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The Canadian-Made Neptunus 650F Raises the Bar on Cruising Yacht Luxury

Built for discovery..

• Writer Craig Ritchie

Any discussion about luxury yachts requires a basic command of Italian, with fabled marques like Ferretti, Benetti, Baglietto, Filippetti, Azimut, Sanlorenzo, Rossinavi and Riva dominating the conversation. Yet Canadians needn’t feel left out, as our home and native land is also known for its share of luxury yacht nameplates, including globally acclaimed builders like Crescent Custom Yachts and West Bay Sonship in B.C. and Neptunus Yachts in Ontario.

Located in St. Catherines on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, Neptunus Yachts has been quietly creating yachts for more than 30 years. It has launched more than 180 to date, including a growing number of CE Category A ocean-certified vessels, including the acclaimed Neptunus 650F .

The mid-sized 650F is a three-stateroom, three-head flybridge yacht with a performance hull design and magnificent interiors featuring leather seating, natural walnut joinery, and designer-inspired accents. For 2022 the 650F gains an all-new layout that delivers the company’s most spacious, open, and bright interior yet. Let’s take a closer look.

The Neptunus 650F rides on a resin-infused hull that incorporates two layers of Kevlar for an optimal balance of strength and rigidity. Stretching 20.2 metres, the 650F also measures a full five metres wide–a beefy beam that contributes both to its seakeeping ability and its generous interior space. With twin Caterpillar C18 engines churning out a hefty 1,136 horsepower apiece, that performance hull will clip along quite comfortably at 26 knots and reach 31 knots at full throttle. That’s impressive performance for a 35,380-kilogram yacht and demonstrates the efficiency of the 650F’s innovative hull design.

With its 3,785-litre fuel capacity, 1,204-litre freshwater capacity, and 582-litre waste capacity, the 650F is clearly built for serious, extended cruising. Look below the floorboards, and you’ll find that supported by a 20-kilowatt Northern Lights generator, 15-horsepower proportional thrusters at the bow and stern, a Seakeeper stabilizer system, a Yacht Controller joystick remote control for one-handed docking, and more.

Yacht builders normally brag about the length of their options list, but Neptunus includes all the goodies as standard equipment because, let’s face it, we all want them anyway. So why play around?

The 650F has a time-tested layout, with a large settee facing an elegant rectangular table in the cockpit for al fresco drinks or meals while under the protection of the full hardtop. Hand-laid teak decking provides a luxurious yet hard-wearing finish to this high-traffic outdoor space.

A portside staircase leads up to the flybridge deck, where guests can lounge in comfort on a huge wraparound settee that surrounds a pedestal-mount table. A raised quartz table with four chairs faces a small galley area, while the helm station, with its three Pompanette helm chairs with flip-up bolsters, provides a commanding view of the helm, complete with its twin Raymarine 16-inch Axiom touch-screen displays and room to add a third. Dual 16,000 BTU air conditioning units ensure the flybridge stays comfortable on even the hottest summer days.

Back on the main deck, stepping inside through the full-beam glass door reveals an aft-galley complete with a centre island, quartz countertops, and stainless steel appliances. To the port side of the galley lies a beverage centre, complete with a Jura coffeemaker with one-touch cappuccino function, and a JennAir beverage unit.

Forward of the galley and two steps up is an inviting salon and a raised L-shaped dinette offering 360-degree views through the 650F’s oversized windows. A 49-inch QLED TV with a Sony sound system provides evening entertainment in front of the oversized white-leather settees.

When it’s time to tuck in at the end of the day, guests enjoy a choice of two luxurious staterooms below. A comfortable starboard-side double cabin offers direct access to the day head, while the larger bow VIP suite offers a queen bed, side windows, an overhead vent hatch, and greater overall space.

The owners enjoy a full-beam, midship master suite with every luxury, including a king bed, large his-and-hers closets, and an expansive ensuite with shower. Large side windows with opening port holes flood the space with fresh air and natural light.

There are also discreet crew quarters far aft, accessed through a transom hatch off the swim platform. For those self-crewing the yacht, this private space will prove a real hit with the kids. Or spec the yacht as a self-crewed vessel to start with and enjoy the bonus storage space for supplies.

