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Abeking and Rasmussen is the second German yard at the top of the market, sitting beside Lürssen with a deliberately smaller hull count and an equally deliberate engineering-first culture. Founded 1907 in Lemwerder on the Weser, the yard delivered roughly 6,500 hulls across yacht, naval, commercial, and minehunter programmes since founding [VERIFY: cumulative delivery figure across all programmes]. The yacht-side has produced roughly 30 deliveries above 50m since 1990, with new-build pricing in 2026 running $90M for 60m projects to $400M and up for 110m-plus customs. The yard is family-owned by the Schaedla family and has not been through the private-equity churn that some peer yards have, which is part of why the engineering culture has remained consistent.
We would commission an Abeking and Rasmussen for any owner with a 70m-plus custom brief, a five-to-six-year horizon, and a willingness to pay at the German ceiling. The yard's combined yacht-and-naval engineering is the genuine differentiator: noise and vibration work, hull structural design, and systems redundancy sit at the level of Lürssen and Feadship, sometimes above. We would not commission Abeking for a buyer who wants design-led directional styling or who needs a 3-year delivery: that is not what this yard does.
This buyer's review is built from one broker contributor with 6 years selling Abeking-built hulls, one captain with 7 years on Aviva and subsequent assignments on Abeking-built yachts, and our walk-throughs of three Abeking yachts at Monaco and Fort Lauderdale between 2022 and 2025. Yard-supplied figures are marked [VERIFY: yard-supplied].
What Abeking and Rasmussen actually is
Abeking and Rasmussen was founded in 1907 by Henry Rasmussen and George Abeking in Lemwerder, Germany. The yard sits on the Weser river, roughly 30km downstream from Bremen, on a long-established shipyard site. The company is family-owned and has remained under the Schaedla family management for several generations. Day-to-day leadership has been remarkably stable through the last three decades.
The yard runs three integrated business lines from the Lemwerder site.
Yacht new-build. Customs and small semi-customs in the 50m to 130m bracket.
Naval new-build. Minehunters, multi-role support vessels, and survey ships for European navies. The naval programmes are a significant part of the yard's revenue and a major reason the engineering culture stays sharp.
Commercial new-build and refit. Pilot tenders, special-purpose commercial vessels, and substantial refit work on the yacht and commercial side.
The yacht product is fully custom or very lightly semi-custom. Abeking does not run platform builds in the Amels sense. Each hull is engineered from a clean sheet within the yard's accumulated engineering envelope. Notable recent yacht deliveries include Aviva (98m, 2017), Cloudbreak (72m, 2016), Excellence (80m, 2019), and Soaring (68m, 2020) [VERIFY: launch years for each].
What separates an Abeking build
Three things stand out at Abeking against Lürssen and the Dutch competition.
Yacht-and-naval engineering crossover. Abeking's parallel naval programmes mean the structural, systems, and noise-and-vibration engineering on the yacht-side benefits from defence-grade discipline. The structural redundancy on the larger yachts and the underwater radiated noise signatures (genuinely meaningful for owners who care about how the yacht sounds at anchor and underway) are above the broader market. Aviva's at-rest noise levels became a benchmark inside the industry for a reason.
Multi-hull engineering capability. Abeking has built the SWATH yacht Silver Cloud (the small-waterplane-area twin-hull yacht delivered 2008), Sea Owl with its unusually deep retractable keel, and Soaring with its unconventional layout choices. The yard's willingness and capability to take on unconventional engineering briefs sits alongside Oceanco's at the top of the industry.
Family-ownership consistency. No private-equity owner has rotated through the yard in the modern era. Engineering culture and senior leadership have stayed in place. The yard's behaviour through delivery, post-delivery warranty, and 5-year-on-out support has been more consistent than at yards that have changed hands.
The trade-offs are real.
Small hull count and limited slots. Abeking delivers roughly one to two yachts per year above 50m [VERIFY: current delivery cadence]. The order book is typically full 4 to 6 years out. Slot availability for new contracts is constrained.
