If you like your boats exclusive to the point of almost unattainable, there’s a Dutch builder that can help, with their exclusive Zeelander Z5
Zeelander Yachts was established in the Netherlands in 2002 with the express intention of becoming a boutique builder of genuinely special boats. It would take six years of development before its first two motor yachts would hit the water and the smaller of those, the Z44 was, by all accounts, a superb boat.
It was full of elaborate curves, premium design cues and the kind of intricate detailing that can only be achieved with the unstinting application of time and money. We were so impressed that, in spite of its radically exclusive price point, it came away with top prize in its category at the MBY Awards – and more than 15 years on, Zeelander has unveiled the natural successor to that model with a yacht that is reportedly longer, beamier, quicker and quieter. It’s known as the Zeelander Z5 and even as it sits impassively at its Rotterdam berth, it exhibits all the classical Zeelander hallmarks we’ve come to relish.
: Whether you opt for two or three IPS-650s, the Z5 is more to do with quiet luxury than outright pace
One boat, four lengths
The guiding principle at Zeelander is very straightforward. They produce just one style of boat but they offer it in four lengths. As a result, whether you opt for the Zeelander Z5, the Z6, the Z7 or the new flagship Z8, the DNA in terms of style, deck management, fit-out and application is powerfully consistent. Like every other boat in the fleet then, the Zeelander Z5 is a creative reinterpretation of the lobster boat, with as much emphasis on outdoor entertainment as on sheltered luxury.
The day-boating duties are broadly split between a main deck saloon and a deep, sociable cockpit with an expandable aft deck but, once again, it’s the aesthetic that really defines this boat.
The cockpit is delightfully deep and secure
It comes with twists, curves, inclines and inflections in every element of the design. From the timber to the mouldings, the steelwork and the glass, it appears that no curve is so difficult that it’s not worth doing – and while that could easily result in a boat that feels fussy and overworked, the organic purity of the Zeelander’s form is a rare and special treat.
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As you would expect, whether you’re watching the sun glint off the custom- built, mirror-polished cleats and grab rails or running your hands over the stitched leather upholstery, the finish also feels supremely bespoke and that’s because it is.
Each model apparently takes between 16,000 and 24,000 man hours to create and the price, as well as the character, of a Zeelander motor yacht fully reflects that. But although its style, purpose and fit-out remain true to the Zeelander blueprint, the new Zeelander Z5 also exhibits some practical upgrades over the Z44…
With its facing dinettes and high-low tables, the sheltered cockpit is a brilliant day boating zone
Three-part day space
While the Z5 has a perfectly serviceable sunpad at the bow, the bulk of the good stuff happens in the saloon, in the cockpit and at the convertible transom. The pilothouse structure is orbited by a set of raised walkaround side decks and framed within a swept S-shaped sheerline that lifts toward the bow. It uses a virtually unbroken curve of wraparound glass to augment that sumptuous style and that pays big dividends on the inside too. Whether you’re driving from the twin helm seats or reversing them to create a raised dining area for six, views through the virtually mullion-free windows are superb.
Opposite the dinette is a starboard galley. Once again, it majors on style with its curved edge and slender proportions but it’s perfectly practical too. It comes with a fridge, a sink, a wine cooler and an induction hob and it leads very naturally, through a curved starboard door and sliding port window, into the aft cockpit.
The helm’s seatbacks reverse to become part of the port dinette
Here, a pair of facing dinettes (L-shaped forward and C-shaped aft) creates a deeply sociable zone that is sheltered by extended mouldings on both sides and by a beautifully engineered telescopic sunshade that extends from the wheelhouse roof at the push of a button. And though deep and safe, ease of movement is excellent back here, thanks to a couple of innovations the old Z44 lacked. The drop-down tables enable the seats to covert into sunbeds and there are weighty side gates loaded onto magnificent stainless steel hinges on both sides of the cockpit, radically improving access from the pontoon.
But there’s still more because if you want to open things up a bit, that impossibly pretty reverse transom can be folded down, creating an extended aft platform that adds another 65ft2 of deck space. Again, freedom of movement is excellent, thanks to curved companionways that wrap around the back end of the stern bench.
The transom opens aft, revealing integrated sunbeds and a multi-function ladder
There are more improvements over the Z44 here as well, including integrated backrests for the two aft platform sunbeds that rise out of the deck, providing a lovely spot to lounge and face aft at water level. Hinge them back down though and you have space for a table and freestanding chairs. There’s also a hydraulic ladder tucked away at the aft end that can either rise up as a passerelle or drop down beneath the surface for easy access to the water.
This beach club set-up is not completely issue-free though. For instance, you need a good bit of room aft to deploy that folding transom and that’s fine for the most part, because who would choose to deploy the beach club while sitting at a pontoon? But if you need unobstructed access to your engine bay, it could still pose a problem because the main hatch can’t be lifted while the transom is in the vertical position. And then there’s the tender situation.
Given the nature of the transom and engine bay design, those who choose to rig this boat with three engines will have nowhere to stow a tender. A moderate draft of just 96cm certainly helps mitigate that difficulty but if you’re set on having a tender on board, then you’ll need to peg back your performance expectations and run with twins instead.
