Reviva Refit begins construction on masts of historic 110m sailing yacht Sea Cloud rebuild

Reviva Refit, the refit brand of Turkish shipyard Mengi Yay, has announced that it has begun construction on new sailing masts for the 1931 four-masted sailing yacht Sea Cloud, which is currently undergoing a major rebuild.

The masts are being constructed in full at the yard's facilities in Tuzla, Istanbul, and, once complete, will be delivered to Malta, where work on the historic yacht is underway at the Palumbo refit yard. The update comes months after BOAT International broke the news that Sea Cloud had begun her multi-million-euro transformation in December 2025.

To add to Sea Cloud's major revival (which aims to restore the yacht to her former glory), the new masts will be composed of steel - as were her original masts in 1931. According to the yard, the choice of material was not a styling decision and was instead chosen for longevity as well as rig and engineering benefits. Though Reviva noted that construction will be no easy feat: "Steel makes the work harder - heavier sections, tighter distortion control through welding and a far more demanding approach to alignment than a modern spar in aluminium or composite."

Fabrication is currently underway in Turkey, where the mast sections will be rolled, formed and welded, then dimensionally checked and trial-assembled before being sent to Malta. The welds will be examined to an agreed non-destructive testing plan, and each mast will be coated in a protective system for both marine service and extended periods on the water.

The programme will be carried out together with marine equipment and engineering company SSPT, while German firm Tailship Design will provide engineering and technical coordination throughout. Design review, survey and certification will be completed to DNV classification.

Sea Cloud was originally built at Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, designed by New York naval architects Cox & Stevens for American cereal heiress and businesswoman Marjorie Merriweather Post. The 109.5-metre hit the water in April 1931 as Hussar V, the then-largest private sailing yacht in the world. Since her launch, she has served as a United States Coast Guard weather ship and spent time as a presidential yacht, returning to sail in the late 1970s. 

Almost a century on, Sea Cloud remains "one of the very few genuine square-riggers still working under canvas", with all of her sails set by hand. She carries an accompaniment of 29 sails on four masts (three square-rigged and the aftermost gaff-rigged) with nearly 3,000 square metres of sail area.

Last week, Reviva Refit completed the refit of the 47.9-metre motor yacht Mirabella, originally delivered in 2004 by US yard Trinity Yachts.