Revealing the new Aquarius: what it takes to improve on "nearly perfect"
by Royal Huisman 15 Sep 15:46 UTC
With extensive photography, video, and background material, Royal Huisman now shares Project 408, the new 65m / 212ft Aquarius.
Built for returning owners who described their previous, Royal Huisman Aquarius as "nearly perfect", the brief was not to reinvent, but to enhance comfort, performance, and space. Shaped by an experienced team and lessons learned, Aquarius opens a new chapter in superyacht elegance.
The ultimate compliment clients can pay a shipyard is to return for a second vessel. But when these owners labeled their first yacht "nearly perfect", the bar measuring excellence is set very high. This is precisely the story behind Royal Huisman's second Aquarius delivered in 2025. Its meticulous brief called for the same elegance and family comfort as the world cruising ketch delivered to her experienced husband and wife owners in 2018, but with more volume and accommodations, and even more spirited sailing performance.
"This Royal Huisman ketch eliminates compromise to exceed her owners' expectations for speed and comfort"
The brief called for an additional ensuite stateroom in the guest complement and one more double crew cabin. The owner's gym and media room would be enlarged. Beyond that were requests for a larger engine room and service areas and more storage to support longer passages. To accomplish this, volume would need to increase by 45 percent. Drawing a successor with greater length and beam was not the challenge.
But ensuring this new 65m / 212ft edition would be faster and more responsive would mean the design and build team would be pulling out all the stops for a yacht with retro looks but rocket-like performance. The owners were clear that the perfect yacht for their lifestyle would also be capable of regatta success.
The value of collaboration and lessons learned
Having paid close attention to the development of their first custom build, including several shipyard visits during construction, and having been so pleased with the outcome, the owners found reassembling the original team for the next boat to be an easy decision, with owners' project manager Godfrey Cray, captain James Turner, Dykstra Naval Architects, Mark Whitely Design, and superyacht builder Royal Huisman back for another round.
With the teamwork brief, the team, and the design strategy for the larger boat now established, the second Aquarius benefited from a highly credible list of 728 ideas compiled by the owner's captain and the crew. Based on their experience sailing with the family for six years, the list identified practical interior changes for daily living, smart maintenance improvements, and requests for more galley space, systems, and storage. Rather than an abstract wish list, these lessons learned in actual use dovetailed with the ambition to improve on "nearly perfect. We like the balance of a ketch rig but recognized our first yacht sacrificed some performance," they said.
At first glance, it is hard to tell the previous Aquarius and the new Aquarius apart. The 56m / 184ft yacht and her 65m / 212ft successor look almost identical from a distance, exactly as requested.
Initially, Godfrey Cray, the design team, and Royal Huisman briefed the owners on contemporary exterior design trends. However, seeing other styles only reinforced their love for a classic spoon bow and an overhanging stern, a black hull, and gleaming teak deckhouses.
"We loved our first yacht, which was 'perfection' in our eyes." — The owners of Aquarius.
Yet, Erik Wassen of Dykstra Naval Architects notes that the new Aquarius is neither a replica of a classic yacht nor simply a scaled-up version of the previous. Compared with traditional-looking Dykstra projects, he points out she is much more modern in profile, yet still a romantic, retro-style. Her deck is far less cluttered with funnels and fittings than those of vintage yachts. Cray vetoed "bling," such as decorative metal fittings over deckhouse skylights and other polished, non-essential metalwork.
The result enhances the chic factor and reduces maintenance, allowing the crew to concentrate on sailing and serving guests.
Dialing up sailing performance
While not conceived as a Grand Prix racing yacht, this world cruiser built of lighter, stiffer and corrosion-resistant Alustar® aluminum alloy tipped firmly in the direction of speed and excellent performance. Early in the design meetings, the owners had to make the call - a mast low enough to transit the Panama Canal or performance. Without hesitation, their reply was "we choose performance."
Her massive Rondal custom carbon fiber ketch spars, furling booms with performance outhaul feature, impressive structured luff sail plan by Doyle Sails, and Carbo-Link's elliptical carbon rigging make that intent clear.
As is typical with performance sailing yachts, the mast height exceeds the hull length. But consider that Aquarius has a single-piece main mast of 67.5m / 221 ft, followed by a 61m mizzen / 200ft. This grants plenty of sail area, but the split rig creates space between the main and mizzen, allowing a furling mizzen staysail and an optional gennaker to add significant horsepower for racing or light-air cruising.
Replacing check stays with runner deflectors improves the deck layout. mast bend and sail shape. She has an impressive upwind sail area of 1,958m² / 21,076sqft and her downwind sail area is 4,671m² / 50,278sqft.
Controlling this much sail is no small task, and when racing, each mast has its own crew calling hoists and trim. As captain James Turner says, the yacht is "a lot more sporty" than her predecessor. Aquarius is treated to a full suite of 16 Rondal captive winches with pulling loads up to 18 tons.
