Pendennis Shipyard in the UK has redelivered the 85.6m motoryacht Aquila after an extensive refit programme that took exactly one year to complete.
Burgess oversaw the management of the refit, supporting Aquila’s owners throughout the project from concept to redelivery and providing full project oversight including technical, financial, crew and safety management. Burgess will continue to represent the yacht as part of the Burgess Charter fleet.
Aquila is said to be the largest yacht yet to be refitted in the UK, and the scope of the work undertaken included a revitalisation of all five deck levels.
“To facilitate the extent of design and technical changes required, the interiors on Aquila needed to be stripped back to bulkheads across most areas,” says Adrian Tinkler, fleet technical manager at Burgess. “The team completely updated the social spaces, modernised technical systems and lighting, and restyled the boat across an area of over 750sq m, the scale of which was unprecedented by any of the suppliers in such a short time period.”
Technology upgrades as part of the yacht’s five-year survey included a new AV and IT system, radar equipment, air-conditioning and fresh air-handling systems, along with the rebuild of the four generators. A complete infrastructure repaint completed the refit works.
Redman Whiteley Dixon and Susan Young Interiors were commissioned to evaluate the existing room and exterior layouts to reformulate spaces and improve flow between each area of the yacht.
Significant enhancements included reconfiguring the owner’s suite along with the addition of a 60sq m private deck area, repositioning the Jacuzzi to the forward sun deck, and integrating a cinema into the main salon. The vision of the interior designers was realised with installation by German interiors specialist Metrica.
Mike Carr, joint managing director of Pendennis, describes the shipyard’s approach: “In order to effectively manage a project of this scale Pendennis assigned four project managers, each with responsibility for specific aspects of the programme. They facilitated effective communication between all partners, which consisted of a combined international team of over 1,000 people at the peak of the project.
“The unwavering support from the captain and crew was also a key contributor to the refit’s success. We believe that this project has set a new benchmark for large yacht refit programmes.”
