- Founded
- 1999
- Headquarters
- IJmuiden, Netherlands
- Shipyard location
- Same as headquarters
- Official website
- https://saffieryachts.com/
Brand Overview
Dutch builder of performance daysailers and small cruising yachts, based in IJmuiden since the Hennevanger family launched the first Saffier model in 1999.
Overview written fromsaffieryachts.com/history/read 9/13/2026
YachtCodex Analysis
AI-generatedAn independent reading of this builder written by AI. Unlike the specifications and descriptions elsewhere on this page, it is interpretation rather than a sourced fact — treat it as a starting point, not a citation.
What this builder is
Saffier Yachts is a Dutch builder based in IJmuiden known for fast, elegant daysailers and small cruising yachts across its Elegance, Classic, and Luxury ranges. Rooted in a family sailing heritage going back to the 1960s, the brand distinguishes itself with performance-oriented, easily handled boats rather than high-volume production cruisers.
Who sails them
Typical buyers are experienced daysailors and weekend cruisers, often couples or small families, who value quick, responsive sailing for coastal daysailing and short cruises rather than long-distance liveaboard voyaging. Many are repeat sailors upgrading from dinghies or windsurfers who want an easily handled, high-performance yacht that can be sailed shorthanded.
Signature models
The Saffier 6.50 (launched 1999, the brand's first model) and Saffier 8.00 (2002, named Boat of the Year and European Boat of the Year) established the brand, while the modern SE 33 Life and SL 46 represent the current range's midsize cruiser and flagship luxury models.
Strengths
Saffier is repeatedly credited with building fast, well-balanced, easily handled daysailers with strong build quality and a loyal owner following, reflected in awards like Boat of the Year for the Saffier 8.00.
Considerations
Saffier's range is narrow and focused on daysailers and small-to-midsize cruisers (up to ~14m), so buyers seeking larger blue-water cruisers or multihulls will need to look elsewhere; as a smaller Dutch builder, dealer/service network abroad may be less extensive than larger mass-market brands.
Analysis generated 9/13/2026
Part of
Where they build
The building sites this yard publishes, in its own order.
IJmuiden
IJmuiden, Netherlands
Fleet at a Glance
Calculated from the models in the YachtCodex catalog, not from the builder's claims.
- Models in catalog
- 7
- Length range
- 7–14.9 m
- Hull forms
- Sailing Monohull 7
- Cabins
- 1–3
Models by this brand
7 models
Elegance4
History
The Saffier story begins in Sydney, where Richard Hennevanger opened his first yard in 1960 and built the Santana 22 and 26; he worked on Gretel 2, the 12-Metre that in 1970 became the first non-US challenger to win an America's Cup race, and the family sailed around the world between 1972 and 1980 before the windsurfing successes of the 1980s. The yard settled at the new IJmuiden marina in the Netherlands in 1997, took its first show orders in 1998, and passed to the next generation, Dennis and Dean Hennevanger, in 2001 with the Saffier 8 metre, fifty of which were built. The Saffier Se 26 of 2008, one of the first 26-footers with a wheel and every line led to the helm, won European Yacht of the Year and sold over 140; the SE 23 of 2010 won it again unanimously in 2011 as the first Saffier with electric propulsion. The SE 27 Leisure took the award in 2021 and the SE 33 Life in 2022 -- the first yard ever to win two years running -- the SE 24 Lite won it in 2024, a new shipyard opened in 2022, and the SL46 MED of 2024 opened a luxury line.
History written fromsaffieryachts.com/timeline/· Timelineread 9/22/2026