History | Boarnstream Yachting

History of Boarnstream Yachting

Since 1964, the family run shipyard Boarnstream has grown into one of the largest Dutch yacht builders. We are a leader in design, construction and sales of luxury yachts and pleasure craft. Attention to quality and beauty have led to several awards and a loyal, international clientele. We serve customers in more than 30 countries worldwide. In Boarnstream motor yachts, Dutch elegance and ingenious creativity come together. They stand for their exceptional quality and exclusive design, their futuristic technology and uncompromising safety, their timeless allure and sublime sailing characteristics. We combine efficient custom production with world-class traditional Dutch craftsmanship. It’s the people who make the difference! Within the age-old tradition of Dutch yacht building, we have a unique portfolio of prestigious -semi custom built- yachts.

1964 – 1970

“Henk didn’t want be a farmer, building boats was more to his liking”

After a few years of refurbishing and selling wooden sailboats, at some point an owner of a 16-square asked if we could build a mother ship. Henk had no idea what a mother ship was, the owner pulled a picture out of his inside pocket and said, “This is how it should be”. It became a 9-metre motor cruiser, on which you could sleep. In 1964, the first Boornkruiser was launched.

The hobby of ‘building wooden sailboats’ was something they still did at Heit and Mem’s farm. The farm was only accessible via the small river the Boorne, so all the wood they bought had to be transported to the farm by pram. Transporting wood across the Boorne went well, but steel was far too heavy and awkward. Seen from the farm, they needed a space across the water, on the mainland so to speak. There was nothing there and so they first built a shed in which they could weld that motorboat. Soon they added several halls and also moorings.

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1966 Boornkruiser 900 Noordwind, the first cruiser

1966 Boornkruiser de Luxe 1050 Cassiopeia, the second cruiser

1966 Boornkruiser 760 Nautilus

1970 Boornkruiser Royal 1100

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1970 – 1980

“Imports from Scandinavia”

In 1972, on the advice of a fellow villager, Henk went to a trade fair in Stockholm. In Sweden, Henk saw all kinds of interesting Norwegian polyester ships, including the Marex brand. From 1973, Henk brought Norwegian ships of the Marex and Risør brands to the Netherlands. A good choice, because in 1973 the oil crisis was a fact.

Marex 21

Marex 32

1976 Super Boornkruiser 1250 gebouwd voor de charter

1976 Super Boarncruiser built specifically for chartering

1979 Boarnstream Vlet 900

1980 – 1985

“As the first shipyard, Boarnstream developed a project organization”

The customer became more demanding and Boarnstream was the first to see through how it could meet all those demands. Until then, Boarnstream, like all other yards, was used to doing everything itself, but the yard switched to a project organisation. From drawing to launching and everything in between was carried out by the yard and at the yard until 1980. That had to change. First, Boarnstream developed a project organisation, a collaboration between several internal and external specialists in the area. Each construction phase had to be completed before the next phase could start. Boarnstream used experts to take quality to the next level. As a result, the final quality of the product became much better and Boarnstream was able to differentiate itself from the competition. Specialists can not only do something better, they can also do it faster. Boarnstream was at the forefront of this unique way of working in which work was outsourced. However, the yard took care of the technology on board, did the assembly and remained responsible for the final delivery. With the new working method, Boarnstream took more care of the customer, while the quality of the product increased. The customer got more value for their money.

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“Constructing custom built yachts is the strength of Boarnstream”

1982 Idwine, Wies and Houkje in the forepeak of a Sirocco 28 motorsailor Henk Hokwerda at boot Düsseldorf with the new Boorncruiser 40 New Line Activities at the shipyard in the 80s Interior from the early ‘80s Boarnstream was already at the top of the Netherlands in the early 1980s and was the largest yard in Friesland. Building in steel is substantially different from building in polyester. For polyester ships, you use a mould and one boat after another comes out identical. Steel ships are made piece by piece and the ships are certainly not uniform. Boarnstream customers know that and they know very well what they want. That all results in different requirements, which makes ships different from each other. Building custom-built ships is what Boarnstream is strong at.

