Company history

One of Europe’s oldest shipyards, Contest Yachts was founded in 1959 by Ed Conijn, an avid yachtsman and sailing enthusiast. The company has remained a family business for three generations, which is rare for shipbuilders of such a respectable age. The tulip was chosen as the logo symbolizing pride in the national product.

The company started with the construction of Olympic dinghies and small cruise sailing ships. The first success of Contest Yachts was brought by Contest 25, designed by Gerard Luyten. Over 300 copies were sold in the USA alone.

Since 1972 all the boats of the yard are certified by the leading classification society Lloyds Register.

And even the very first yacht, 60 years later, is on the water.

In the mid 90’s the company modernized its production and introduced the vacuum infusion method. And since 1998, the shipyard has been offering customers several layouts for each model.

The shipbuilder has repeatedly become the winner of exhibitions of world importance. One of the last awards was the Contest 42CS at Boot Düsseldorf in 2014.

Status .

The company continues its work. In 2019, at the time of writing, the shipyard was managed by the grandson of the founder, Arjen Conijn, who took over the reins in 2003.

Production .

Since 1965, Contest Yachts production facilities have been located in a factory in Mediemblica. The company occupies a segment of expensive yachts and does not chase for quantity. Annually about 50 boats leave the slipways of the shipyard.

Model range

Contest Yachts boats are distinguished not only by their high quality, but also by the comfort that is reflected in everything. Luxury cruising yachts have received a lot of space on deck for a pleasant rest, spacious salons and cabins. At the same time the comfortable protected cockpit allows to operate the vessel easily.

Since 2011, the shipyard has expanded its model range and discovered a new motor yacht direction. The company has added to its portfolio gliding models with flybridge, closed cruising boats with hardtop, open and semi-closed yachts.

Features

The shipyard is the oldest European shipbuilder who started to use fibreglass in their boats – this happened more than 45 years ago. Fritz Konain himself (Arjena’s father and former shipyard manager) claims that his shipyard employs Europe’s best plastics specialists.