All winches are located below deck with lines guided to the exits using blocks and sheaves, maintaining tension to prevent tangling. Rondal's feeders, positioned at the deck exit or at the exits of both booms, direct the line towards the winch. They are designed to guide and tension the line but not to increase pulling force - that's the winch's role.
Rondal is the only company worldwide to deliver a fully integrated sailing system from one source. Instead of combining separate components from different suppliers, the shipyard's sister company designs and engineers the complete package together with the design and build team.
The system-level approach guarantees efficiency, reduces wear, and maximizes safety and performance under sail. The result: a safer, lighter, and more efficient yacht with one clear control system for the crew.
Aquarius underwent her initial commissioning and sea trials during winter in the North Sea, equipped with only the essential sails required for cruising and delivery. Once in the Mediterranean, additional race crew joined the yacht in Palma de Mallorca to test the rest of the sail inventory, especially the racing sails. Each sail and its configuration within the plan had to be properly set, its hardware checked, and loads calibrated in the onboard systems.
The full sail inventory adds two gennakers, a spinnaker staysail, a mizzen staysail, a mizzen gennaker and Code Zero headsails. Godfrey Cray puts this into perspective:
"The commissioning was effectively like setting up two sloops. It is the main and headsails for a 65m / 213ft yacht, and then with the mizzen, mizzen staysail, delivery jib and mizzen gennaker, you have the gear and power of a 50m / 164ft yacht sailing behind it."
Design changes for relaxed luxury
A 9m / 30ft increase in overall length combined with more hull depth and increased beam delivers 45 percent more volume than her predecessor. This provides a far more workable crew area, mess and galley. The galley itself is now 67 percent larger.
The main cockpit, owners' cockpit, and both deckhouses were scaled up proportionally.
"We feel the extra length the most when we stand at the bow and look sternward! The foredeck is massive and the length is most apparent when looking aft from the bow." — The owners of Aquarius
The main deckhouse was reevaluated for a more lounge-oriented experience and more flexible formal dining.
The owners' deckhouse was reconfigured by repositioning the steps from their cabin to the aft deck. Instead of the traditional split-banquette style, it now offers a cozy U-shaped seating area to starboard plus a TV cabinet and a fridge, making it more of a proper deck salon rather than a place to drop foul-weather gear on your way below.
The yacht's main salon is 62 percent larger. Now the entire social seating area can be on starboard, and conversation no longer interrupted by the centerline traffic flow.
The entire yacht speaks of relaxation, with most upholstery specified in outdoor fabrics for easy care and fade resistance.
Dining on port comfortably accommodates 12 guests at one large table, or the table can be split into two smaller tables and even lowered to coffee-table height, turning the entire space into one large living room. There is much more storage and a larger bar cabinet.
Design emphasis is on horizontal lines that visually elongate the spaces, contributing to an even greater sense of spaciousness aboard the nine-meter-longer yacht. The high-low expandable tables were used to turn the deck salon into an impromptu dining room with a view on evenings when it was too cool to dine in the cockpit while cruising in Norway. Note how the theme of the double chair rails resurfaces on the staircase newel post and handrail.
The greatly expanded media room or cinema promises to be one of the yacht's highlights.
Together with the gym, the media room creates a natural buffer between the crew area and guest spaces. The massive keel trunk on centerline is cleverly hidden between the cinema and galley.
The ensuite guest cabins increased in size as well as number, with a double and a twin cabin forward of the salon and two double cabins aft.
At the back of Aquarius is the owners' stateroom, where the extra hull length allows the entire suite to be on one level rather than stepped to accommodate the hull shape.
The consistency of the yacht's design palette and Mark Whiteley's attention to detail carries through to the owners' portside bath. Marble counters pair with painted white overheads and swietenia, or American mahogany, in a satin finish and nickel hardware. Instead of the large bathtub featured on the previous Aquarius, this time the owners requested a larger walk-in shower and more counter space.
A side-by-side comparison of the two yachts shows many similarities in their refinements while adhering to Mark Whiteley's original "New England Relaxed Elegance decor scheme of cream walls and swietenia wood cabinetry. Stairways have become a touch more graceful and the posts have a softer shape.
The floors are clear-finished wood planks, with runners and area rugs adding color and coziness. Paneling adds charm. With the hand-painted wall and ceiling finishes, satin varnish on the Swietenia wood cabinetry, and details using simplified raised panels, we consider it a light classic contemporary interior. The joinery is quite crisp but obeys classic proportions," said Mark Whiteley.
Ramping up performance
The previous Aquarius has a 58-ton fixed keel drawing 4.8m / 16ft, which delivers a significant righting moment. But for the new Aquarius with 40 to 56% more sail area compared to the previous, deeper draft would be necessary for stability and to avoid leeway under sail. A fixed keel of sufficient depth would put many cruising areas and marinas off limits. The solution to offset the force of her massive sail is a lifting keel of 76 ton.
