Refitech carbon fiber poles add ease of use and beauty to luxury yacht awnings

Refitech carbon fiber poles add ease of use and beauty to luxury yacht awnings

Refitech worked closely with luxury yacht builder Van der Valk Shipyard to design and supply a series of removable carbon fiber rods to support the awning on the shipyard's newest model, the BeachClub 660 Flybridge. 

This not only adds to the ease of use and aesthetic appeal of the carbon fiber exterior, but also has the added benefit of corrosion resistance, an important quality in the saltwater environment of ocean-going luxury yachts.

"Our BeachClub 660 flybridge has numerous deck sockets that are integrated in different areas of the yacht," explains Valentijn Roos, project engineer at the Van der Valk shipyard. "The sockets are positioned so that the yacht's foredeck and cockpit deck are protected from direct sunlight. They allow for quick and easy setting of the awning bars when the yacht is moored or anchored. And of course, they can be easily disconnected and stored when the yacht is underway. In addition, storage space is limited as we want to maximize the living area of the yacht. Therefore, the two taller awning poles were produced in two-piece form, allowing them to be stored in a more compact space".

"By working closely with Van der Valk's engineering department, we produced three combinations of embedded carbon tubes suitable for customer customization," adds Bas Nijpels, sales engineer at Refitech. "The inserts are CNC milled from stainless steel and POM (polyformaldehyde), a high-performance thermoplastic ideal for precision parts that require high stiffness, low friction, dimensional stability and corrosion resistance. Two male inserts mount the light pole into the deck socket, while the combination of male and female inserts gives the customer the option to screw the 2-meter-long front light pole into two 1-meter sections for easy storage."

"We came across Refitech a few years ago when we needed to use carbon panels for one of our yacht designs and found these on Carbonwebshop.com, Refitech's standard online store for carbon components," continues Valentijn Roos. "In December 2021, we contacted them again to help us build an awning for the sunbathing deck of our newest yacht, BeachClub 660 Flybridge. We already had some experience with carbon components and wanted to use them for this project because of their strength and light weight. However, we were under a lot of time pressure, as the yacht will be on display at the 2022 Dubai Boat Show in March. Fortunately, Refitech has met our expectations in every respect. Since we are located in the same industrial area, communication was quick and easy. They came up with a design that fit perfectly with the luxurious design of this beautiful yacht and presented the boat in time for the Dubai show. We will definitely work with them again in the future."

Refitech designed and supplied a series of removable carbon fiber poles to support the awning of the Van der Valk shipyard's latest model, the BeachClub 660 Flybridge.

The BeachClub line was launched by Van der Valk Shipyard in early 2019 and won the prestigious World Yachting Trophy Award at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September of that year for "Most Innovative Yacht" in the 45- to 64-foot category.