About this tender
The VanDutch 56 is the brand's mid-flagship and the model we recommend when an owner wants the VanDutch silhouette in a true day-cruiser size. At 16.49m on a 4.52m beam she carries twelve guests with the same minimalist deck plan VanDutch made its name on: a long forward sunpad, a single sweep of side glass, and an open aft cockpit that runs flush to the swim platform.
The 56 succeeded the popular VanDutch 55, and the platform is now built under Pardo / Cantiere del Pardo ownership. The headline upgrade is the move to Volvo Penta IPS950 propulsion: two pod drives at roughly 725hp each give a top speed in the high thirties, joystick docking, and the cleaner under-deck layout that IPS allows. We treat her as a chase-boat-capable sport yacht rather than a serious chase platform; she is closer in brief to a Wally 48 or a Pardo 50 than to the Vanquish or Wajer at the same length.
Practical fit on a parent vessel is the question owners ask first. At sixteen and a half metres she is too long for almost any garage, so she lives on her own in a marina berth or shadows the mothership on her own crew. Two-cabin accommodation below makes overnighting credible; a refrigerated cockpit and an electric awning over the helm cover the rest of the day-cruising brief.
Highlights
The four details we'd point out first to a captain who hasn't seen one on the water yet.
Twin IPS950 pods at roughly 725hp each. Top speed in the high thirties to forty knots; thirty-knot cruise at a comfortable burn. The pod package gives joystick docking, a cleaner engine room and the under-deck volume that VanDutch use to keep the deck silhouette minimal. The trade is service complexity, which the IPS network handles cleanly in the Med.
The signature VanDutch deck plan is intact: forward sunpad, central helm with electric awning, open aft cockpit running to the swim platform. Below decks she carries two cabins with an option for a forward owner's suite plus a second twin, or a single owner layout with a much larger saloon. Galley is on deck.
Build moved under the Cantiere del Pardo umbrella for the 56 generation. The improvement we see versus the older VanDutch 55 hulls is consistency of finish: lamination, gelcoat and trim work hold up to the standard expected at this price point. Hardware specification, particularly hatches and railings, is a step above the early hulls.
At sixteen and a half metres LOA, the 56 is too long to garage on most parent yachts. She lives in a marina berth and is used as a sport yacht in her own right. We point owners at this boat when the use case is owner-driven Mediterranean day cruising plus occasional guest-shuttle duty, not when the brief is a stowed tender.
Gallery
The full specification
Specifications, prices, availability, and performance figures are supplied for guidance only and remain subject to confirmation by the yard, seller, broker, survey, contract, and final specification.
Questions, answered
Last call · Available
VanDutch · Forlì, Italy
Tell us about your yacht, your programme, and the missions 56 needs to handle. We come back within 48 hours with a written assessment - fit for the brief, lead time, and trade-offs against alternatives in the same band.
Prefer to talk? +44 (0) 77180 88055 · other ways to reach us
From the library
