The latest addition to Nordhavn's range of solid ocean explorers is the perfect option for adventurous owners looking to go the distance. The first Nordhavn 80 will soon be making its way to the United States and bridges a gap between the American builder's N76 and N86. Not too big and not too small, it's spacious yet manageable by a couple with or without crew.
“We really wanted to fill a void. Our 76 does not have a formal crew arrangement and you have a lot of people who want crew but don’t want to jump to our 86. This gives them the option to bring crew and not take up a guest cabin,” explains naval architect Jeff Leishman.
The N80’s dimensions remain generous with a length of just under 24 metres, excluding a swim platform, a beam of 7.11 metres and four decks. The uncommonly generous space on a yacht of this length, a trick mastered by the Nordhavn family of boats, allows for three large guest cabins on the lower deck plus a laundry room, an owner’s cabin with king size bed on the main deck, a spacious main saloon and formal dining room connected to a well-appointed galley and a upper deck saloon adjacent to the wheelhouse. The flybridge has room for a hot tub and the bridge deck accommodates a good size tender and crane. All of this is achieved without compromising technical and storage spaces so necessary to support long-range cruising.
The layout, which gives owners, guests and crew their own spaces, makes the N80 very well suited for families or groups of friends. For crew, twin-bunk crew quarters aft of the engine room come as standard; a captain’s cabin on the bridge deck is optional. For guests, entertaining is at the heart of this hardy explorer with plenty of spaces to mingle.
Leishman tweaked the familiar lines of his family of expedition yachts to give the N80 a more modern flair. He’s gone for straighter lines and expanded the superstructure compared to the N76 to maximize the interior volume, which is equivalent to that of the N86. The windows and portholes are larger, mullions thinner, the radar mast more modest. Overall, the N80 has a less commercial appearance and feels more like a yacht with transoceanic range thanks to twin 375hp John Deere 6090SFM85 engines and an 18,208-litre fuel capacity. “A nice, capable, expedition yacht is what we were after,” Leishman says.
While the interior design is left to the discretion of each individual owner, in 2018, Pacific Asian Enterprises (PAE) tapped innovative Dutch design firm Vripack to come up with an interior scheme that could inspire buyers to go beyond more traditional finishes. The designers responded with what they call a Scandinavian-chic style that blends natural woods, textured finishes, loose furniture, parquet flooring and area rugs.
As to be expected, the first three N80s have different styles, from a varnished teak interior with brass work, cedar-lined closets and granite countertops on hull one to an interior inspired by Vripack’s airy concept translated in white-washed American oak, silky white walls and brushed brash detailing on hull three.
“We have the capability of doing anything from a more traditional to more modern look and create what the buyer wants,” Leishman says, adding that interiors can be visualized at PAE’s office using VR goggles for a realistic view of what the finished yacht will look like. The builder of the first N80 was so pleased with the process that he signed on to a new N96.
The first N80 arrives in American waters very soon. nordhavn.com