Vanquish Yachts, a Welder's Aluminum Sport Yachts From the Netherlands

A welder's yard in Marknesse

Vanquish exists because a master welder and engineer, Tom Steentjes, wanted to apply his trade to yachts, and he opened the company in 2012. Its yard and head office are on Expansie in Marknesse, a town on the reclaimed polder land of the central Netherlands. A US office on Las Olas Circle in Fort Lauderdale is now Steentjes' own base, from which he leads the American side while keeping a hand in research and development back at the yard. Day-to-day leadership rests with CEO Frank Spikker and COO Johan van der Linden.

Material is what separates Vanquish from its peers. Most builders of fast day yachts mold their boats in composite, but this yard welds every hull and superstructure from marine aluminum, a route that yields light, rigid structures and lets owners change far more of the design. Steentjes has a reputation for demanding flawless seams even where no owner will ever look. The styling came from Guido de Groot, who once designed cars for Citroen, and his automotive eye shows in the vertical axe bow, high topsides, steeply raked glass and a sheer line that runs nearly flat.

From VQ40 to VQ115, and why the VQ58 matters

Today's range climbs in steps from the compact VQ40 and VQ45, through the VQ55 and VQ58, to the VQ70 and the 115-foot VQ115, with spin-offs such as a Sports Line edition of the VQ55 and a VQ52 that made its Miami debut in 2022. The larger tender-garage models trace back to a 2016 announcement of a 60-foot concept built around a stern garage.

Our covered model, the Vanquish VQ58, was unveiled as the yard's flagship at Cannes in 2019 and remains the boat that introduced many American buyers to the brand. It packs a tender garage and walkaround side decks into a hull under 60 feet, with the cabin arrangement and propulsion chosen per owner, and Power and Motoryacht's testers praised the paint finish and the near invisible welding on their boat. Engine options, dimensions and speeds are on the VQ58 page.

Pricing, resale and owning an aluminum yacht

No price list is published, and each boat is specified differently, so figures for new and secondhand VQ58s on our model page are estimates. Vanquish maintains its own brokerage listings, a sensible place to start for boats with complete records. The easiest boats to resell carry restrained colors, a hardtop, pod drives and the garage, while loud hull colors and very personal interiors shrink the pool of buyers.

Aluminum done well is durable, but it needs an owner and surveyor who understand it.

• Hire a surveyor who knows aluminum to examine plating, welds and coatings
• Review anode schedules, galvanic isolation and stray current
• Confirm the propulsion package and its service records
• On surface-drive boats, inspect drives, props and steering
• Cycle the garage hatch and launching gear and check its seals
• Read the original build specification for custom details