The keel of Rainbow II, a brand new 50m schooner as been laid. This yacht is to be built in the “spirit of tradition” and is based on the lines from the big schooners designed around 1900. The yacht will be built by Holland Jachtbouw in Zaandam for the owner of the J Class, Rainbow to a design from Dykstra Naval Architects.
The hull is to be constructed at the Made Shipyard in Holland and will be moved to Holland Jachtbouw early in 2015, where she will be finished ready to launch in the Summer of 2016.
Once sea trials have been completed, the owner is planning another Translatlantic record attempt from New York to the Lizard, to beat the existing 10.5 days currently held by Windrose over 12 years. The previous record had been held by the infamous Charlie Barr for 98 years and stood at 12 days.
The new schooner is to have a mahogany Art Deco style interior by deVos deVries design. She will be fitted with a hybrid power installation which allows her to sail on electric power. Fully charged from sailing, the batteries can be loaded sufficiently for a full day of consumption, truly making her a “green boat”.
The yacht will carry wooden spars, Dacron sails and traditionally hand crafted wooden blocks, all produced by specialist Dutch engineers.
With around 1525 square metres of sail area, and an additional 823 square metres downwind, she will displace around 325 tons.
Holland Jachtbouw has experience in building schooners, having constructed the 46m Windrose, the 40m This is Us and the 65m Athos.
