Heesen Launches 50-Metre Project Sophia
Date
Reading time
2
min
Dutch shipyard Heesen launched Project Sophia at its facility in Oss. The 50-metre all-aluminium yacht is built around a single proposition: speed and shallow draft in the same hull.
Sophia tops out at 23 knots and draws just 2.15 metres, the recognised threshold for unrestricted cruising in the Bahamas. That combination puts anchorages typically accessible only to much smaller boats within reach of a full-size superyacht. To achieve it, Heesen's naval architects developed a hard-chine hull with recessed propeller tunnels, a solution that also delivers a 12% improvement in hull efficiency compared to conventional designs in the same class.
Two MTU 16V 4000 M65L engines provide the power, with a transatlantic range of 3,100 nautical miles at 11 knots. The yacht measures 499 GT and meets IMO Tier III emissions standards.
The interior was fitted out entirely at Heesen's cabinetry workshop in Winterswijk, keeping production under one roof.
The design works with a palette of sage green, mustard, and warm bronze, tones chosen to blur the boundary between the interior and the ocean outside. Aft on the main deck, a shallow pool with floating sun loungers frames an uninterrupted view toward the horizon.
The beach club is set up for active use, with storage for wakeboards and bicycles and direct access to a fold-down swim platform. A sliding windbreaker on the sundeck keeps the upper deck usable at speed.
Finished in Awlgrip's Whisper Grey, Sophia will undergo sea trials in the North Sea before her scheduled delivery in June 2026.
Photos Ruben Griffioen
