This article was written with the support of Lurssen
Lurssen is a family-owned business that has grown from a modest beginning to just four generations into the best shipbuilder. It is built on core principles of quality, innovation and engineering excellence. These principles remain just as true today. Celebrating Jubilee, Lucen prepares to realize his next step towards a sailboat visionary future.
When Friedrich Lucen founded Lucen in 1875 at just 24 years old, he quickly solidified his reputation for building exquisitely tuned hand row boats, and later, along with Gottlieb Daimler, he developed the world's first motorboat with a combustion engine.
These early Lucen boats were original and stylish, cut from the finest forests and became meticulous standard. Friedrich Lucen became famous for being personally involved from the first cut to the final delivery, greeting his team every morning at the gate. His passion and the precedent he set for quality and performance have become synonymous with Lurssen.
“We take great pride in looking back at how Lucen has evolved into the company we are today,” says Peter Larssen. “We spent 150 years of trials, challenges and joy. There was storms and success. But these success stories do not belong to Larsen as a company. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all our employees, past and present.
Values are passed down from generation to generation, and success comes from people's expertise and dedication. Not only is Lurssen a family-owned business, but many of its deals and crafts are also generational. It is a family company with senior management, just like its production hall.
Lurssen is a uniquely caring company and gives back to the wider community with equal measures. Lucen's commitment to innovation, marine conservation and the future of shipbuilding has never been shaken since its inception. Lurssen also retains the “destroying” spirit of its founder.
Our Industry Foundation
For Friedrich Larssen, business was booming. The small shipyards in Bremen Omund have become not only competitive hand-rowed boats, but also magnets for all forms of craft, including workboats, motorboats, and lifeboats. The destroyer invented and patented the gasoline engine for a “horseless carriage” he quickly got his job when Gottlieb Daimler approached Friedrich Larssen with a request to build the first boat to equip the engine.
In the summer of 1886, the world's first motorboat was completed, laying the foundation for today's industry. It was a 6-meter masterpiece: beautifully finished, technical first, modified by the 1.5-horsepower Daimler engine.
But despite her elegantly styled thin bow returning to the wide central and well-formed stern, Rem caused chaos in the typical peaceful bank of the Necker River, near Stuttgart, where Gottlieb Daimler had his workshop. Locals have prevented the infamous engine “generated by an explosion” from reaching the edge of the water for the first test run of REM. Gottlieb Daimler installed copper wire and insulators to make the engine look like an electric plant. The trick worked. The world's first motorboat was successfully tested, and the excited locals were not wise.
The 6-meter Rem delivery paved the way for motorboats. Lurssen and Daimler enjoyed a long, fruitful friendship, building and developing a constantly powerful and powerful athletic boat. At 19 meters, Maria Augusta was one of the biggest. She had an elegant shear line, canoe stern, and a superstructure that integrated the pilot house. Daimler built a 27-horsepower engine for her, offering 9 smooth knot cruising speeds.
The motorboat was the first in a long line of pioneering innovation introduced by Lurssen. In 1997, it fitted the world's first energy-efficient hybrid propulsion, more than the 96 metre infinity. By 2002, the company led research into underwater exhaust systems, reducing back pressure and noise. Then, in 2005, it delivered 90 meters of air (now ice), the world's first yacht with a pod drive. In 2009, Lurssen introduced an advanced wastewater treatment system based on membrane technology. It was first used in the 60-meter Arkley (now Caipirinha) and is now standard on all yachts. The 147.52 metre Topaz (now A+) was also the first to have a ballast water treatment system.
As part of its willingness to make for a more responsible, more sustainable solution, Lurssen patents an innovative post-exhaust treatment system that reduces nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions without affecting space, weight, noise, or vibration. This has become standard on all Lurssen yachts since 2016. In 2020, we launched Tesumo, a sustainable teak replacement. This is currently available in the industry.
In line with the year of milestones, Lurssen is preparing to realize the next step towards a yacht's ultimate carbon-neutral future: 114 meters. Like his 139 predecessor, Rems, Cosmos was born from a pioneering, technically driven client. He finally agreed to the installation of a methanol-powered fuel cell system to generate enough power to support the yacht at the anchor for 15 days or to generate enough power to run around 1000 Natical miles at a slow speed.
“We have made great strides to achieve my important goals,” says Peter Larssen. “It was my great grandfather who built the first motorboat in 1886. It paves the way for today's yachts. My dream is to eventually build my first yacht without a burning engine and mark the beginning of a new era in the industry.”
Since establishing its dedicated yacht division in 1988, it has built and distributed 70 custom-made yachts with a total length of over 6,500 meters. Today, 35 of the top 100 yachts are built by Lurssen. Among these are the 180.61 metres of Azam, 156 metres of Dilbar and 126.2 metres of Octopus. It is the world's longest yacht, the largest yacht in volume, and the world's first explorer's yacht. “We don't try to build the biggest yachts. We set out to build the best yachts for each client. They chose us for their engineering excellence, their ability to think outside the box and their determination to fulfill their wishes.
The owner of the multiple award-winning 122 metre kissmet confirmed this commitment. “Lusen's position is simple. If you can think of it, they can do it, there are no restrictions. I love it. The onboard nature of technology, especially technology, is in the universe, like the Kismet ship, with incredible work entracks in space. Don't compromise on vision.
Pledge of conservation and training
Today, as the company looks to the future, its vision remains ambitious. We have committed to continuing our support for Blue Marine Foundation. There, it supports 30 global projects and secures its commitment to protect more than 4.4 million square kilometers of oceans. The newly established Lurssen Foundation will help train and develop select engineering scholars who are experiencing exceptional talent and investing in startups and organizations to positively impact the industry and the wider community.
Lurssen employs around 2,000 people, with three shipyards in North Germany, an engineering and research center in Croatia and sales offices in the United States. It specializes in building new yachts over 60 meters, runs the award-winning Refit and rebuilds the shipyard at its second facility.
After 150 years of shipbuilding, Friedrich Russen's declaration that “my company is known as a leader in both quality and performance” remains faithful to this day.
