USED BOAT: LINSSEN GS410
IN BUILD 2001 - 2010 PRICE RANGE £180,000 - £300,000
This spacious Dutch steel cruiser is sturdy by name and sturdy by nature
If I can get a serious prospective buyer to the Linssen yard, they will buy a Linssen, it is as profound as that”. I’m sat with Colin Watts at his Boat Showrooms office in Shepperton discussing all things Linssen, and in particular the 410 AC Grand Sturdy berthed directly outside that is the subject of this article. But to understand the boat, sometimes it helps to understand the builder. Founded in 1949, Linssen Yachts is based in Maasbracht, Holland. Originally set up by Jac Linssen as a small-scale woodwork and ship repair business, it developed into a significant steel yacht building yard with a strong reputation for very high-end cruisers. Family run from the beginning, it’s now into its third generation, and Colin describes the firm as “meticulous and efficient. We’ve dealt with a few manufacturers, but never one like Linssen. They will give us a delivery slot for a boat a year in advance that is not just a date but a time, and they will deliver on that date, at that time”.
When the 410 Grand Sturdy was launched by the company in 2001, it was the largest in the range. Built in response to demand from owners looking to progress to larger boats, it also created enough space to accommodate a central island double berth in the master cabin aft, rather than a bed pressed up against the cabin side as smaller boats inevitably had.
A traditional-looking steel cruiser, the layout is exactly as you would expect. That full beam master with its central double bed remains the big news. As well as masses of storage, owners enjoy separate, and generous, ensuite shower and heads compartments.
At the front of the boat (giving terrific privacy) is a forward guest cabin with twin bunk beds. Also forward on the lower deck is a comfortable dinette served by a large L-shaped galley directly opposite. A second toilet and shower is also on this level. Splitting the two is the saloon area, which on early models also included an inside helm. The vast majority were finished in cherry, although a small number were fitted out with teak.
Aimed very much at the inland cruising market, the deck layout is kept low profile to reduce air draft and help bridge clearance. So the helm is on the aft deck above the master cabin rather than having a flybridge above the saloon that would have increased the height of the boat. Folding windscreens and mast drop the height still further when required (the latter hydraulically powered as an option). Side decks are wide and low, ideal for the myriad docks and locks that inland boaters are likely to meet.
VERSATILE VESSEL
That’s not to say that the 410 Grand Sturdy is limited to inland cruising, it’s a category B ‘offshore’ boat, and in fact Linssen offered a twin engine alternative, twin Volvo Penta TAMD 31 130hp diesels instead of the single Volvo Penta TMD 41 150hp for those who wanted the reassurance that the redundancy of twins offers offshore. About 40% of buyers opted for two engines. As a strictly displacement boat, twins made it no faster and the single engine has the advantage that the propellor is well protected by a deep keel that extends deeper into the water so that it touches before the prop does. Access is also much improved simply by dint of freeing up far more space in the engine room. A large section of floor lifts, revealing steps that allow you to easily walk down to do your daily checks rather than moving furniture, lifting carpets and clambering in.
In fact, the 2008 boat you see here, owned by Jon and Sally Mcaleese, was bought specifically for coastal use. “We’d had two fast boats before” Sally tells me, “a Spirit 3000 followed by a Windy 37 Grand Mistral, both kept in Weymouth. But we decided to change to a displacement boat with more accommodation, and we’ve found that we much prefer it. It’s quiet and more relaxing, we can talk to each other more easily and take in the scenery. Ultimately, most marinas look much the same once you’re in them, so why not enjoy the scenery for longer along the way? Displacement speed cruising is far more about the journey than the destination”.
Fitted with a single Vetus Deutz DTA44 140hp diesel, the couple ran the boat regularly between the Solent in one direction and Torquay in the other, enjoying the boating life so much that they actually sold their house and lived aboard for four of their 11 years of ownership. “We had one rough trip to Torquay but had every confidence in the boat”.
But talk soon turns, as it did with Colin, back to the manufacturers. “The Linssen experience was wonderful, we couldn’t fault them – friendly, accommodating and helpful. We actually picked the boat up in December, just before the factory shut for Christmas. We were there for a couple of weeks getting everything ready so they just gave us a key to the factory so that we could access any facilities we needed! In between having the boat delivered to the UK in March, they stored gear for us and were generally incredibly accommodating”.
Sally also remembers arriving in Weymouth for the first time. “The boat attracted a huge amount of attention because it is quite unusual. As we came under the bridge passers-by were waving and cheering!”
The couple’s boat is a MK2, which benefits from a host of improvements made to the 410 in 2006. The big change is the removal of the lower helm. An area little used by the vast majority of owners, who prefer to helm from the aft deck, which can be enclosed by canopies in inclement weather. This creates vastly more space in the redesigned saloon area. On the aft deck the helm was moved from the starboard side to a central location and the seating behind it changed from a straight bench to a more sociable U shape. Single or twin engines of similar power remained, but Vetus Deutz were offered in place of the Volvo Pentas fitted to earlier boats, either twin 115hp or a single 140hp. The colour scheme changed too, the beige of earlier boats making way for smart blue hulls and white superstructures. The specification was also upgraded, electric thrusters and winch made way for hydraulic power and leather upholstery became the default choice for the interior.
With production running to more than 40 boats, the 410AC ran until 2010, and it’s worth finishing where we came in, with the company building the boats. At the time the global recession was affecting all businesses, and Linssen Yachts was not immune. Its answer was
effective and brilliant. The company introduced Linssen Collection boats. Actively encouraging owners to part exchange, Linssen would buy back existing boats, put them back through the factory for an overhaul and refurbishment as required and then put them on the market in perfect condition with a year of factorybacked warranty.
“It worked, and continues to work, very well” says Colin, “no one wants to own two boats so it has proved a great way forward for owners to upgrade but also offers used boat buyers the reassurance of buying factory refurbished and warrantied boats”.
SAVVY SIDELINE
The second concept was a little more controversial. Linssen Yachts started its own boating holiday business renting out Linssen boats right across Europe, and thus immediately creating demand for the boats it was building. It even allows customers to invest in the charter boats. Dealers were initially concerned that the ‘high end’ reputation of Linssen would be tarnished by having them appear in boat hire fleets but the company’s response was simply to point out that the ranks of Mercedes taxis parked outside airports and train stations throughout the world do nothing to erode the reputation of Mercedes Benz, if anything the reverse is true, it testifies to the engineering of the vehicle.
Both moves worked, allowing production to remain at the circa 80 boats a year that the yard produces, and are still very much a part of the Linssen Yacht business. But boat building remains its core, with a range of steel cruisers that now stretches from 30ft to 50ft.
Next month: Botnia Targa 42