They built their first yacht Equation in 1974, a steel 45’ Van der Stadt design. It didn’t take long to attract a buyer and the brothers tackled their next yacht in aluminium. Double Vision a 47’ Andre Maurice (French) design was kept in the family for 12 years. After being approached by their first client for a 39’ Dudley Dix Shearwater, they established Jacobs Bros Boat Builders.
Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Jacobs Bros is renowned for building quality, custom, leisure and expedition aluminium yachts. In over 35 years, Jacobs Bros has built over 20 yachts, which have explored the Amazon River, Polynesia, the South Atlantic, Antarctica and the Arctic, and circumnavigated the planet.
Suete Duern, Reinke 16m, sailed 3,000 miles of the Amazon River & over 40,000 miles in cruising the world. Fast Forward, Southwell 62’, clocked over 50,000 miles in their circumnavigation. Blue Pearl, Dudley Dix 43’ Pilothouse, cruised the Arctic Circle for four years. One of the popular yachts built by Jacobs Bros was Get More Fun, a Southwell 65, which in her maiden voyage broke the record from Durban to Mauritius and immediately thereafter returned in the Mauritius to Durban Race of 1989, in an incredible six days, knocking more than two days off the previous record and still holds the record to this day.
Built by sailors, they regularly compete in local, national and international regattas. Being a family business, Jacobs Bros is able to afford personal attention to a client’s dream project. The yachts are built to CE or other standards as requested by the client. Our clients have hailed from Austria, Germany, France, Canada, UK, Holland, Switzerland, USA, and South Africa.
Jacobs Bros has built custom yachts from designers Ed Joy, Lavranos, Dix, Southwell, Simonis Voogd and Van der Stadt. We take pride in our craftsmanship and full customisation capabilities. We can build to any stage of completion, hull & deck only, or craft luxury interiors too, flexible to client needs. Jacobs Bros builds leisure yachts for bluewater cruising and high latitude expedition yachts for the more adventurous at heart.