Captains Laud Echo Yachts' Refit Capabilities

Echo Yachts is most synonymous with its success as an innovative builder of full custom superyachts, delivering the iconic award-winning 84-metre trimaran M/Y White Rabbit in 2019. In recent years, the Western Australia shipyard has also grown in prominence as a refit and maintenance destination for superyachts, with more Owners and Captains recognising the benefits of the shipyard’s infrastructure, expert in-house project management, design and trades, and nearby cruising opportunities.

Benefitting from custom newbuild expertise

As Captain of M/Y Latitude, a 46.5m Timmerman-built superyacht, Ed Shiels has visited Echo Yachts twice for maintenance works, the most recent being a refit survey in 2022. Captain Shiels explains how Echo Yachts’ pedigree as a custom builder was influential in his Owner’s decision to choose the shipyard.

“The Owner was aware of the incredible trimaran that Echo Yachts had built recently, and the design and innovation awards it won. He had been really impressed with it, especially the quality and engineering behind it, and so wanted to send his yacht to Echo for maintenance work. We were really comfortable going there having seen the shipyard’s capabilities with newbuilds.”

For Captain Shiels, the capabilities of Echo Yachts allowed flexibility to expand the project scope and respond to unforeseen issues. “On our first visit, we were hauled out onto the hardstand for a lot of technical work,” continues Shiels.

“During that process, we uncovered a lot of other tasks that needed to be performed. It was great because Echo Yachts have all the trades, expertise and machinery there in-house, plus the specialised back-up services of many of the OEMs in the surrounding Australian Marine Complex where they are located. There was nothing that they weren’t familiar with or couldn’t facilitate.”

A similar appreciation for Echo Yachts’ newbuild expertise was influential behind the decision for 56m superyacht M/Y Galileo G to head to Western Australia for works during the pandemic lockdown. Tom Buddle, current Captain of M/Y Event, was at the helm of M/Y Galileo G when she visited Echo Yachts.

“Because Echo Yachts specialise in newbuilds, it means they have a really solid all-round capability,” explains Captain Buddle. “This catered for everything we wanted to do, from smaller interior jobs to more refined and complex engineering typework, and then there are many local expert OEM and licensed contractors for servicing speciality items such as propellers, engines and ride-control systems.

“As a shipbuilder, they create custom yachts from scratch, so it does give Echo an advantage in how they approach projects and problem solve. Their culture is very much more open to accepting challenges and finding innovative solutions compared to many of their competitors.”

Large-scale infrastructure for superyachts

Echo Yachts is situated within the Australian Marine Complex (AMC) near Fremantle, Western Australia. As part of the AMC, Echo Yachts is able to offer a wider range of modern, large-scale infrastructure to assist visiting yachts, notably their purpose-built shipbuilding facility with 100m halls and wetberth options, 800-tonne slipway catering for medium-sized superyachts, plus the adjoining 12,000-tonne AMC floating dock with significant hardstand space for very large superyachts.  

“Echo Yachts and the facilities at the AMC are really professional. I can’t fault anything as far as handling, communication and transparency go,” says Captain Tom Buddle. “The project management team at Echo was excellent, we were well accommodated and the facilities were clean and secure. Australia was quite strict on health and safety protocols during COVID, but that was not such a bad thing in the end!”

No Captain will be quite as familiar with the Echo Yachts team and expertise as Francois Voisin, who is Captain of the aforementioned 84m Echo-built trimaran M/Y White Rabbit (Golf). Captain Voisin has since returned to Echo Yachts with White Rabbit, citing not only the shipyard’s pool of knowledge but also its facilities as decisive factors.

“We were mostly interested in hauling out and performing certain class-related work,” reflects Captain Voisin. “We are often quite limited in where we can go because our beam is 20 metres.

“In the Asia-Pacific region, Echo Yachts is really the only place to haul-out at large world-class facilities suitable for superyachts with all the necessary expertise and clean shipyard working conditions, so Western Australia makes the most sense.”

Unique cruising opportunities

The benefits of refit periods at Echo Yachts extend beyond the shipyard’s technical prowess, with unique Owner and crew friendly experiences in Fremantle and the surrounding cruising areas.

“It’s such a nice part of the world and a base for crew to be,” says Tom Buddle. “We spent a long six-month stint there and everyone really enjoyed it. Echo Yachts itself is about a 15-minute drive from Fremantle, where you have lots of day activities and nightlife for crew.

“Then on weekends, you have amazing areas on your doorstep like the Margaret River wine region, beautiful forests and beaches, or water sports havens like nearby Rottnest Island. There are a lot of adventure and nature based activities to keep crew entertained.”

Francois Voisin adds, “We all love it down there! For us it’s a great change of scenery and environment. We’ve spent an extensive amount of time with Echo Yachts, and in Fremantle, Perth and the south west of Western Australia. We always look forward to it. Then there is also the appeal of being able to cruise the West Coast of Australia.

“Over the years we have done the Montebellos, Broome, plus the world-famous Kimberley Region, and the thought is always to combine it with a refit. That’s the added attraction of going down there. You have the possibility of the Owners and guests joining you along the way.”

Western Australia boasts one of arguably the world’s most diverse and rugged coastlines, with exceptional acquatic and landbased wildlife, and breath-taking reef systems and landscapes untarnished by human impact. For superyachts visiting Echo Yachts, this provides an opportunity to explore a new and unique yachting paradise for extended periods as part of a S.E. Asian adventure or world cruising itinerary.

For Ed Shiels, the Western Australian coastline had some pretty spectacular treats for M/Y Latitude on her passage to Echo. “I’ve been at sea since I was 15 and when I first went out you would see whales every other day,” says Ed. “Today, people might spot a whale every six months. But on that part of the coast in Western Australia, I was amazed!

“On both trips we caught whale migration season and the whales were with us pretty much all the way slong the coast. When we visited the reefs at the Abrolhos Islands, the whales were around us from sunup to sundown, breaching throughout the day.

“There’s a whole range of experiences you can access, so from a cruising perspective it’s really beautiful, crystal clear waters, amazing diving and fishing, with lots of wildlife.”

Australia has a proud yachtbuilding history, tracing back to design icon Jon Bannenberg and former shipyard Oceanfast. This skillset and flair for innovation is epitomised in the modern era by Echo Yachts.

As the custom superyacht builder consolidates its position in the refit market, Owners and Captains are capitalising on Echo Yachts’ extensive in-house expertise, while the remarkable cruising opportunities in Western Australia provide an opportunity to combine a refit period with adventure-filled cruising itineraries.