Ursus came with a particular set of challenges. In its original form Ursus was rather compact, like a tiny Big Ship. Lengthening the waterline would help it go faster, save fuel and improve coursekeeping. But extending its hull shape to meet the new vertical bow meant having to cut as far back as possible. The engine room at midship needed to remain intact, so the existing hull was cut just ahead of that. Similarly, the stern shape needed to attach as far forward as possible, cutting underneath guest cabins that were temporarily suspended in mid-air. To achieve a near-perfect fit without kinks and a lot of filler the existing hull was 3D-scanned. This has become a standard for our refits, and paid off in dividends.

Because Ursus would transition from a 24m CE boat to a 30m Class boat its structure also needed to pass scrutiny. It was certainly built sturdy, that very much helped it withstand the increased structural loads. The engineering principles of the structure were however somewhat different from that of boats over 24m. Together with Balk we decided which items would receive additional strengthening and which would remain unchanged but be verified through separate calculation.