Discovery Yachts: a British boat builder on the up
Rupert Holmes visits this builder of high-quality ocean-going yachts
September 9, 2012
Despite a seemingly crowded marketplace, over the past 14 years British boat builder Discovery Yachts has carved a comfortable niche for its blue-water cruising yachts. They are optimised for serious sailing on long passages, with the company aiming to plan every detail such that it benefits short handed sailing.
A Discovery yacht in the Maldives
Springer Island 287
This ethos goes much deeper than simply ensuring deck layouts work well for a crew of just two people – all aspects of crew comfort are considered, on the basis that this is essential to minimise fatigue. For instance, a feature common to all the designs is that the raised saloon is closely connected to the cockpit – they are separated by only three steps, which facilitates easy communication between people above and below deck. An almost all-round view from the raised interior navigator’s seat enables much of a watch can be safely carried out below decks. This can be an enormous help in terms of maintaining crew comfort and energy in challenging weather – both in strong winds and intense sun.
All models have in-mast furling as standard, with deck layouts optimised for that configuration, instead of being a compromise to allow a number of alternative reefing systems to be fitted. The new Discovery 57 takes this one stage further, with a custom mast extrusion. “Having our own die made means we have the best possible aluminium mast for the boat – otherwise we would have been forced to opt for a section that was a little too small, or a little too large,” says managing director Nigel Stuart. While problems with a small section are obvious, one that is unnecessarily large increases weight aloft, thereby reducing stability and sail carrying ability.
Award-winning design
Typical buyers of Discovery yachts, according to Stuart, are: “People who love the sea, have a strong sailing ambition, and who want quality with a feeling of safety. They enjoy living well and aren’t prepared to rough it when afloat.”
Discovery's Marchwood factory
The company currently builds an average of just 10 boats a year, with a workforce of around 100 at its Marchwood factory on the western side of Southampton Water. Right from the outset, with the Discovery 55, it has used some of the world’s best designers, notably Ron Holland and Ken Freivokh, who have been able to bring innovations that were first used on superyachts to the range.
Following the launch of the 55 to great acclaim in 2000, including the Cruising World boat of the year award in the USA, the 67 was launched in 2008. Two years later came a 50ft cruising catamaran, which has won four international awards. The latest model is the 57, which will debut at the 2012 Southampton boat show and has been nominated for the European Yacht of the Year awards.
All production facilities are on a single site, with no sub-contracting, which facilitates a high degree of customisation and allows new interior designs to be mocked up at full scale to confirm they work as well as the drawings suggest. The facilities have recently been expanded and refurbished, including a veneer shop that enables curved joinery to be produced on site, in the owner’s choice of timber.
Attention to detail
All Discovery's boats are equipped to a very high standard and are practically ready to sail round the world when they leave the factory. All have heating and air conditioning, electric winches and Bosch or Miele washer/driers as standard. There’s also a large, well insulated walk-in engine room that makes access to the systems easy and all wiring is tinned, with waterproof connectors to maximise reliability.
If Discovery can’t source equipment that meets its high standards, then it works with suppliers to develop new products that fit the bill. An example of this is with GN Espace, with whom Discovery worked to create the OceanChef cooker.
Perhaps surprisingly for such well-equipped and complex boats, there’s only a small options list. But Stuart recognises it’s cheaper to include a full inventory at the build stage than to add items later. A long options list, by contrast, often involves a high labour cost to retro-fit items and quality control is much harder to manage.
After sales care is vital for a bluewater cruiser
After sales care
This is a vital element for anyone contemplating voyaging far afield in a complex boat. At Discovery the project manager that looks after the build of each boat from start to finish – and is also the main point of contact with the owner – becomes the owner care manager once the vessel has been completed. They therefore know the owner well, and the boat inside out, before it leaves the factory. All the 50 Discovery buyers so far also have the phone number of both Stuart and production director Ben Collett.
“We’re here to make ownership easy and try to look after customers as well we can, jumping on any problems as soon as they appear,” says Stuart. “We can fly people to anywhere in the world to service a customer’s boat – we’ve done it for engines, rigs, even sending someone to polish the gel coat.” Similarly, if an equipment breakdown is encountered the yard will get a suitable engineer to the boat, wherever it is in the world.
It’s all too easy to under estimate the value of this level of back up, but for many owners dealing with breakages and other maintenance issues are by far the most challenge aspects of voyaging long distances. However, with help and advice from someone who knows your individual boat only an email or phone call away, problems that might otherwise appear insurmountable can be painlessly solved. It’s a very different perspective to arriving in an unknown port and having to search from scratch for, say, a refrigeration engineer who’s both reliable and has time available.
‘We do the same for owners of secondhand boats too,” says Stuart, “the yard retains all records, so we can help with technical advice on any problem, no matter how small, on any boat we’ve built.” Roughly two boats per year are sold secondhand and they tend to hold their value very well – often better than a superficially cheaper boat with a long extras list.
The new Discovery 57 will make its debut at the forthcoming Southampton Boat Show, see Five Hot New Sailing Boats at the Southampton Boat Show. Read reviews on the Discovery 57 and Discovery 55 MkII.
Rupert Holmes has cruised and raced more than 60,000 miles between 60 degrees north and 56 degrees south. He writes about all aspects of boat ownership and marine travel, including destinations, seamanship and maintenance, as well as undertaking regular boat and gear tests. He owns two yachts, one currently based in the Aegean and the other in the Solent.
