Noel & Heather, NG40 ‘Seven7’

After 30 years of owning sailing yachts we (Noel and Heather Ingram) decided to drop sail and explore the inland waterways of the Netherlands. Our requirement was for a steel motor boat with a quality build comparable with that of our previous ocean going sailing yachts.

Also, we wanted to be able to impose our own ideas on the interior, so an agreed amount of customisation was a fundamental requirement. We had “dipped our toes” in the inland waterways of the Netherlands by purchasing a steel Dutch Aft Cabin Cruiser and now wanted to change to an aft cockpit cruiser with the saloon and cockpit on a single level. Our approach to yacht purchase is to do extensive research on suitable yachts based on a detailed list of requirements and then to reduce this to a shortlist of about six. This is the approach we were adapting when we looking for a new Dutch steel boat.

We were cruising from Geithoorn to Sneek when we passed some moored boats at Steenwijk. We were immediately attracted to the Steeler NG models we saw and doubled back for a closer look. They were certainly the nicest boats we had seen. We reduced our shortlist to two: a Jetten and a Steeler. Further research, a visit to Steeler Yachts and the Amsterdam Boat Show convinced us that a Steeler NG40 was the boat for us. Steeler Yachts was the most helpful of any boat builder we spoke to and honest about what we could achieve for our budget.

The final choice was easy because Steeler and their yachts stood head and shoulders above the rest of the competition.

We duly signed a Concept Construction Agreement for a Steeler NG40 in October 2013 for delivery in Spring 2015 and looked forward to getting involved in the interior design and customisation.

The build process was, as far as we were concerned, faultless and proceeded through the various stages according to the building plan. Regular visits were scheduled and updates and photographs supplied. Changes to the standard specification were suggested and agreed and the interior layout discussed during various visits to Steeler during the build. The knowledge and input of the Steeler team should not be under-estimated. All additional items were professionally researched by Steeler and the solutions excellent (e.g. selection, positioning and installation of Solar Panels). The Standard Specification is so extensive that very few extra items were required to satisfy our requirements list. The Steeler Yachts build process and associated Project Management is an exemplary example to all other boat builders.