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T H E   SHIPYARD

Germania VI - Construction.jpg
Germania VI - at sea.jpg

GERMANIA VI

Sources: A & R

TRADITIONAL SHIPYARD on the shores of river  WESER

Anyone who clicks on the A&R website today (abeking.com), finds the representation of a world-renowned  shipyard for mega yachts, special and military ships. However, the roots of the company and its reputation lie in building excellent sailing yachts.

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Many great, well-known classics from the pen of Henry Rasmussen and many other renowned designers were created in Lemwerder - but not just large yachts. A&R has traditionally also been in business with fine small boats - perhaps most famously Rasmussen's wonderful Hansa dinghy. The impressive building number of 6,506 in the 112 years from its founding in 1907 to 2019 therefore also includes a large number of small units. A&R also built 511 pirate dinghies from 1941 to 1970. This was one of the company's strengths: too: In order to successfully shape such a long company history, technical innovation is not enough; the business model also had to be constantly adapted to changing times. A&R has always succeeded in this admirably, including in the past with the construction of small units and with the launch of various series wooden yachts.

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The shipyard from Lemwerder had already had good business relations with the USA since the mid-1920s. when six R-yachts of the 8.8m class were delivered in 1925/26. After the Second World War, A&R was able to successfully build on these established relationships. Famous here is, among other things, the Concordia Yawl developed for the US market, of which 99 units were built in Lemwerder over 15 years from the end of the 1950s on and equipped in the USA.

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n 1963 A&R achieved a technical innovation that was also relevant for SNIFIX DRY. At that time, the Lemwerder company ushered in a new era in yacht building: According to plans by Sparkman & Stephens the GERMANIA VI was built for Alfried Krupp v. Bohlen and Halbach. She was the first welded aluminum ship on the continent. Looking at it this way, it can definitely be said that SNIFIX DRY was created in 1978 at the shipyard with the most experience in this construction method!

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When Henry Rasmussens died in 1959 at the age of 82, his grandson Hermann Schaedla took over management of the company at the age of 24. He was able to continue A&R's success, even in difficult times. When asked about the structural crisis that affected shipbuilding in Germany in the 1980s, in 1996 he was overmodest when he remarked that A&R was "not a shipyard at all", but a company that manufactured "toys for adults". .

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After more than 50 years at the helm of the still independent family business, Hermann Schaedla handed over management to his son Hans Schaedla in 2011.

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