The owner’s mid cabin uses an unusual layout to mitigate the impact of plunging deckheads
Unusual lower deck
Down below, the cabins have the look and feel of an A-list wellness retreat. A curved semi-spiral staircase takes you down to a central atrium, which is lavishly lined with a mix of mirrored surfaces, upholstered bulkheads and macassar ebony panelling. In spite of its sultry looks, it provides some unexpectedly practical features too.
There’s plenty of concealed storage on the way down the stairs and when you get to the bottom, there’s a fridge beneath the switch panel, plus a freezer and a microwave on the port side. It’s not a galley, nor even a breakfast bar, but if you want a lazy day in bed and the main deck galley feels like a stretch too far, it’s a handy spot for grabbing drinks and nibbles.
The galley is better featured than its swept lines suggest
Ahead of this space, in the vee of the bow, sits a twin or double guest cabin that could easily serve as a day lounge. That said, the hull windows end further aft than the bow cabin begins so the only natural light forward is achieved by means of an overhead hatch that opens onto the foredeck ahead of the low-level island sunbed. That’s by no means critical, as most people will in any case tend to use this space as a baggage hold for day parties but it remains a handy asset for weekends away.
The washing and toilet facilities are also quite useful. They are divided between a port heads compartment and a starboard wetroom, in the ideal position for access from the main deck, just between the atrium and the bow cabin. And if this set-up strikes you as slightly unusual, the owner’s full-beam mid cabin is even more so. It uses a transverse double bed to starboard, a lavish dressing table to port and a mirrored bulkhead at the aft end.
The owner’s starboard side gets a large dressing table and the best views on the lower deck
There’s no room for a private bathroom here and the deckhead height does fluctuate a lot but the bed set-up makes good use of that by placing the head end away from the starboard bulkhead and recessing a TV into the angled deckhead above the pillows. The port side makes equally good use of the extra headroom beneath the saloon dinette with hanging storage fore and aft, but there’s still not room for a six-footer to stand fully upright, so on balance, the Zeelander Z5 is a better day boat than cruiser.
Imperfect but perfect
When you get underway, the first thing that strikes you is the quietness. Zeelander’s claimed sound levels of 70dBA at wide-open-throttle are fully borne out – and that only serves to reinforce what a thoroughly relaxing drive (or chauffeured conveyance) this is. However, this is a heavily built boat and we have a dozen or so people on board, so the top end is by no means fast.
Though windowless, the bow cabin is a pleasant spot for a couple of guests
At 31 knots, it delivers broadly similar performance to that of the Z44, but you can of course swap those twin IPS-650s for an American-inspired triple rig for speeds in the region of 40 knots. In all cases, though, it’s fair to say that this boat is more about easy cruising comfort than whip-crack performance and we suspect it will remain so, however you choose to rig it.
If the drive feels imperturbably solid, serene and statesmanlike, though, it has to be said that the helm layout feels a bit odd.
The wheel and throttle span the two helm seats in a way that seems to favour neither position, so you’re not quite sure whether to sit to port and stretch for the wheel or sit to starboard and stretch for the throttles. There’s also a chaise longue to port that positions the head of an aft-facing guest at your port shoulder. There’s no side deck access and no opening side windows to aid with communication either, but what you do get to uprate the seamanship side of things is a large overhead sunroof, plus the option of a berthing helm on the starboard side of the cockpit.
It’s a boat only a handful of people will ever be able to own
As for the cruising efficiency, well again, loading a metric tonne of journalists on board probably doesn’t help. While Zeelander’s quoted estimates talk of 455 miles at 30 knots, we’re seeing fuel flow in the region of 180 litres per hour at 30 knots for a range (with a 20% margin in hand) of around 265 miles from those 2,000-litre tanks.
Even when we drop it to 20 knots, the range continues to hover around the 300-mile mark and while that remains well short of the quoted figures, it’s plenty for most realistic applications on a boat like this.
Zeelander Z5 specifications
LOA: 48ft 3in (14.7m)
BEAM: 14ft 1in (4.3m)
DRAFT: 3ft 2in (0.96m)
DISPLACEMENT: 16,500kg
FUEL CAPACITY: 2,000 litres
WATER CAPACITY: 600 litres
ENGINES: Twin/triple Volvo Penta IPS 650s
RCD: B12
CONTACT: zeelander.com
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Verdict
The Zeelander 5 is an extraordinary boat – and we mean extraordinary in the literal sense of the word because, outside of the Zeelander fleet, there’s nothing else quite like it. It looks and feels every bit as bespoke, elegant and exclusive as its supremely beautiful predecessor, and its day boating environments, like its styling, are absolutely first rate. That’s not the whole story of course. After all, there are dozens of bigger, more accommodating and more practical boats to be had for way less money than this pretty ‘POA’ platform is likely to cost – and the same could be said in relation to the Z5’s design and execution. While the quality is certainly strong, it’s by no means peerless; and while the deck layout is undoubtedly distinctive, it’s by no means the best resolved. But the fact of the matter is that the Z5 was never designed to get bogged down in crass market comparisons. It was designed to stand apart, with a style, a layout, a finish and a price tag that reinforce that tangible sense of separation. It’s a platform that only a handful of people in the world will ever be able to own – and however you feel about its abilities as a boat, that in itself will be a huge part of the appeal.
