The Zeelander Z8 offers three double cabins and space for up to three crew, as well as a drive-in tender garage but there's much more to this new flagship than that
Let’s begin with a confession. That muscular looking man onboard the Zeelander Z8 in these pictures, peering past his own chiselled jaw in search of beautiful people to share his Chateau Margaux, is not me. And that pretty seascape you’re looking at is not here. In fact, the contrast could hardly be greater.
We’ve headed a little way east of Rotterdam on a cold Dutch February day to the River Lek where Zeelander boats are built. There are compact harbours and parking spots on either bank and the commercial traffic is virtually constant.
It means that getting the new Zeelander Z8 up to speed for extended periods is all but impossible. There’s no sea state and not a great deal of space so assessing the Zeelander Z8’s handling and sea manners is also not on the cards. And as for refinement, a traditional Zeelander strength, that too is likely to be tough to measure, given how many people we have on board.
So what are we here for? Well if it were any other boat, the answer would be lunch. But this, as you’re no doubt aware, is not your average boat.
Zeelander Yachts was established in the Netherlands in 2002 with the intention of becoming a small-volume builder of supremely high-quality boats. That approach saw the original Zeelander 44 come away with top prize in its category at the Motor Boat Awards and more than 20 years later, that award is still highly relevant.
This has to be one of the finest looking motoryachts money (any money) can buy
After all, now as ever, the guiding principle at Zeelander is not to produce a range of differing options. It’s to produce just one boat in four lengths – so whether you opt for the 5, the 6, the 7 or this new flagship Zeelander Z8, Zeelander’s DNA is powerfully consistent.
And what’s that DNA about? Well it’s about painstaking detail, first-class materials and an extraordinary array of interwoven curves that elevate the classical lobster boat to an altogether higher level. From the timber to the mouldings, the steelwork and the glass, there are sweeps, arches, inclines and cambers everywhere you look.
That does of course have the potential to sound quite messy but the artistry behind its execution brings this boat (and in fact every boat in the Zeelander fleet) a smooth, tactile purity that you just can’t help but love.
And the intricacy of the detailing is also a treat.
The test boat’s additional aft lounge shifts the galley to port
The steelwork, for instance, combines wildly overblown scale and toughness with jewellery-shop delicacy in form and finish. And that’s the case whether you’re looking at the mounts for the bimini poles, the elliptical guardrails or the mirror-polished cleats.
And then there’s the external wood, which lovers of the brand will know is actually a manufactured composite, painted by hand to mimic whatever kind of wood you fancy. In truth, it’s an acquired taste, particularly on an unashamedly premium boat where the timber maintenance is not likely to be the owner’s job. But you get the point. It looks and feels delicious. So whether we’re living the high life in the Med or wrapped up against the winter weather in Rotterdam, this is a boat that absolutely demands a closer look.
A rounded dinette keeps the walkways free and open
Main deck developments
The Zeelander Z8 is unique in the world of Zeelander yachts in that it’s the only one that features a proper lounge at the bow, as well as in the cockpit. Both convert into big sunbeds thanks to lowering tables; and if you prefer, the one at the bow also uses a lifting seat base in the forward bench so you can expand the raised island sunbed without sacrificing the aft bench and table.
It’s also pleasing to note that here, at the sumptuously flared bow, the peripheral guardrail comes up to your knee. That’s a lot higher than on the three smaller models and it’s a very welcome feature on a boat like this, where the overriding importance of form might often see a rail of any kind relegated to the ‘maybe-not’ tray.
You can trade the bar for a dinette in the lee of the wheelhouse
As you head aft, it’s also interesting to note that Zeelander has used an artificial material in the decking, as well as on the gunwales. Again, that’s with the intention of minimising maintenance requirements while keeping things a little cooler in the height of summer.
But if you feel short-changed by faux ‘wood’ on a serious A-list yacht like this, you’ll be pleased to know that the Zeelander factory is set up specifically to cater for custom requests – and that’s nowhere more obvious than in the interplay between the Zeelander Z8’s cockpit and saloon.
As on the smaller Zeelander Z7, the standard arrangement sees the saloon’s retractable aft window dividing the internal galley from the external bar, which wraps in a neat curve around the back end of the superstructure.
Just when you thought you’d found a straight line, you realise the galley is curved too
However, on this particular test boat, which was built in accordance with owner requests, the galley lines the starboard side of the internal saloon instead, freeing up space for a casual lounge area between the external bar and the primary internal dinette.
It works well but the bar can also be replaced with an L-shaped external lounge, nestling in the lee of the superstructure for a beautifully protected outdoor position underway. In short, as Floris Koopmans of Zeelander succinctly points out, both up top and down below, the deck layout can take a very wide variety of forms: “We explore the possibilities case by case. A lot is possible…”
That said, one spot you wouldn’t want to touch is the aft end. That glorious swept tumblehome transom folds out and down, creating an extra 130sq ft of deck space at the push of a button. And it’s been beautifully used too. A big hydraulic swim ladder with integrated grabrails emerges from the port quarter.
A partition rises out of the cabinet to keep the skipper and the guests separate
There are four backrests that lift out of the deck with adjustable settings, so you can lay out the cushions virtually at water level and face aft. There’s also a height-adjustable passerelle beneath a hatch on the starboard side – and if you need toys, the cockpit dinette’s aft seat also hinges up and forward to reveal a big storage space that’s neatly divided into three.
