The 58-metre hybrid sailing yacht Ethereal has recently returned to Royal Huisman's Huisfit facility in Amsterdam for a major refit.
While full details are yet to be disclosed, work will include the installation of new decks, an exterior repaint and the "latest technology updates". Completion is scheduled for summer 2024.
Equipped with an innovative, 500kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery bank, Ethereal was delivered in 2009 as the world's first hybrid superyacht. Exteriors and naval architecture are owed to Ron Holland Design, while the late Pieter Beeldsnijder is responsible for her classic, glossy interiors.
This is the second time the ketch has been brought to the shipyard for additional work. From 2020 to 2021 Ethereal underwent an extensive seven-month, in-water-refit that saw her programmable logic controller systems completely replaced (described as the yacht's "redundant nerve system" by Huisfit).
This project follows the completion of classic 1930s motorsailer Atlantide's two-year rebuild at Huisfit.
Read More/37m Atlantide completes two-year rebuild at Huisfit