40m Abeking sailing yacht 4K gets fresh interior

When Abeking & Rasmussen delivered 4K in 2002, nobody knew she'd turn out to be the German shipyard's last word on single-hull sailing yachts. More than two decades on, and with a fresh interior from Italian studio Nauta Design, the 40 metre sloop is back on the market in Palma de Mallorca with an asking price of Euro 8,500,000.

4K started life as Alithia, built for German businessman Jost Stollmann, who according to German trade title YACHT sailed her around the world for two years with his family before she changed hands. The exterior and naval architecture came from American designer Bill Tripp of Tripp Design Naval Architects, who gave her a plumb bow, an arrow straight sheerline and a raised coachroof, details that read as thoroughly modern even now. YACHT also reports she was the last single-hull sailing yacht the shipyard built, before Abeking & Rasmussen shifted its sailing programme onto faster, lighter platforms altogether.

The original interior came from British studio Winch Design, and it leaned hard into light, wrapping the deck saloon in glazing and cutting hull lights below to pull natural light deep into the boat. That's exactly what two decades of ocean miles had begun to dull, and it's what the current owner asked Nauta Design to bring back.

Nauta co-Director Martino Majno described it as a genuinely collaborative job. "The 4K refit project is the result of a strong collaborative effort between the owner, crew, brokerage team and Nauta, all working together with shared commitment and momentum to meet the owner's expectations," he said. "The design process was driven by a careful and conscious selection of proposals and interventions, developed within a tight schedule to ensure both efficiency and a successful outcome."

Co-Director Guido Valtorta said the real work was in blending old and new. "The key challenge lay in harmonising existing features with new design solutions, combining refreshed materials, refined detailing and high-end furniture and décor to achieve a contemporary atmosphere," he said. "Soft finishes and bespoke craftsmanship are paired with a fresh and welcoming colour palette, creating an unexpected environment that fully unlocks the vessel's potential. The generous layout and spatial arrangement, enhanced by natural light and sophisticated design solutions, offer guests a renewed and intimate onboard experience."

Rather than a gut renovation, Nauta's brief covered almost every space onboard without changing the boat's underlying identity. Navigation station, saloon and the owner's cabin all got attention, with loose furniture replaced and tired surfaces brought back to life.

Below decks, 4K sleeps up to six guests across three suites, with room for five crew to keep long ocean passages running smoothly, generous cabin space for a boat conceived well before charter-spec superyachts got crowded with cabins for the sake of it.

It's worth noting that refits like this are as much a sales tool as a design exercise. Freshening up a yacht ahead of listing it is a well worn tactic in the brokerage world, and 4K's timing fits that pattern neatly, the refit wrapped up just as she went back on the market through Will Bishop of Superyacht Partners.

Whatever the commercial thinking behind it, 4K's spec sheet still holds up. She measures 40 metres overall on a 35.2 metre waterline, with an 8.38 metre beam and 5.9 metre draught, and displaces 156 tonnes on 188 gross tonnes of volume. According to yacht data platform YachtBuyer, she's powered by a single MTU 6R18TE93 six cylinder diesel producing 600hp (805kW), giving her a cruising speed of 10 knots and, on that same figure, a range of 2,000 nautical miles.

For a yacht that's spent more than two decades putting genuine sea miles under her keel, that's still a spec sheet that reads like a serious ocean cruiser, not a marina ornament.