Pricing at the German ceiling. Abeking is priced comparably to Lürssen at the same LOA. There is no discount for the smaller installed base or smaller marketing footprint. New-build cost-per-LOA runs $1.8M to $3.5M per metre at the 70m-to-100m bracket, putting Abeking at the top of the German market alongside Lürssen.
Quieter brand profile. Abeking has historically done very little brand marketing. This is not a problem for owners (the yard's reputation in the industry is strong), but it means the brand floor at resale is slightly below Lürssen's at equivalent LOA. The yacht is known by the people who matter. The yacht is less known by the casual brokerage market, and the resale process can take longer.
The project profile
Notable Abeking deliveries from the last decade worth knowing for buyers and charter clients:
Aviva. 98m, delivered 2017. Reza Pahlavi Foundation-related provenance has been widely reported [VERIFY: actual ownership history]. The owner-spec list included an indoor padel court. The hull is widely regarded as a benchmark for engineering execution at this LOA.
Cloudbreak. 72m, delivered 2016. Explorer-styled motor yacht, available for charter, peak weekly rates in the $700K to $900K bracket [VERIFY: current charter rate]. Strong charter market track record.
Excellence. 80m, delivered 2019. Distinctive Winch Design exterior with a near-vertical bow profile. Charter market presence in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Soaring. 68m, delivered 2020. Conventional motor yacht with a strong contemporary interior brief.
Liva O. 70m, delivered 2021 [VERIFY: launch year]. Recent delivery with hybrid propulsion.
What we would buy
Two buy paths into Abeking and Rasmussen make sense in 2026.
New-build 70m to 90m custom for owners with a five-to-six-year horizon. Pricing $130M to $280M depending on specification and complexity. Engineering envelope at the top of the German market. Strong brand floor at resale among informed buyers. The right answer for owners who want naval-grade engineering, are not in a hurry, and value the family-ownership consistency.
Brokerage 60m to 90m Abeking hulls from 2010 to 2018. Asking prices run $30M to $90M depending on hull and specification. Survey results have been consistently excellent on Abeking-built yachts. Refit cost behaves predictably (the yard's combined naval-and-yacht engineering means systems documentation and parts traceability are strong). A well-surveyed 2014 to 2017 Abeking in the 70m to 80m bracket at $50M to $80M is one of the most engineering-credible buys in this LOA range.
What we passed on
Two patterns we steer buyers away from.
Buyers who want a 3-year delivery on a 70m-plus custom. Abeking's order book is structurally 4 to 6 years out. Buyers needing faster delivery should be at Amels (for platform builds) or at the larger Italian yards. Pushing Abeking to compress timeline is not productive, and the yard generally will not chase the business.
Buyers who want directional design statements. Abeking's exterior styling is conservative by yard culture. The yard works with strong design partners (Winch, Reymond Langton, Sinot, others), but the yard's own engineering-first orientation tends to anchor projects toward conservative resolutions. Buyers who want a yacht that genuinely surprises on design should be at Oceanco or, in the Italian market, at the design-led customs.
The yards we would compare Abeking and Rasmussen against
Lürssen. The direct German comparable. Lürssen has the larger installed base, the larger build halls (capable of yachts to 180m), the larger brand footprint, and comparable engineering. Abeking has the smaller hull count, the parallel naval engineering depth, and the family-ownership consistency. For most 70m-to-100m projects the choice is design-team and broker-relationship driven. Above 100m, Lürssen is the default by capability. See the Lürssen review.
Feadship. The Dutch reference. Feadship and Abeking both build to the top engineering standard in the market. Feadship has the stronger consumer-facing brand and the strongest Dutch resale floor. Abeking has the naval engineering crossover. Pricing is comparable. The choice is geography and design-partner driven. See the Feadship review.
Oceanco. The Dutch design-ambitious alternative. Oceanco is more willing to take on directional design and technically ambitious projects. Abeking is more conservative on styling but at least as capable on engineering. See the Oceanco review.