It draws exactly the same amount of water, 4.8m / 16 ft in the up position for harbor access, yet it can drop to 7.6m / 25ft for top performance. The naval architects made sure the intrusion of the lifting keel box did not distort the interior, while the maximum beam was carefully controlled to maintain essentially the same length-to-beam ratio that had proved successful: 4.5 for the previous Aquarius versus 4.7 for the new Aquarius.
Aquarius takes advantage of Royal Huisman's fully tested innovations and system upgrades with a continued focus on quality, reliability and safety. For dependability and worldwide service when cruising, the owners requested straightforward mechanical systems.
The yacht features Royal Huisman's semi-hybrid technologies for power generation and management. Power Take-Offs (TPOs) on the main engine and generators mean that, much of the time, only one engine needs to be engaged. The system comprises a 900kW MTU main engine for propulsion, with a 110kW alternator/shaft generator mounted on the gearbox to supply hotel loads when the yacht is motoring.
Two fixed-speed generators also charge a 134kW battery bank for peak shaving, which means it is unlikely the second generator will be needed where there are spikes in electric demand. The generators are matched to energy usage over 24 hours, not to the maximum possible demand at any one moment.
The benefits include optimum energy efficiency and flexible power generation. The increase in length, beam and hull depth, offers room for larger systems in the engine room and technical spaces and easy access for proper maintenance.
Her high-modulus carbon rig and state-of-the-art sail-handling systems by Rondal ensure thrilling performance and effortless handling. "The yacht is incredibly well balanced; her sail plan, keel, rudder and hull are all in sync," notes Godfrey Cray.
Sailing trials proved that she is the exquisite powerhouse her owner requested. Armed with just her cruising sails, she was clocking 15 and 16 knots on a reach. Following her delivery to the Mediterranean, where light air performance is make-or-break for a yacht, she proved she could sail at 10+ knots in just 7 knots of breeze.
The yacht has a single rudder controlled by the first installation of Edson's new electric steering-assist system. A sensor measures the torque the helmsman experiences, and the amount of assistance is adjustable with five power settings. In standard mode, it absorbs up to 50 percent of the steering wheel load while still providing sufficient feedback.
"Even turned up all the way, you still get feeling on the wheel," said captain James Turner. "The owner loves it." Along with the power assist comes smart gearing. "With just six turns from lock to lock, it's easier to steer the boat more accurately, which means sailing faster," said Cray. Two-time Volvo Ocean Race winning skipper Mike Sanderson, who helmed during the 2026 St. Barths Bucket, called it "the single biggest boost for performance on the boat".
First regatta under the keel
Last spring, Aquarius traveled to the Caribbean for the St. Barths Bucket, where the 36 members of the combined racing and boat crews managed four days of practice before squaring off against two other big ketches, 67m / 219ft Hetairos and 59m / 194ft Maximus. Heading into the third day of racing, the yachts were tied at 6 points each. And then the weather gods intervened, sending too much wind, and the final race was canceled. Aquarius dropped to third place on "Count Back".
Godfrey Cray says it will only take a one- or two-percent improvement to achieve the owner's goal of winning the next Bucket, and none of that involves new hardware. Finding the extra performance will be a combination of little things; sail selection for the venue, dynamic control of the rigging, sail tune and optimizing the differing upwind and downwind modes. This combined with effectively organizing 36 race crew.
"We put in a very convincing performance," noted captain James Turner, recalling that Aquarius had been ahead of the more seasoned Maximus on several occasions. "We will be back for the 2027 Bucket. We have unfinished business."
"For Aquarius, the brief was not simply to build bigger," says Royal Huisman's CEO, Peter Naeyé. "It was to preserve the character the owners loved, while adding the volume, performance and technology refinement their next chapter required. That is exactly where a fully custom Royal Huisman yacht proves its value: every detail can be tested, optimized and made personal, without losing the spirit of the original idea."
Traveling 20,000 nautical miles in her first 18 months, including two transatlantic crossings, the St. Barths Bucket and hosting her family on cruises from Norway to Sicily, Aquarius has proven herself to be a yacht of exceptional balance: timeless in appearance, thoroughly modern in technology, and deeply personal in every aspect of her execution. For Royal Huisman, she is also a clear expression of what returning clients make possible: a custom yacht shaped by trust, experience and a shared commitment to keep improving.
"With an advanced engineering and production team in-house and the design coordination possible with our sister company Rondal for designing and building not just the spars but also the integrated sailing system and more, owners are assured of seamless operation. This also translates to smooth service support after delivery," concludes Peter Naeyé. "This is what makes Royal Huisman the home of the world's finest custom yachts."