New Boat: Zeelander 5
Zeelander’s 5 packs big-boat touches into a 48-foot-long footprint.
New Boat: Zeelander 5
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all truth may be subjective. But I do know one thing that is self-evident—Zeelander builds boats pretty enough to give even the most inured among us butterflies in our stomachs.
I’ve long been in love with the Dutch builder’s flowing and voluptuous lines, but it had been a while since I’d seen my old flame in person—when I stepped aboard the Z72 flagship at the 2019 Newport International Boat Show and she stole my heart. The Zeelander 5 docked just outside the 2023 Palm Beach show is the successor to that build, and she comes with the same heady design attributes and high level of fit and finish in a package that’s 18 feet shorter.
The lines were just as I remembered. Zeelander’s trademark is coupling an imposing amount of freeboard forward with a transom that has a pleasantly cartoonish degree of tumblehome. The effect is a boat that portrays palpable class and seaworthiness laced with a hint of whimsicality.
However, at the docks in Palm Beach, the after section of the boat did not present the rounded design I was expecting. Instead, it was folded out completely in a manner nearly as striking as the tumblehome. The transom on the 5 flips out to form a miniature beach club, with two adjustable lounge chairs and a transformer that pulls double duty as a diving platform and a passerelle. Passage from the beach club into the cockpit requires some squeezing through a narrow gap between the gunwale and the corner of the transom seating. But once in the cockpit, the seats—these upholstered in optional navy blue with crisp, white piping—were a very comfortable place to enjoy a cold drink, especially with the sunshade extended from the superstructure to protect against the Sunshine State’s most abundant offering. Zeelander ostensibly builds a European take on a lobster boat, though you won’t find the wide-open spaces typical of other workboat inspired models here. Everything in the 5’s cockpit is packed tight, and it’s a theme that extends to the salon. The dining settee to port and the small galley to starboard are all usable, but the sense of space here is more akin to being inside a sailboat than I can recall in other boats in this size and class.
The details in the interior are lovely though. I had noticed the stainless-steel oval handrails on the exterior of the boat, a shape not usually seen until LOAs crest 80 feet—a true mega yacht touch. That luxuriant attention to the little things extends to the interior where the dining table had a gorgeous white, pebbled-leather inlay. Another highpoint was the diamond-patterned stitching in the dining settee, which was airtight. The same leather on the table extends in a decorative piece above the salon windows, which stretch nearly 360 degrees around the space, and offer the helm excellent lines of sight.
Down below the 5 had a VIP with scissoring bunks in the forepeak and an amidships master with an athwartships queen. The ceiling in the master is low in some places, but it would be comfortable for a weekend away. The en suite head had a shower with beautiful pearl-colored tiling, and was built so solidly that I was compelled to give it a hearty knock with my knuckles. It drove home something that is evident throughout this boat—she is exceptionally well built. Hinges are chunky, doors are heavy, and nothing wobbles that shouldn’t. I haven’t had a chance to run the 5 yet, but I suspect this solid construction is a main reason why Zeelander touts this boat as one of the quietest in her class, with decibels never cresting 70, according to the builder. That’s even more impressive when considering that with optional triple 480-horsepower Volvo Penta IPS650s the boat can reportedly hit 45 knots.
The Zeelander 5 has speed, aesthetics, attention to detail, and solid construction. All packaged together, that’s a beautiful thing.
Zeelander 5 Specifications:
LOA: 48’7”
Beam: 14’1”
Draft: 3’2”
Fuel Cap.: 528 gal.
Water Cap.: 158 gal.
Engines: 2/Volvo Penta IPS500s, 2/Volvo Penta IPS650s, 3/Volvo Penta IPS650s
Cruise Speed: 30 knots
Top Speed: 45 knots
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Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/boats/zeelander-5-yacht-review
