Lessons learned

REFIT #1: G2

The couple that would create the sailing yacht G2 had a specific dream: to sail around the world on a modern fast carbon cruiser with a lifting keel. There were plenty of aluminium yachts on the brokerage market in their size range, but very few existed in carbon. So why buy and refit rather than build new?

“I was hoping I could do it a lot more quickly,” says the owner. That didn’t go exactly to plan though. “Big projects generally cost more and take longer than you think. It certainly applies to this sector – it applies even more than I had expected.”

The couple’s search for their first large yacht ended when they spotted , a 39-metre carbon sloop built by Vitters in 2009 that had been languishing on the market for the better part of three years. It was an attractive buy and a high-quality yacht, and they quickly got to work reimagining it as their dream boat. They retained its original naval architect, Bill Tripp, whose mandate included scrapping the aft deckhouse in favour of an open flush deck. To realise their ideal minimalist interior – pretty – they commissioned Nauta Design, who would work on the transformation at Pendennis in Falmouth.