Nobiskrug. The other quieter German yard. Nobiskrug's project record has been more variable than Abeking's, and the yard has been through more ownership turbulence [VERIFY: current Nobiskrug ownership and status]. Abeking is the more reliable German alternative below Lürssen.
Cost and timeline in 2026
New-build cost. $90M to $130M for 60m to 70m customs. $130M to $200M for 70m to 85m. $200M to $300M for 85m to 100m. $300M to $400M+ for 100m to 130m flagship customs.
Build time. 4 to 5 years for 60m to 80m. 5 to 6 years for 80m to 100m. 5 to 7 years for 100m-plus.
Resale value at year 10. 60 to 75 percent of new-build value for hulls with consistent maintenance records. The Abeking brand floor at resale among informed buyers is strong; the brokerage process can take 12 to 18 months because the buyer pool is smaller than for Lürssen or Feadship at the same LOA.
Refit cost. Abeking handles its own refit work at Lemwerder. Lürssen Refit Bremerhaven, MB92 La Ciotat, and Pendennis Falmouth are the typical alternatives. A 10-year refit on a 75m Abeking runs $6M to $14M depending on scope.
The honest verdict
Abeking and Rasmussen is the second German yard at the top of the market and one of the four or five yards in the world capable of delivering a naval-grade, engineering-first 80m custom. The family-ownership consistency, the parallel naval programmes, and the willingness to take on unconventional engineering briefs are the genuine differentiators.
The yard is the right answer for owners with a 70m-plus brief, a five-to-six-year horizon, and a budget at the German ceiling. It is not the right answer for buyers who want fast delivery, directional design, or a more visible brand at resale.
For the brokerage buyer, an Abeking from the 2014 to 2018 cycle in the 70m to 80m bracket is among the most engineering-credible buys in the LOA range, with the caveat that the resale liquidity is thinner than for the higher-volume Dutch and Italian alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Is Abeking and Rasmussen a good yacht builder? Yes. Abeking is one of the top three or four yards in the world for engineering-led custom builds in the 70m-plus bracket. The yard's parallel naval programmes keep the engineering culture sharp.
How much does a new Abeking yacht cost? $90M to $130M for 60m to 70m customs. $130M to $200M for 70m to 85m. $200M to $300M for 85m to 100m. $300M to $400M and up for 100m to 130m flagship customs.
Abeking vs Lürssen: which is better? Comparable engineering standard. Lürssen has the larger installed base, the larger build halls (yachts to 180m), and the broader brand footprint. Abeking has the smaller hull count, the parallel naval engineering depth, and the family-ownership consistency. Below 100m the choice is design-team driven. Above 100m, Lürssen is the default by capability.
What is Aviva? Aviva is the 98m Abeking and Rasmussen delivery from 2017, widely regarded as a benchmark execution at this LOA. The owner-spec list included an indoor padel court.
Does Abeking build sailing yachts? Historically yes, though the yard's current product profile is dominated by motor yachts. The yard remains capable of large sailing builds with the right brief.
Where should I refit an Abeking? The yard's own refit operation at Lemwerder for yard-specific work. Lürssen Refit Bremerhaven and MB92 La Ciotat are the typical alternatives.
What is the resale value of a 10-year-old Abeking? 60 to 75 percent of new-build value with consistent maintenance records. The brokerage process can take 12 to 18 months because the buyer pool is smaller than for Lürssen or Feadship.
Are there current Abeking build slots available? The order book is typically 4 to 6 years out. Slot availability is constrained and depends on annual yard capacity (one to two new yacht deliveries per year above 50m on average). Buyers should expect to wait or to consider an existing brokerage hull.
Is Abeking suitable for an unconventional engineering brief? Yes. The yard has delivered the SWATH yacht Silver Cloud, the deep-keel Sea Owl, and other unconventional projects. The yard's willingness to take on technically demanding briefs is one of its core differentiators.
Last updated 2026-05.