Zijlmans 64 refitted after cocaine raid
Motorboat & Yachting: This Zijlmans 64 was used to smuggle cocaine, but got a new lease of life when Paul Reed snapped it up at a Government auction.
When a motoryacht falls into the wrong hands, the results can be devastating, as the story of this Zijlmans 64 proves.
A drug cartel used this classic Dutch model to smuggle a 1.2-tonne stash of cocaine into the UK, stuffing the narcotics into a secret compartment under the bathing platform.
When she was seized in 2011, customs officials tore the boat apart looking for the incriminating drugs, leaving her in a very sorry state.
However, this didn’t deter Paul Reed who saw great potential in this fallen beauty and snapped her up at a Government auction for a little over £100,000.
In the February edition of MBY, editor Hugo Andreae hears how Paul spent just over £40,000 to turn her into his new vessel Big Bird, which now doubles as a floating B&B during the off-season.
To take a look at this exhaustive restoration process of this 2002 Zijlmans 64, click on the slideshow above, and for the full story, pick up the February edition of MBY, which is out on 2 January 2015.
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