Heesen Moves the Bridge to Deck Four on Its New 57m

Why did Heesen move Setteesettanta's bridge to the fourth deck?

Heesen placed Project Setteesettanta's bridge on the fourth deck rather than the third, freeing the deck below it to become a private observation deck above the guest accommodation without altering the yacht's exterior profile - a layout the yard has not used before on any of its yachts.

On a conventional layout, the bridge sits on what is usually the top enclosed deck, with any deck above it limited to open sundeck space shaped around the mast, radar arch and antennas. Moving the bridge up one level lets Heesen tuck a genuine observation deck - sheltered, positioned to look forward over the bow, and separated from the working navigation space - into the layer that would otherwise have been consumed by the bridge itself. Heesen and its exterior designer, Omega Architects, achieved this without adding visible height or bulk to the profile, according to the yard's own description of the design.

For an owner, the practical gain is a dedicated viewing space that does not compete with the bridge for sightlines or with the sundeck for space, on a yacht where every square metre of deck already has three or four owner-brief priorities competing for it. It is a small architectural move rather than a headline feature, but it is the kind of layout decision that shows up in daily use - the space a family actually gathers in on a passage - long after the launch photographs stop circulating.

Who is Project Setteesettanta being built for?

Setteesettanta is being built for returning Heesen clients whose brief called for generous exterior decks, extensive onboard comfort and shallow-water accessibility so family and friends could reach anchorages a deeper-draft yacht of the same length could not.

Heesen has not named the owner, in line with the confidentiality it extends to most of its full-custom clients, but has confirmed they are repeat buyers rather than a first-time Heesen owner. That detail matters more than it might on a builder's stock model: a full-custom 57-metre commission runs several years from contract to delivery, and a yard willing to hand that scale of project to a known client rather than court a new one signals confidence built on a prior boat's performance and service record.

The 2.3-metre draft, shallow for a yacht this length, is the brief's clearest fingerprint. It is a deliberate trade against outright stability or tankage in exchange for anchorages a deeper 57-metre yacht simply cannot reach - the kind of specification an owner only writes into a brief after years of being turned away from a favourite bay on a previous boat. Cristiano Gatto Design, on its twelfth collaboration with Heesen, handled the interior; Gatto described the brief as one where every interior element was conceived from scratch and refined in detail, language consistent with a full-custom commission rather than a modified stock layout.

Where is Project Setteesettanta in her build right now?

Setteesettanta launched at Heesen's Oss yard at the end of July 2026, was towed to the northern Netherlands coast in early August for sea trials, and is scheduled for delivery at the end of December 2026 - a build-to-delivery window of roughly five months from launch.

The tow itself was photographed passing through the sea lock at IJmuiden, the standard route from Heesen's inland Oss facility to open water for sea trials, with the hull under tow by a harbour tug and a support vessel alongside. That is the same route and the same trial process Heesen has run on its other full-custom yachts in this size range, and the yard's own numbering - YN 20857 - places her within its current full-custom order book rather than as a one-off outlier.

A five-month gap between launch and a stated delivery date is a tight but not unusual window for a yacht of this size once the hull, superstructure and major systems are already complete at launch; most of what remains is systems commissioning, sea-trial iteration and interior finishing that can proceed in parallel with trials rather than in sequence. Nothing published so far indicates a delay against that December target, though a full-custom build's schedule is rarely locked until sea trials are complete and any punch-list items are resolved.

What are Project Setteesettanta's actual specifications?

Project Setteesettanta measures 57 metres overall with an 11.15-metre beam and 920 gross tons, built in aluminium with twin MTU diesels giving an 18-knot top speed and a 3,900-nautical-mile range at 12 knots, accommodating up to 12 guests across six staterooms with 13 crew.

The naval architecture is by Van Oossanen Naval Architects, a firm known for hull-efficiency work across several Dutch yards, with Frank Laupman and Omega Architects responsible for the exterior styling. The hull and superstructure are both aluminium with a teak deck, and the draft is 2.3 metres - shallow enough, per the owner's brief above, to reach anchorages a deeper yacht of comparable length cannot. A four-metre infinity pool sits on the main deck aft, a scale of pool unusual on a yacht this size and a direct expression of the brief's comfort-and-entertaining priority over sheer speed or range.

Accommodation is set at up to 12 guests in six staterooms - one owner's suite, one VIP and four further guest cabins - with 13 crew, figures reported consistently across BOAT International's directory and YachtBuyer's listing for the same hull. At 3,900 nautical miles at a 12-knot cruise, the range comfortably covers an Atlantic crossing without refuelling, a figure that matters more to this owner's brief of reaching remote, shallow anchorages than the 18-knot top speed, which is a ceiling most owners of a yacht this size use rarely if at all.

What is still unknown about Project Setteesettanta?

Heesen has not disclosed a build price for Setteesettanta, and because sea trials only began in early August 2026, no independent performance data, sea-trial report or owner impression of the finished yacht exists yet.

Full-custom Heesen commissions in the 55 to 60-metre range have historically run well into eight figures in euros, but Heesen does not publish contract prices for its full-custom yachts and none of the trade coverage of Setteesettanta states one. A brief, now-archived brokerage listing for the project under Northrop & Johnson's name predates delivery and appears to reflect early-build marketing rather than a resale, since Heesen has been explicit that the yacht is being built for a specific returning client rather than sold to a new buyer on spec.

Because the yacht is still in sea trials as this was written, no independent sea-trial report, surveyor's assessment or owner account of how she handles has been published, and none should be expected before her stated December 2026 delivery at the earliest. That is normal for a yacht this new rather than a gap specific to Heesen or this project, and it is worth saying plainly rather than dressing up the builder's own launch description as an owner's verdict.