After a lifetime of sailing and refining his ideas, the owner of Grace III knew roughly what he wanted for his next yacht – and absolutely that it had to be drawn by Dutch naval architect Andre Hoek. “The owner of Grace III came to visit our studio in Edam and we began discussing a custom project of about 110ft (34 metres), ” says the naval architect and founder of Hoek Design Naval Architects. “He was drawn to the lines of the J Class and the traditional deckhouses of our Truly Classic series. He wanted a boat with a classic look, but one that would sail like a modern performance cruiser. It would be mostly for family cruising but capable of performance for a Superyacht Cup or a Bucket.”
However, after he had been pining for a large boat for a long time, the time it would take for engineering, designing and waiting for bids on a custom yacht seemed almost too much to bear. Sensing his concern, Hoek suggested to the client that he might like to consider his 39.3-metre Truly Classic 128. As two were already sailing and the complete design and engineering documentation existed. Better It was an easy choice.
