VAAN R4
SUMMARY
I can't remember exactly how I found VAAN, fact is the first pics and videos I found were amazing. And when you read the brochures that you can find on the Internet, everything fell into place immediately.
After the not so successful visit to Cannes, we were super excited. So we made an appointment, booked a hotel, packed our bags and went to Hellevoetsluis, the land of the tulips, for a weekend. All of this within 4 days!
Unfortunately in the end nothing for us again, but it was nice anyway.
THE CONCEPT
Conceptually, in my opinion, there is currently no better manufacturer. In addition to the special design - you have to like straight lines - the VAAN impresses with sustainable materials.
HULL: Aluminum is the construction material. One of the few manufacturers to use this material alongside Ovnicat and Mumby. And not just aluminum but recycled aluminum, up to 60% according to the manufacturer.
DRIVE: The VAAN catamarans are only available with electric drives from Oceanvolt. The two engines in combination with the 2 reasonably large battery banks allow a few nautical miles to be covered under power. The batteries are then recharged when sailing. Small comment, the charge values of Oceanvolt when recuperating were far undercut in practice.
FLOOR COVERINGS: Are exclusively made of cork. Unfortunately also outdoors. Why unfortunately; our visited VAAN R4 is a few months old and the cork is already showing signs of fading. It's a shame, but that's to be expected with natural materials.
CUSHIONS: Here, too, care was taken to use recycled materials.
MOORING LINES: Are made from recycled PET bottles. It is not yet possible to say whether they are durable under UV radiation, but the idea is really good.
SAILING CHARACTERISTICS: Due to the relatively low weight, the VAAN R4 should also sail reasonably. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for a small sailing trip, although it was actually agreed in advance.
So far the VAAN R4 would have been the perfect ship for us! If there weren't so many disadvantages:
DISADVANTAGES
As is well known, where there is light, there is also shadow. There was even a lot of shade on the VAAN R4. As already mentioned, the VAAN R4 is definitely a great ship, where the designers have given a lot of thought to sustainability. In my opinion the ship is a great weekend or holiday catamaran but totally unsuitable as a live aboard.
Here are a few things that unfortunately rule out a VAAN R4 as a blue water cruiser:
DISADVANTAGES OUTSIDE
COCKPIT: Visually a feast for the eyes, but if you take a closer look, you quickly realize that there is no shadow! The picture below shows this clearly. By the way it also shows the cork covering that is installed throughout on the VAAN R4.
COCKPIT TABLE: Is height adjustable as an option on the VAAN R4. There is enough seating on both sides. But even those are only partly in the shade. And only if the extended cockpit roof is ordered.
ACCESS TO THE SIDE DECKS: Unfortunately, it's not (yet) thought through to the end. You have to climb over the seat cushions to get to the side- and foredeck. Something else is definitely ideal.
BRIDGE DECK CLEARANCE: As you can guess from the picture, there isn't much space between the water surface and the cockpit floor. In the case of our VAAN R4, the ship was not loaded at all, so the fully loaded ship has another 5 cm less clearance. In heavy seas, one or the other wave will certainly break over the cockpit, which is open to the rear.
COCKPIT STORAGE SPACE: No return again. Exactly under the steering positions there is a huge storage space on each side, which reaches under the bunks to the engine room, at least 2.5m deep, but it is completely unusable because the only access is from aft.
There are 2 optional seats with built in lockers available, installed left and right of the main Winches.CONTROL POSITION: Basically beautiful and functional. The steering wheels in particular are very beautiful. But, the sheet winches is placed in the most unfavorable way. If you want to use them you have to use the steering wheel. Hard to do for people under 1.9m without coming into conflict with the autopilot. Let alone where the lines should be stowed.
COCKPIT VAAN R4
HELM VAAN R4
WHAT ABOUT THE INSIDE?
SALOON
Just like on the outside, the VAAN R4 is a feast for the eyes on the inside. Clear lines, few frills and nice to look at. And since the few pieces of furniture in the saloon and the pantry are built along the window fronts, the middle of the saloon is a large, free area where you can even dance ;) And the view is of course awesome! No furniture, hardly any supports blocking the view, really nice.
Disadvantage of the layout, the storage space is absolutely limited. And you won't find a navigation station either. The electronics for the ship are hidden behind furniture (in front of the mast). I tried to get to them while we were on board. It works, but only with acrobatic bends.
It is also easy to see in the picture that there is almost no storage space in the galley. If the VAAN R4 is used as a holiday home, the space is certainly sufficient. But if you want to live on board and sail around the world, in my opinion there is simply not enough space.
I can't tell if there's storage space under the seats. We just didn't look down there. But even if, I don't think there would be enough space for us. For a life on board, as already mentioned.
Image source: vaan.yachts
HULLS
Again, clear lines and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The picture below shows the owner's hull with a temporary flooring. The VAAN R4 Hull #1 wasn't quite finished when we visited.
To the storage space; to the left in the image you can see a white area. There are a few drawers in the middle, with cupboards to the right and left of them. At least that's what it looks like, because the on-board electronics, pumps, lines, etc. take up almost a full cabinet. That leaves 1.5 cupboards and the 4 drawers for 2 people. With summer, transitional and/or winter clothes, bed linen, washing and cleaning utensils, etc. If you’re super minimalist, you might be fine with that. Impossible for us though.
The first door on the left leads to the toilet. Tiny (my knees are up against the wall) and no windows.
By the way, the small piece of furniture on the right is optionally available (as of 2021). If you leave that out as well, then logically you have even less space.
Turn around 180 degrees from the spot where the photo above was taken and you're looking into the master bathroom. Actually everything fits here. Shower is big enough, lots of light and enough storage space to accommodate everything. The only criticism might be that there is only one sink. With a 42 foot boat though, that is absolutely fine.
PRICE - VALUE
By far the cheapest in the circle. But only 42 feet long. The next bigger is the VAAN R5. With her 49 feet, she skips a category. Anyway, just under 700,000.- euros including:
- Generator
- OceanVolt instead of Torqeedo drive
- Solar on all "roofs" (4kW)
- full sail wardrobe
and everything else you can get is really competitive. Extrapolated to 45 feet, this corresponds to around 750,000 euros, a top price for a high-quality ship built from sustainable materials.
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