Danielle Woudstra and Frank Bart couldn't find a suitable yacht on the market, so they built one themselves. BOOTE EXCLUSIV visited the St-Barth 85 Fly, a 26-metre Dutch yacht.
Every now and then, a yacht becomes a crowd-puller completely unplanned. This was the case at last year's Monaco Yacht Show, when the representatives of St Barth's tourism authority stopped at the quay wall in amazement as they strolled around the trade fair and were visibly delighted to see the floating namesake. The group would never have dreamed of what happened next.
"Just come on board!" shouts shipyard manager Danielle Woudstra cheerfully, and a handful of beaming guests are already standing on the stern terrace of the 26-metre yacht, handing over a few of her promotional materials as a thank-you: beach bags emblazoned with the lettering of the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy, which also look great as decorations on the light-coloured seat cushions of the delicate sofas.
Frank Bart drew the perfect family yacht
"That fits really well," say all those present and pull out their mobile phones for a photo. The tour is about to start with the hostess, who warmly welcomes the spontaneous visitors. It is quite possible that the island state and yacht brand will co-operate here in the future. St. Barth is the immediate neighbour of the island of St. Martin, the southern part of which belongs to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The St-Barth Fly 85 is still considered a newcomer in the hotly contested mid-twenties market. Arcadia A80. If you like, she and her older, slightly smaller sister were born out of necessity on the Dutch coast. "We have an eight-metre-long Boesch and a five-metre mini-Feadship," says Danielle Woudstra, "and then we started looking for a larger boat, around 24 metres. But we couldn't find one that we liked." Conveniently, her husband, Frank Bart, is a captain and designer, so he got to work and drew the "ultimate family yacht" for self-steering - with an aluminium hull, split level, 360-degree views and large, light-flooded rooms with plenty of places to retreat.
Everything is easy to use
He left out everything unnecessary, and the brand lettering was made up of his name and that of Danielle's home town, Sint Maarten in North Holland. Number one was a St-Barth 75, built at their shipyard in the harbour town of Enkhuizen, a 45-minute drive north of Amsterdam. They use their first yacht baby themselves as a floating holiday home and particularly appreciate the relaxed ambience and the master suite in the bow area. The Project St-Barth.
Everything is really easy to handle.
The entrepreneurs had more than just an idea of how such a large-scale project is realised and what to look out for in the details. After all, they had already transformed an old fort in Beemster into a luxurious spa resort, which is now one of the top 3 in the Netherlands. Number two was the St-Barth 85 Fly, which is officially registered as a 24-metre yacht and is therefore permitted to anchor in the sensitive protected areas of the Mediterranean.
The owner's lounge is also the beach club
With the mobile, four-metre-wide swimming platform, the 63-tonner measures two metres more. The tour of the floors also shows a split-level layout, but here the master suite is located on the slightly lower main deck amidships, where it makes full use of the maximum yacht width of 6.30 metres. The adjoining lounge is not just for the owners, it also functions as a beach bar for guests. One of the highlights for visitors, however, is the terrace area, where guests are still standing unsuspectingly chatting and from which they now have to make way for a moment.
At the push of a button, the rectangular hatch, which is flush with the floor, opens to reveal a storage area for a 3.60 metre long tender and various toys. There is also direct access to the engine compartment from here. A few steps now lead up to the bridge deck into a light-flooded saloon and a steering position equipped with Garmin devices. The open galley sits enthroned in a semicircle in the centre of the room, opposite which is a long dining area with an oval tabletop. All in all, a generously proportioned and therefore ideal place for a large family and friends.
The pool fills up in nine minutes
"We've placed a lot of emphasis on storage space here," explains Danielle Woudstra, pointing to the area under the sofa cushions, "it's all bottle height," she adds. Under the small dinette at the front of the companionway to the VIP suites is space "for 80 cases of wine". A special Liebherr refrigerator ensures the right drinking temperature. Pure pragmatism was also on the wish list for the simply designed cooking area. "The Winterhalter dishwasher is ready in three minutes. Good for parties," explains Woudstra and opens the appliance for inspection.
She then takes visitors to the cosy foredeck with sunbathing areas and, yes, a jacuzzi - a remarkable accessory on a yacht of this length and also practical to use: "The pool is empty in three minutes and full again in eight to nine minutes." The water (1,600 litres) is temporarily stored in a tank, for example before trips, and pumped back in when required and thus reused.
25 knots maximum
The centrepiece of the St-Barth Fly is, of course, the sun deck at the very top. The flybridge offers two seats in front of the helm and a dinette for dining in the fresh air. At the stern, there is plenty of space for free arrangement, for example for sun loungers or sofas.
However, family-friendly holidays do not necessarily mean travelling slowly. The two IPS-1350 units from Volvo Penta allow relaxed travelling at 18 to 20 knots. If the fastest possible progress is required, the captain accelerates to a maximum of 25 knots. The range at 18 knots is 710 nautical miles, and at ten knots the fuel tank lasts for 1,200 nautical miles. In this so-called eco mode, the engine packages are satisfied with just 65 litres of diesel per hour.
Two yachts per year
It remains quiet on board anyway, with state-of-the-art insulation allowing passengers to breathe freely without noise and disturbing vibrations. In addition, fin stabilisers from Sleipner keep the 26 metres on course even in rough seas. The couple are visibly satisfied and their concept is also very popular outside the family. Frank Bart:
But there is still room for change. I always ask myself: What can we do even better?
Bart thinks it's a good idea to use the waste heat from the engines to temper the Jacuzzi water. An order for number three has long been in sight, perhaps another 85 or a newly developed 78 Fly, we'll see. As the boat is built from aluminium, some details of the layout can be changed. The main deck, for example, can have either one or two VIPs in addition to the master suite and a smaller guest cabin in the bow - depending on how large the owner's area is to be. Once everything is finalised, the team in Enkhuizen gets to work. St-Barth's small but excellent boutique shipyard has capacity for two yachts per year.
Technical data St-Barth 85 Fly
- Overall length: 26.00 m
- Width: 6.30 m
- Draught: 1.65 m
- Displacement (empty): 63 t
- Material: Aluminium
- Gross tonnage: 110 gross tonnes
- Engines: Volvo Penta IPS 1350
- Engine power: 735 kW
- Speed (max.): 25 kn
- Speed (voyage): 18 - 20 kn
- Range @ 18 kn: 710 nm
- Generators: Northern Lights 380 V
- Fuel: 6,700 litres
- Fresh water: 1,400 litres
- Navigation: Garmin
- Stabilisers: Sleipner
- Construction: St-Barth
- Design: St-Barth
- Class: CE Ocean A
- Shipyard: St-Barth, 2025
- Starting price: € 7.7 million
