique Yachts, they plant trees each year to compensate the wood they use. “We give nature back what’s hers”, says Peter Melchers, co-owner of Younique Yachts.
Younique Yachts took their philosophy one step further. On behalf of one of their clients they investigated the possibility to use the same platform to build different tender types on the same hull. The outcome is positive and this concept has been released to the market by their client.
The result is a 9.5m or 31ft long limousine tender with a water displacement of 4,500kg and a top speed of over 40 knots.
Designed for up to 12 passengers, guests can board the ship on the lower aft deck or the higher foredeck, enabling the crew to help passengers get on and off board safely.
To keep passengers comfortable, luxurious seating and a climate controlled system are installed in the limousine tender.