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“Volkswagen selects Boarnstream”

Volkswagen wanted to enter the marine engine market and was looking for a collaboration partner. The large Volkswagen company chose Boarnstream in Jirnsum for this special project. In 1998, VW Marine had a new Boarncruiser 365 New Line built. Together with VW Marine, the yard developed the first VW boat engine. Volkswagen had knowledge of engines but not yet of boats… The mechanics at Boarnstream indicated where pumps, cooling pipes, and other components needed to be placed.

1986 – 1996

“The Boorncruiser 365 New Line is one of the most successful models”

After the fall of the wall between East and West Germany, Boarnstream created a market in and around Berlin’s waters for the new customers from former East Germany, especially for the group of German 55-plussers, all double-earners. They wanted their own boat, not too big, not super de luxe, but simple, with relatively plenty of space and functional. The yard already had the Boorncruiser 35 and developed the 1000 and 1000S especially for this new clientele.

The Boorcruiser 40 New Line halfglider was first shown at the Hamburg fair in 1991. A yacht combining luxury and speed. With a top speed of 24 knots, it broke the 20-knot barrier. Steel yachts could now sail as fast as their polyester competitors. Motorboot magazine needed few words: ‘Perfection in steel’.

1986 Boorncruiser 35 New Line

1992 Boorncruiser 365 New Line

1989 Boorncruiser 44 New Line met Fly Bridge

Boorncruiser 44 New Line with Flybridge

1995 Boorncruiser 51 New Line

1997 – 2003

“Skippertreffen Berlin”

In and around Berlin waters, 100 Boarncruisers sailed in a short period of time. Boarnstream and Berlin boaters understood each other. In 1995, the idea of organising a Boarncruiser Skippertreffen in Berlin was born. The annual Skippertreffen was organised in May on and around the islet of Lindwerder in the Havel, southeast of Berlin. The yard organised this festivity to meet owners with their boats in their own surroundings, in a festive atmosphere. The invited guests were not only owners of Boarncruisers and those interested in our ships, but also the harbour masters and their partners from Berlin and the surrounding area. After all, that is partly where our orders came from. The Skippertreffen was a special meeting that was also attended by directors of water sports associations as well as the press. Many of our German customers are or have been important or special.

There was even an exclusive Boarnstream bus that transported everyone around Berlin from one place to another. The Skippertreffen (skippers meeting) was important for Boarnstream as well as for the boat owners in Berlin. They exchanged stories, gathered ideas, and shared tips about boating and boating areas.

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2003 – 2007

“No one understood the combination of a steel hull with a polyester superstructure. No one needs to, as long as we knew ourselves why we wanted it”

Every seven years, Boarnstream comes out with a new series. In 1997, the yard came out with the Boorncruiser Classic Line 35 and 43, whose ideas Piet van Oossanen had developed. The later and other types of the Classic Line were drawn by Theo Werner, who was still a young and budding designer in the late 1990s. The Classic Line has a steel hull and polyester superstructure. The purpose behind it was a faster production method. As a separate part, the polyester superstructure can be almost completely prepared before it is mounted on the hull. The windows can be permanently fitted in advance, the installation can be prepared, and the interior lining can be fitted and finished. The polyester superstructure comes from a mould, so each superstructure is identical to the previous one, with no deviations. The combination of polyester and steel makes it possible to mount a ready-made superstructure on the hull.