Now we know what you’re thinking. As show-stopping beach clubs go, this is great. But what about my tender and my engines? Well given that you can open the engine hatch and access the bay from the cockpit without having to drop the transom, there’s no compromise there.
And as for the tender, Zeelander has circumvented the limitations of the back end by housing it in a transverse under-deck compartment that opens out onto the port side instead of the transom. While this is certainly a small boat for a feature of that kind, there’s still room for a track-mounted 4.5m tender and winch, plus a pair of Seabobs in dedicated brackets within easy access of a well-placed deck hatch to starboard.
The owner’s bed is flanked on the starboard side by a dressing table with great views through deep hull windows
Quality cabins
The fact that the crew cabins inhabit the forward part of the hull ties in perfectly with the 8’s sociable foredeck arrangement. It means that any reduction in volume is far less critical and it also means you get easy access through the bow hatch in the leading edge of the foredeck’s dinette to the crew lounge at the very front of the lower deck’s central corridor.
While the crew still has to use the main staircase to access the helm and galley, it does enable them to go from the dock to their cabins without ever having to enter the internal saloon or disturb the guests. The crew are really well taken care of in terms of facilities too.
His-and-hers sinks split the aft loo from the forward shower
There’s a well-sized captain’s cabin to port and a bright ensuite bunk room to starboard, all treated to the same calibre of materials and fit-out as the guest cabins. Both do a great job of managing the hull taper; and the forward dinette is well equipped too with refrigeration, cooking and washing-up facilities, plus a TV.
As for the owner and guests, their cabins are positioned further aft. The owner’s full-beam cabin sits amidships, ahead of the tender garage, which provides useful separation between the owner’s bed and the engineroom. Ahead of that are another two double cabins of broadly symmetrical layout, straddling the central walkway.
In spite of Zeelander’s love for flamboyant curves, this all feels like a very natural and unforced arrangement – and the transverse day heads is equally well conceived, with a position directly across from the curved staircase that winds its way down from the starboard side of the saloon.
A pair of broadly similar guest cabins sits on either side of the central walkway
Heavyweight helming
This boat makes some pretty impressive claims for a luxurious 80-footer. Zeelander talks about a range of 500 miles at 26 knots and a top end of 40 knots with the uprated IPS-1350s, alongside sound levels that never exceed 65dB(A).
You can also apparently boost the range to 3,000 miles if you’re content to pootle along at 7 knots. Of course, that’s not to say that a quadruple rig of D13 IPS-1200s is especially frugal, but with an 8,000-litre fuel tank and 2,000 litres of water capacity, it’s clear that the 8 is well equipped for long spells away from shoreside facilities.
Direct access between the bow and the forward dinette enables the crew to come and go discreetly
What really hits home about the driving experience, though, is the fact that 36 knots feels almost exactly like six – and while the soft inland waters, muted noise and physical scale of this boat all play their part in that, the handling also seems to adopt the same unfussed approach.
The turn is slow and statesmanlike, as befits a 74-tonne boat with heavyweight steering and even heavier-weight build. And yet in spite of its unhurried and unflappably grown-up conduct, the 8’s reaction to the tabs seems remarkably quick-witted.
A simple notch or two of extra trim increases the pace by about a knot while also dropping the noise levels by a couple of decibels. It still seems to run more like a rapid semi-displacement boat than a full planing craft and the fact that we have a 1.5m draft and only 3m of water depth is probably seeing our stern getting sucked a little deeper than normal as we put on the pace.
A transverse tender garage frees up the aft end for better things
But the refinement really is everything Zeelander promised. The central helm position enjoys great visibility through the big one-piece screen and even when you come to anchor, Zeelander tells us that, with the twin generators and the two Seakeeper 18s doing their stuff, the noise levels in the saloon remain as low as 35 dB(A).
Zeelander Z8 specifications
LOA: 79ft 0in (24.08m)
BEAM: 22ft 0in (6.71m)
DRAFT: 5ft 3in (1.60m)
DISPLACEMENT: 60,000kg (light)
FUEL CAPACITY: 8,000 litres
WATER CAPACITY: 2,000 litres
ENGINES: 4 x D13 IPS-1200s or 1350s
RCD: B12
CONTACT: www.zeelander.com
Zeelander Z8 costs and options
Test boat includes the following options…
Aft saloon lounge
Starboard galley
Helm privacy partition
Twin saloon TVs
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Verdict
The Zeelander 8 is designed to be a “superyacht in the form of a sportscruiser” and, given the quality of its build and the custom-ready infrastructure of Zeelander’s Groot-Ammers manufacturing facility, you would have to concede that that’s exactly what it is. But it’s also a radically beautiful boat; and not in a formulaic also-ran kind of way but in a thoroughly individual and distinctive way that leaves you in no doubt what you’re looking at. In fact, with its extraordinary fluidity, it’s about as tactile as any manufactured object could possibly be. It will come as no surprise to learn then that the Zeelander 8 is extremely expensive. But such are the residual values from this highly regarded small-volume builder that, if you can afford the initial outlay, the all-in price of ownership is likely to be a lot kinder than you think. As mentioned at the very start, all we’ve really done is potter about on a commercial waterway rather than take one out to sea, so there are elements of the 8 package we can’t vouch for. But if you want a boat that virtually nobody else has and you’re excited by Zeelander’s don’t-mention-money custom approach, you would do very well to take a look at this.
