Take a look at the latest PMY 100, and you'll see two names that appear frequently as builders of really big megayachtis Lurssen and Blom & Voss, which collaborated on the vessel that currently tops the list, the 531'5" Dubai. Elsewhere in this blog you'll find photos from a tour I took of Lurssen's five yards. However you won't find any details or photos of that other German mega-megayard, even though Blom & Voss did the refit on Number 5, Savarona (408') and launched Number 7, the 390'4" A and Number 14, the 344' Lady Moura. That's because this yard has traditionally been shrouded in secrecy due in large part to its military and commercial work. It built the Queen Mary 2.) And now, B&V has announced it is pulling out of the megayacht market altogether, even though it is finishing up worl on a number of yacht projects, including the 525-foot Eclipse. Like Lurssen, Blom & Voss actually has a number of yards, some of which it plans to sell. The yard in Emden is one; the Sweedish firm that is buying it plans to build wind-turbines there.
About richard_thiel
Raised in San Diego, Richard grew up on boats—admittedly, mostly sailboats. He actually didn't purchase his first powerboat, a 19-foot SeaCraft center console, until after he moved to Jupiter, Florida, in 1980. From the moment he launched Last Resort, he was hooked on powerboats, so much so that he decided to parlay his love of them and his experience as a diesel mechanic into a career as a freelance boating writer.
In 1981, he was hired by Boating magazine as its engines columnist and boat tester, and in 1984, he left to work at Yachting. A year later he was hired as executive editor of Power & Motoryacht, a position that necessitated a move to Connecticut, where the magazine was then headquartered. Thiel assumed the editorship of PMY's small-boat magazine, Motorboat, in late 1985 and then became editor-in-chief of PMY in 1987. He says that even 20 years later, it's still a dream job and that "most days" he looks forward to going to work—especially when "work" is running a boat.
Along the way, Thiel has owned a number of powerboats, culminating with his purchase of Ava T., a 32-foot Jarvis Newman lobster boat, three years ago. In 2006, Thiel realized a longtime dream by earning his U.S. Coast Guard OUPV captain's license in 2006.