Vri-Jon has been building steel motor yachts for over 30 years and offers its customers a very special service: they should help shape the boat and the shipyard therefore wants to incorporate as many of the owner's ideas as possible. On the Vri-Jon website: "Make an appointment to discuss your personal wishes."
We visited the shipyard in Ossenzijl in the Netherlands and sailed the new Contessa 47 AC on the River Linde. The letter combination AC stands for aft cabin. This cabin extends across the entire width of the boat and offers a comfortable double berth with slatted frame and thick mattress. The wet room area is divided into a separate toilet and shower room. Both can only be accessed directly from the cabin and are spacious and comfortable. The guest cabin is located in the foredeck. There is also a cosy double bed with slatted frame and comfortable mattress. The wet room (WC, washbasin and shower) is accessible from the vestibule and also serves as a day toilet. Opposite is a large freezer and storage space. In the centre of the vestibule, a staircase leads up to the salon. It is bright and elegant and offers a cosy seating and dining area. An exclusive kitchenette is available on the port side for preparing meals. Vri-Jon has installed a television in the seating area (at the top of the partition wall) for the entertainment of the travelling party.
Good all-round view on the Contessa 47 AC
A staircase leads from the saloon to the deck. Up there on the cockpit, in addition to a U-shaped seating unit with a large table, you will also find the driving position. A convertible top (standard) sits enthroned above everything, offering a good all-round view with its large foil windows. The only drawback: the companionway is closed with a hatch that restricts the view when opened (folded towards the windscreen). However, Vri-Jon intends to remedy this. There are zip doors on both sides of the canopy that provide access to the side decks. The side decks are wide and have a sloping walking surface and no steps, which is of course intentional so that there are no tripping hazards. The solid railing, which has an entrance (with sliding tube) on both sides in the centre area, guarantees further safety of movement. Further aft, there are steps on each side that guarantee safe access to the large bathing platform. There is a long bathing ladder here to make it easier to get in and out of the water. A stern shower for rinsing salt or other fine particles from the body is of course also within easy reach.
But now to the helm and cast off. The Vri-Jon can be safely cast off from the dockyard harbour using the bow and stern thrusters. Then we continue towards Linde. When heading straight ahead, the motto is to allow the boat to levelling out briefly and then continue in a relaxed manner. At a speed of 4 knots, we calculate a range of over 1000 nm using the engine manufacturer's consumption values and the 900-litre diesel tank. At the maximum permitted speed (just under 5 knots) on the Linde River, that's just under 800 nm plus 15 per cent reserve.
Relaxed seating position guaranteed for skippers on Contessa
The driver sits on a Recaro seat which, in addition to the adjustment options, has sporty, firm upholstery and a folding footrest for a relaxed seating position. A folding split windscreen made of safety glass protects the car pool from the wind. To maintain visibility even in wet, rainy weather, the shipyard installed three solid double-arm windscreen wipers on the outside of the windows and defroster nozzles directly in front of the windows on the inside. A multifunction monitor is installed in the centre of the instrument panel; it is easy to read and simple to operate with a finger (touchscreen). The latter also applies to the steering wheel and the Volvo Penta electronic gearstick.
The engine can be accessed via two floor panels in the saloon. The first flap (with gas damper) has an eyelet for opening, the second can then simply be pushed up by hand from the inside. The standard version of the Vri-Jon has a 150 hp diesel engine in the engine compartment, whereas the shipyard installed a D4-175 (175 hp) from Volvo Penta in our test boat. In the engine room, the technician has plenty of space for service work and the installations make a professional and clean impression. The same applies to the overall finish of the boat. The technical equipment includes exemplary external diesel filters, a fire extinguishing system and shut-off valves for the diesel tank. The tank on our test boat not only supplies the engine, but also the powerful heating system, which produces hot water and pumps it into the heating system using a circulation pump. Here, Vri-Jon recommends underfloor heating, which distributes the heat pleasantly throughout the rooms. A total of five batteries, a shore connection with a Victron MultiPlus 24/3000 (charger and inverter), insulation transformer and an extra 24 V alternator on the diesel engine provide the power supply as standard.
Technical data
- Shipyard: Vri-Jon DSA Yachts/NL, www.vri-jon.nl
- Type:Contessa 47 AC
- CE category: B
- Length over everything: 14,20 m
- Width: 4,50 m
- Weight: 22 t
- Berths: 4 + 2
- Motorisation1 x Volvo Penta D4-175, 129 kW (175 hp)
- Standard motorisation: Diesel engine 110 kW (150 hp)
- Distribution: www.dolmanyachting.nl
- Price: from € 573 630 (incl. 21 % VAT)
More on the subject of steel boats:
Ralf Marquard
Deputy Editor in Chief BOOTE
