page_title: Nordhavn (yacht)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Nordhavn (yacht) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A 56 ft. Nordhavn Motorsailer under sail
context_page_description: Nordhavn is a trade name of a line of ocean-going trawler-styled motor yachts designed and produced by Pacific Asian Enterprises, Inc. of Dana Point, California.
context_section_description: Pacific Asian Enterprises, a California corporation, was incorporated in 1978. Dan Streech and Jim Leishman, the president and vice president respectively, were two of the company's three founding partners; Joe Meglen, the third founding partner, left the company in 2004. Originally, Pacific Asian Enterprises contracted to have vessels, including CT-41 and TransPac 49 sailing yachts, built in Taiwan and imported them into the USA.  In its early years, the company's most successful product was its line of sailing yachts designed by naval architect Al Mason, starting with the Mason 43. In 1978, Jim Leishman's brother, still in high school, began working part-time for the company. He attended Saddleback College and obtained an AA degree but failed to finish his BA. The brother obtained a degree in naval architecture by subsequently enrolling in a home-study, pass-fail correspondence course at an institution at that time called The Yacht Design Institute and became PAE's chief designer. He does not hold a professional license. 
  With the sailing yacht market in serious decline, in 1988 PAE built its first trawler—the Nordhavn 46 conceived by Jim Leishman and designed by his brother. As of the end of 2009, more than 500 Nordhavns had been built.
  For several years in the 1990s PAE's standard offerings were its Nordhavn 46, 50, 57 and 62, vessels. However, in 1999 the company built the first in a new series of vessels: the Nordhavn 40, 43, 47, and 55.  These vessels are high on the water, with a flying bridge stacked atop the pilot house, and carry their beam far forward, reducing efficiency and trading good looks for greater interior capacity.
  In 2000, the Nordhavn 35 was built.  The first 35s—designed as 15-knot vessels—were so heavy they couldn't meet their design speed. Later hulls in the series included a tunnel over the propeller, and a "lightening" program made later Nordhavn 35s faster than the originals, but the 35 never gained market traction and the company discontinued the model after 23 were built.
  One 40-foot (12 m) 'stock' Nordhavn was the smallest production powered vessel to circumnavigate the world, from November 3, 2001 - June 30, 2002. It covered more than 24,000 miles (39,000 km) over some 170 days at sea, starting and ending its circumnavigation at Dana Point, California.
  Nordhavn also produced a Passagesailer, though none have been built for several years due to lack of demand. Originally designed at 50 feet (15 m), it has been produced as a 56-footer, a displacement of over 70,000 lbs, and a 750-gallon fuel capacity. The boat is powered by the Lugger 1066 T diesel engine and has a top speed of over 10 knots. Its 36-inch four-bladed propeller can be feathered to enhance sailing performance. Under sail power alone it can cruise at up to 8 knots. Seven have been sold.
  Along with the motorsailer, the company built a 75-foot sportfishing boat and a 59-foot coastal cruiser.  Like the Nordhavn 35, these have not resonated well with Nordhavn's traditional customers, and sales have been disappointing: three Nordhavn 75 sportfishermen, and two or three new 18-to-20-knot Nordhavn 59 coastal pilots, introduced in 2017.
caption: A 56 ft. Nordhavn Motorsailer under sail
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