Boarncruiser 35 Classic Line

Boarncruiser 40 Classic Line

1997 Boorncruiser Classic Line (1e schip met stalen romp en polyester opbouw)

Boarncruiser 43 Classic Line

Boarncruiser 55 Classic Line

2007 – 2015

“New yard boss Wies Hokwerda is only 24 years old and she is immediately engaged with the development of the next series”

Wies: “Heit (Frisian for father) and I were standing at the waterfront and a luxury motor yacht sailed by with beautiful classic lines. I said to heit that we had to have something like that. Coincidentally, heit had the same thought. Not much later, the design of the boat we both had in mind was a fact: the Boarncruiser Retro was born with a flared bow, a round bilge hull, a transom with double steps and ‘wings’. The quality of the Boarncruiser 60 Retro Line is impeccable and comparable to that on mega-yachts, which is why you can refer to this vessel as a ‘medium mega yacht’. The long list of luxuries seems almost endless, according to the media description. Nautique said of the Boarncruiser 60 Retro Line in 2008: ‘It takes courage to develop a large vessel without a customer order ready to go.’

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Boarncruiser 42 Retro Line

Boarncruiser 46 Retro Line – Deck Saloon

Boarncruiser 50 Retro Line

Boarncruiser 60 Retro Line

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2015 – 2023

“With the design of the Elegance, the motorboat has been reinvented”

In 2013, Henk came to Wies’ office and said, ‘I have a gift for you. You either love it or you will hate it.’ Henk had developed a completely new concept of a 13 and 15-meter powerboat. Wies immediately raved about the design of the Elegance. The boatyard itself further developed the Elegance line and immediately started engineering the 13-meter Elegance that was launched in 2015. In style the Elegance’s design is quite a departure from the past, so you could say the powerboat was actually reinvented. ‘I spent two winters working on it,’ says Henk. ‘It was a brand-new concept. The ideas were in my head and had to come out. It was a completely different motorboat than we had known until then. I could only talk to Houkje about it while designing. My gut feeling was already saying that it was going to be a success and if competitors got wind of it before we had built the first Elegance, they would have a big advantage. It had to remain a secret until the launch of the first boat.’ Really no one knew about it, even for everyone at the shipyard it was a surprise when Henk gave the designs of the 13 and 15-meter Elegance to Wies as a gift. During boot Düsseldorf 2014, the first five boats were sold from drawing.

2023-04-17_Guy Fleury_Boarnstream_Lounge 42 en 37-71

Boarncruiser Lounge

Boarncruiser Elegance Series

2023-08-01_Guy Fleury_Boarnstream_Tr50-43

Boarncruiser Traveller Series

Boarncruiser Elegance AC

2024 +

Boarnstream Yachting has a clear vision for the future, building on the strong foundation laid by Henk Hokwerda in 1964 when he founded Jachtwerf de Boarnstream. In 2024, we proudly celebrated our 60th anniversary. Henk’s wish to create a beautiful company that builds timeless and high-quality ships has become a reality. Under the leadership of his daughter Wies Hokwerda, Boarnstream is now a thriving international company that has delivered over 1,200 ships, where customers enjoy coming and employees love to work.

Boarncruiser 53 Ocean – Coupé

Boarncruiser 53 Ocean – Flybridge

Boarncruiser 58 Ocean – Coupé

Boarncruiser 58 Ocean – Flybridge

“Dear past thank you for all the lessons”

“Dear future we are ready”

Interested?
“Your Yacht, your way”

If you’d like more detailed information about our yachts, brochures, specs, videos or media articles, the Boarnstream team is at your service.

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History of Boarnstream Yachting

1964 – 1970

1970 – 1980

1980 – 1985

1986 – 1996

1997 – 2003

2003 – 2007

2007 – 2015

2015 – 2023

2024 +

Interested?
“Your Yacht, your way”

Opening hours sales office

Boarncruiser Traveller

Boarncruiser Elegance

Boarncruiser Lounge

Boarncruiser Ocean

Marex

Contact details

History of Boarnstream Yachting

1964 – 1970

1970 – 1980

1980 – 1985

1986 – 1996

1997 – 2003

2003 – 2007

2007 – 2015

2015 – 2023

2024 +

Interested? “Your Yacht, your way”

Opening hours sales office

Boarncruiser Traveller

Boarncruiser Elegance

Boarncruiser Lounge

Boarncruiser Ocean

Marex

Contact details

Interested?
“Your Yacht, your way”