Holland Yachts
Contest Yachts
When he began his work in the 1950s, Ed Conijn could scarcely have envisaged that, nearly 50 years on, some 3,000 Contest yachts would be traversing the world's oceans. At the helm of this company, it seems that a passion for sailing genuinely runs in the blood. Driven by a constant desire to keep their yachts at the highest possible level in terms of comfort and performance, innovation and craftsmanship are given top priority.
It all started almost 50 years ago: As the owner of a timber yard, Ed Conijn, was more than familiar with the use of different materials such as wood and polyester. He was also passionately interested in boats and sailing so it was a natural move to put his knowledge of timber, joinery and finishes together with his enthusiasm for watersports, and start building boats. After gaining experience with building the open Flying Dutchman boats, in 1959 Conyplex launched its first cruising yacht, the Contest 25. This design was an immediate international success and served as the foundation of the company.
Under the guidance of Fritz Conijn, Ed's son, Conyplex grew into a yacht builder of global stature, and the emphasis shifted from serial building to semi-customised yachts between 40 and 65 feet. Together with Marcel Borgmann, Arjen Conijn recently became the third generation of the family to take over the helm of the company.
Conyplex has always kept the entire production process in its own hands, including an in-house engineering department. This guarantees customers the highest possible standards.
There are four major factors in the continuous search to optimise the Contest yachts:
Close cooperation with leading research institutes;
A key role for innovation;
Ongoing training of personnel;
Feedback from experienced Contest owners.
This approach has resulted in major product developments such as:
The vacuum injection method, developed in 1995 in cooperation with the Technical University and TNO research institute in Delft;
The new foil technique used for furniture. Surfaces to be glued are placed on top of each other and covered with vacuum foil;
The implementation of the Finite Elements Analysis for calculating hull and deck constructions. This advanced methodology results in stronger, sturdier and above all more lightweight yachts.
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