nautor's swan 90

case study

In July 2008 Matt Cowpe was contracted by Nautor to oversee the commissioning, testing and delivery of Swan 90/703. Due to unforseen circumstances, although the yacht was completed, she had not been launched, didn't have any owner supply equipment or indeed a crew!

We were tasked to get the programme back on track and to meet the owners wish to have a holiday, in France, just 6 weeks later. All this of course had to be done to budget.

Using 15 years of experience working with Swans, we were able to propose a budget for the delivery and a further budget for the essential equipment that would be needed immediately. Once signed off, this was all sourced, ordered and delivered to Finland.

In the mean time we put a delivery crew together which was to be Captained by Matt Cowpe of VMG Projects and started to work with the Nautor staff on testing and commissioning the systems. Understanding the Nautor ethos and way of work helped immensely in this period - dramatically reducing the normal familiarisation period. We were also able to have some very useful dialogue with the project managers and workforce aboard regarding certain aspects of how yachts are used once they leave the yard - feedback that sometime doesn't reach the shop floor. Once again this highlighted how essential it is for an owner to be represented during the build.

Just three weeks after launching the yacht and having been slightly delayed by weather the yacht left the yard. No fixed stopovers were planned. They would be made when necessary. In the event we made a stop for fuel, provisions and a weather window in Plymouth, UK and then a further pit-stop in Gibraltar for fuel.

The yacht arrived on the Cote d'Azur exactly to the schedule and 36 hours later the owner stepped on board with guests. The delivery completed without breakdown, on time and to budget. A big thank you to all the crew that assisted and worked very hard to get the yacht to France and have her ready for the owner's cruise - we had some awesome sailing along the way too!!!

	ability to respond to developing situations
	versatility means objectives are met
	budget and timeline control
	on-site coordination