from inside the yacht by unscrewing the headlining and pulling out the water-cut Armaflex plugs below each fitting. The yachts will be delivered fully specified with systems the yard knows work well. Steering is by Jefa, electric winches by Andersen, deck gear by Ronstan, furlers by Facnor, Lofrans windlass, retractable Max Power bow thruster, folding prop, Rocna anchor and Raymarine electronics as standard with NKE in the performance package. It’s ready to sail away. The 42ft LOA was chosen as the best
size for space on board and ease of handling, says Schernikau. ‘The Pure 42 is our solution for an easy-to-handle, single- or double-handed yacht for owners of any age. Many sailors won’t choose a 50ft yacht because it’s too cumbersome in port, especially in the Baltic where we have small harbours. The twin double-cabin 42 deck saloon gives two people, plus two guests, plenty of space and living comfort to stay on board for a long time, long enough to cruise around the world, through Arctic waters if you want to. For the last 20 years “deck saloon” hasmeant amotorsailer with a fixed three-blade prop, going at five knots. Our deck saloon conceptmeans fast cruising and comfortable living, even if you’re a little bit older.’ The energy of a start-up is palpable
here, and make no mistake, Schernikau is fully committed to this venture. After a childhood spent lake sailing with his family in northern Germany, he developed an impressive record of building businesses.
‘I started my lift company in 1999 when I was 30 years old. I started as a one-man band and I was very busy. I like craftsmanship, I’m a master metal worker. I grew my lift company for 24 years and when I sold it, it had 170 employees. It didn’t feel like mine anymore, it was too big. In 2010 I bought my first aluminium yacht and started sailing again. One highlight was a trip to Iceland and northern latitudes and I loved it so I decided to build my own boat.’ Schernikau approached designer
Martin Menzner to develop the idea. ‘At first I was interested in a 45-46ft boat, a normal deck saloon explorer, then I told him about my experience sailing a Seascape 27 – I had a huge smile on my face! He told me a normal deck saloon would not be the right boat for me, so we committed to a 49ft boat – I wanted a little more space. I decided on tiller steering because I don’t like wheels – that’s just me – a lifting keel and water ballast. And my 49ft Gorre goes like a big Laser, it’s amazing to sit on the coaming, tiller extension in hand and looking forward, powering into the wind. You feel the boat like a dinghy.’ And it was always going to be aluminium: ‘I like being at sea with an aluminium boat because it feels completely different. There’s no creaking, no doors jamming at sea. It’s a stiff, strong, lightweight hull.’ ‘The first drawings were done in 2016 and I wanted the project complete in three
years – that didn’t happen! I had the hull built at Benjamins Shipyard in Emden, Germany, and when the hull was delivered I found room for it at my lift factory, but I was mostly working on my own at the weekends and late evenings. I thought Project Gorre would never be finished but I was given Ivars’ number to help me finish the project and he did.’ Ivars Linbergs was working on the
‘It’s amazing to sit on the coaming. You feel the boat like a dinghy’
interiors of Elida, a 48ft one-off racing yacht that has a displacement of 7.8 tonnes and sail area of 138m². The hull was built in light Alaskan wood reinforced with carbon fibre, sheathed in mahogany, with a carbon fibre deck. ‘Martin Menzner had a project
with the same boatyard, Jan Brugge. He told me about Matthias and his project and that started a conversation that ended with me finishing the project then helping Matthias finish Gorre.’ ‘When I began to think about selling
my lift company,’ adds Schernikau, ‘ I said “You’re 52, you can sell your company, make a lot of money, you don’t have to work anymore,” but it wasn’t enough. I still think in projects, developing and finishing projects, that’s what I like. One day I was having a break from working on Gorre with Ivars, sitting in the sun with a coffee, and he asked me: “Matthias, what’s your plan after this?” and I thought about building more boats, it’s not my worst idea. That’s the first time I thought about founding a shipyard.’ ‘We first met when Matthias came to
buy his mast and rigging, I was working at a rigging company,’ explains Kohler. ‘I was a friend of Martin Menzner too, we sail together a lot. He called me to say “You have to come to my office tomorrow evening to meet two other guys, they have a fun idea.” I rang the bell and Matthias opened the door. We both smiled and half an hour later we were talking about founding a shipyard like it was the most normal thing in the world. ‘For eight months we met every two
weeks for three or four hours, Matthias, Ivars and me, to work out what we needed to found a shipyard, what the product should be. It works because we’re all different. Ivars brings knowledge of high- quality, lightweight interior building, I bring 25 years of technical knowledge and Matthias understands quality modern production techniques. We had the first drawings of the 42, we knew the product would be good, so we started looking for somewhere to build it.’ Through the grapevine Schernikau
Hull #1 of Pure Yachts’ first productionmodel, the Pure 42, was being finished as we went to press. The hulls are fabricated by Volmer in Holland and fitted out in Kiel
found out that the former Lindenau Werft, a yard that used to build double-skinned tankers, was for sale. ‘I had to decide to buy or not in two months, but I knew I’d never find another place like this, right on the Kieler Forde. In December 2023 I bought this yard without really knowing what awaited me, and we started planning a shipyard. I have a lot of experience
SEAHORSE 83
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