For more than 30 years, Neptunus has earned an international reputation as a boater’s boat–a yacht designed and built by yachters who know what does and doesn’t work on the water. If there were ever a vessel made for serious cruising in demanding Canadian waters–or around the world—then the 650F is it.

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YACHT TEST: Neptunus Yachts 650 Express

A true custom boat-building experience at an affordable price, right here at home in Canada.

Celebrating the Past

Jan Willem De Jong came over from the Netherlands in 1989 along with his partner Martin.  They had formed a partnership with CNC Yachts to build a few boats for them, and things started to go south.  Three boats were finished, two were not when the Canadian dollar strengthened and the luxury tax in the USA was brought in.  CNC went under, and Jan and Martin had a decision to make: do they pull out or dive in?

Beam:  16’ 7” / 4.07 m

Draft:  4’ 8” / 1.4 m

Displacement  77,000 lbs / 35,000 kgs

Fuel:  1,130 gals / 4,292 L

Water: 3 00 gals / 1,140 L

Waste:  130 gals / 494 L

Engines:  Twin CAT C-18 ACERT @  1,000 HP each

Generator:  21.5 kW

Max Speed:  31 knots

Cruising Speed:  26 knots

For more information Neptunus Yachts 8 Keefer Road, St. Catherines, OntarioL2M 7N9 www.neptunusyachts.com 

In 1991, they rented the old Hinterhoeller Sailboat plant from the bank, hired about a dozen of the former CNC Yachts employees and began developing new models.  Business was slow in the first year or two.  By 1994 Neptunus was the only builder making yachts of any significant size in Canada.  Their decision to dive in had started to pay off and they had seven boats in production. By 1999, the all-new 54 Express introduced a complete new concept.  The design featured a full-height sliding glass door in the aft under a fully enclosed hard-top.  “Back then, it was an industry leader – now everybody has one – perhaps we should have patented it,” Jan laughed as he recounted the story to me. Between 1995 and 1999, Neptunus came out with a 65 and a 70 foot express motor yacht, with everything from the mold to the finished product built right there at the factory from start to finish.  “By 2000, we had grown to 60 employees and in 2001 the company was sold to an investor out of Oakville.  I was running production from 2001 to 2004, and in 2004 I was promoted to the VP of Sales and Marketing,” Jan shared proudly as he recounted the history. “By 2007, our workforce had grown to 110 employees.  Then everything changed seemingly overnight – more like in four to five months – but it felt like overnight.  The economic crash of 2008 hit the entire boat-building industry hard.  Banks weren’t lending money, you couldn’t sell your product all because of the collapse of the housing market in the USA, the Canadian dollar got really strong, and oil hit an all-time high.” Neptunus Yachts, unlike many boat manufacturers, survived mostly through great management, no inventory to carry (the two boats in production were both sold by the end of 2008), cutting staff to less than ten employees, and a second investor (who bought the company in 2008) “…who was able to keep the doors open and the lights on,” Jan said.

Better Times

Looking Forward

Highest Industry Standard Possible

There are a few world-wide standards under which boat and yachts are classified.  The North American traditional standard that most boaters would be familiar with is ABYC (American Boat and Yacht Council) .  The European standard is the CE certification which has four levels – “A” thru “D”.  Neptunus Yachts builds every one of their boats to the CE “A” classification which basically means ‘unlimited offshore’ – capable of running in 4 metre or 12 foot seas.  It’s the highest standard in the entire industry.  It requires a complete re-design of the vessel from the thickness of the fiberglass, to the fire-suppression system, to the entire electrical harness and systems, to the noise suppression, and every on-board safety measure.  The result is a yacht that is self-sufficient in hostile seas.

The Yacht Itself:  The 650 Express

The delivery difference.

At present, there are 38 production staff plus 5 more office staff that are the heart of Neptunus Yachts.  Of their past six new boat orders, four came from previous Neptunus owners and two are new customers.  “We’ve just received an order for a 2017 delivery that will take us eight months to build.  That customer, like most, will come to the plant about five to six times to see their new boat in production and take photos so they have a full story on their boat,” Jan said. “At Neptunus, we are a small custom boat builder who builds to the highest standards in the industry at a competitive price.”        

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