Van der Valk has started building Project Evo, a completely custom 40m superyacht and the shipyard’s largest build to date in terms of length and volume. Built to ABS class, the all-aluminium bluewater cruiser will have a round bilged fast displacement hull and a target top speed of 24 knots, and will be fully compliant with the latest IMO Tier III emissions regulations.

Its sleek exterior was originally penned by Dubai-based SFG Yacht Design and Fancy by Dada, with Venice-based Cristiano Gatto Design adding new length and angles to the profile while creating a detailed interior. Dutch studios Diana Yacht Design and Ginton Naval Architects handled naval architecture.

Project Evo has been ordered by experienced clients who have owned high-performance yachts and decided to create a bespoke yacht for their family, coming to Van der Valk “to be assured of premium quality”.

The yacht will have an impressive volume for her length, which was itself extended several metres during a design and consultation process involving the clients. After the owners were inspired by an attractive design by Franco Gianni of SFG Yacht Design and Doga Naz Cebeci from Fancy by Dada, Cristiano Gatto Design became involved by working on the layout and interior style.

Gatto said: “My participation began on a micro level as we worked with the owners to leverage on some specific furniture design concepts I had previously created. They were looking to recreate a similar ambience onboard their yacht and the interior design emerged from this point.

“Welcoming the results, the owners asked us to add some of this aesthetic flavour to the exterior design, further evolving the DNA of the preliminary concept penned by SFG and Fancy by Dada. We changed some of the proportions and lines while extending the stern by around 2m. The overall design and profile, however, remains very much the brainchild of all who have been involved.”

Gatto said the owners were delighted with how all their efforts have paid off and revealed that the process from first renders to interior concept took around 10 months, “an exceptional timeframe for a 40m project that will truly deserve to be called a mini-megayacht”.

Project Evo will include accommodation for 10 guests in a main-deck master stateroom along with two VIPs and two twin guest suites on the lower deck. The crew quarters in the forepeak includes a mess and three en-suite double cabins, while the captain’s cabin will be on the bridge deck.

Yoeri Bijker, Van der Valk’s Head of Sales and part of the management team, said: “It’s clear that Van der Valk is one of the few yards with the capacity and flexibility to build fully custom superyachts in this size range. This 40m beauty is based upon an existing engineered platform that’s proven in terms of naval architecture.

“Project Evo is a fine example of how clients can come to Van der Valk with their own exterior designers without having to reinvent the wheel with a new hull, safe in the knowledge their yacht will excel in terms of performance, speed and stability.”

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