Dick Boon's very first design, a 21-foot wooden sailing boat intended as the first in a new series of training vessels for the First Frisian Sailing school.
SINCE 1961
MR. DICK BOON - INNOVATOR, MENTOR AND FOUNDER OF VRIPACK
Even as a kid, Dick Boon was likely to be found sketching boats or on a vegetable barge; the 'classroom' for his first sailing lessons, and these were the beginnings of an education that would eventually see him qualify as a world renowned naval architect. So fascinated was he by boats while growing up, that he spent all his free time during his job at the Amsterdam Dry Dock Co. indulging his interest at the sailing school in Sneek. And when he judged the school's instruction boat to be less than satisfactory, he simply designed a new one. Boon soon worked at one of the region's oldest shipyards. However, despite its long heritage, it failed to offer the level of craft and ambition he sought. On October 2nd 1961, he decided to set up his own practice, on which his wife supportively replied "Well, you'd better get to work then".
OUR HISTORY
A SELECTION OF THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS
1961
1965
Vripack's first appearance at a boat show, HISWA Amsterdam when it exhibited two steel-hulled boats.
1977
An innovation in yacht design, the Doggersbank 1525 MY. The first to be built from composite materials, as well as the first to be designed according to Low Displacement over Length (LDL).
1982
Expedition sailing yacht, the stormy bank clipper 68' - the first sailing yacht in history to sail 580 NM of the North Pole.
1984
Sport fishing vessel, the 65-foot all-aluminium first light sailed on her own keel to the US.
1985
First time 'in the tank', testing the high-speed seahunter 70'. Computer software was still a distant dream, so the hull had to be resistance-tested at the TU Delft towing tank facility.
1985
An international breakthrough: the Doggersbank offshore. A whole series of the Offshore followed, all renowned for their sturdy appearance, exceptional seakeeping performance and comprehensive technical specifications.
1994
Vripack was the first to work with CAD/CAM software, allowing to digitally loft a vessel's shape in 3D and produce the code that allowed robots to CNC cut the metal sheets, producing better boats in less time.
1999
Mr. Boon launched his very own motor yacht, the traditionally-styled Mare-N.
2000
A signature model. The Doggersbank Explorer 185, Northern Star. This design became Vripack's signature model, and was tendered for construction at numerous yards around the world.
2000
Extending the brand. The voyager Doggersbank explorer, Jasmin. The first Doggersbank Explorer, a scaled-down version of a 280'concept.
2013
Discovering solar fuel and power. A steep learning curve resulting in world's first One Design Solar Racer, the V20