Berthon Spain Review Service and Refit | 2025

By Rowan Fairbrass

Twenty twenty four (2024) has been a great year of development for the Berthon Spain Service Team. In addition to a new Head Office location at the heart of Palma’s superyacht scene; we are now officially recognised by a selection of international engineering firms; have new partnerships with pioneering electrical engineering companies and our Big Blue Shed is full of superyacht tenders awaiting service.

Last spring we announced our appointment as the official Yanmar dealers for the Balearic Islands. Over the following months our engineers carried out a total of three new Yanmar engine installations. As with all new installs, this included direct collaboration with Yanmar Spain for the commissioning and first start-up of the new engines. Yanmar provide quality production and reliable after sales assistance, which is the perfect marriage for Berthon Spain.

The first main engine installation was aboard 24m sailing yacht BLISS II, her owner is a long term client. With a complex arrangement of scaffolding, pulleys and the clever use of the halyards, our engineers successfully removed the old Steyr engine and mounted the new Yanmar engine into position.

Following our success with Yanmar, our Head of Technical Jaume managed to secure a second official dealership with Mercury Marine. For many years we have been servicing outboards aboard superyacht tenders as part of their winter refit schedule. As the official Mercury Marine dealers, we are able to offer our clients an even better service.

In 2024 we also worked on a number of Royal Huisman built yachts. On Motor Yacht HUSH, sold to the current owner by Berthon, the service team installed a brand-new Kohler generator, which coupled with an enormous electrical project has revolutionised the way the yacht functions.

Of course, our engineers continue to work on the rest of the Berthon Spain fleet and we are particularly busy during the haul out season. During this time, we are dropping rudders, checking rudder bearings, removing propeller shafts and changing cutlass bearings. Sea cock servicing and checking all through-hull fittings under the water line also make up part of the workload during this time of year.

All of our out of water works are carried out in conjunction with our paint department who are always extremely busy applying antifoul by either roller or using the less common spray application. We are the official applicators for PropSpeed, selling and applying this high quality product which we always rave about as it delivers. Throughout 2024 we have added both gel coat and composite specialists to our service team, expanding the skill set available in house at Berthon Spain Service.

Our electrical team has gone from strength to strength, and continue to work with B&G, Mastervolt, C-Zone, and we have also become a dealer for Böning. Lithium battery installations remain a core part of the work carried out by our Electrical Department; working with BYD, Mastervolt and Victron. Navigation installations are another big part of our Electrical Teams’ remit and we have carried out numerous new installations as well as offering continued technical support for our existing clients. We have also seen a steady increase in demand for the design, installation and repair of PLC systems aboard our clients’ yachts.

Last year we carried out a major solar panel installation on a Catana 65, completely revolutionising the way her owners could enjoy her as she now runs in silence. 56 photovoltaic panels were coupled with Victron charge controllers and Mastervolt Lithium batteries.

As official Starlink installers, we carried out 6 full installations in 2024. Starlink is now the most common method of onboard communication. We have even installed a new system on a superyacht tender!

Yacht Management and Guardiennage are core parts of our service business and we continue to add to our fleet of happy clients in Palma and worldwide. We are delighted to be trusted to keep many high quality yachts in immaculate condition. At the moment, our fleet comprises of an Oyster 575, Oyster 62’, Outremer 48’, Truly Classic 65’, Gunfleet 58’, Discovery 55’, Windy 38’, Swan 65’, Swan 68’ and a Sunseeker Manhattan 60’.

Based in our storage facility and workshop in Poligono Son Oms, our fabrication department crafts a steady supply of custom-made products. These range from custom pieces designed for specific rigging projects, polished stainless deck fittings and carts designed and built to support immense weights. Our team are highly skilled and work in stainless steel, delrin, nitronic, aluminium and bronze.

Winch spares are another example of the precise manufacturing requirements we are able to meet. Because Mallorca is an island, we are regularly plagued with slow delivery times. We can eliminate that delay and so our team are the go to people for servicing large winches and windlasses, especially Muir, Lewmar and Harken.

A major accomplishment in 2024 for Berthon Spain’s MD Andrew Fairbrass was negotiating the move into the world renowned STP shipyard in Palma de Mallorca. During the hottest month of the year, our office manager Alice Dubini, accounts team and guardiennage manager Addy Daly, along with Andrew, moved in. Being at the heart of the action, surrounded by some of the largest yachts on the planet, and a bustling superyacht scene is critical for Berthon Spain’s continued growth in the yacht service business. The timing could not have been better, with the announcement in October that STP was investing in an ambitious expansion project. This initiative will increase the shipyard area by 32,000m² encompassing both water berths and hardstanding ashore. In addition to this there are five new berths are construction, which will be capable of welcoming superyachts up to 110m in overall length.

Mallorca is not the cheapest place to berth a yacht, which is why the Berthon Service Team is mobile, travelling to mainland Spain for refit projects, which is a trend set to continue we feel, in 2025.

With the first phase of improvements already under way, we are excited to see what 2025 will bring to the yachting industry in Palma de Mallorca. We hope to welcome you and your yacht here as well, and to give her some Berthon love so that she is ready for your yachting projects.

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