The building of the Utrecht State-Yacht has been set up as a schooling- and employment-project. After a long period of preparation the keel was laid down on 17 December 1997. The historic reconstruction of a ship from 1746 was chosen and it has been built after a design which is in the possession of the Maritiem Museum in Rotterdam.

State-Yachts were official ceremonial ships, meant to transport very distinguished people. Later they were also used as pleasure-craft. They were excessively decorated ships, matching the status of their owners. The original meaning of the Dutch word 'jacht' (meaning: chasing, hunting, sailing fast) indicates that they were good sailers. Their shape was derived from war-ships from those days. With shallower draught, lee-boards and fore and aft rigging, they had been adjusted to sailing the inland waters. In 1660 the burgomaster of Amsterdam presented King Charles II with a state-yacht. This was the introduction of this type of ship and yachting in England. Since then numerous ships of this kind were also built there, however with typical English characteristics.

The division of the ship was as follows: in the front the cable-hold, also containing the bunks for the crew; behind that the caboose with the store-room and adjacent the 'long-room', furnished with fore and aft benches or with cupboard-beds and lighted up by a construction with windows built on deck, the so-called lantern. In the stern was the captain's room which had a staircase, opening up to a handsomely furnished guest-room on the poop, called the pavilion.

In the beginning the rigging was a sprit-rig; later a gaff-rig without boom and, with free wind, another square topsail could be hoisted. A staysail was used as foresail. On the jib-boom yet another jib could be set. Generally, when the mainsail had to be taken in, it was not the heavy gaff that was lowered, but the sail was clewed up by means of the clew lines.

The length of the ship that has been built is about 65 feet, the width 18,5 feet and draught 4,5 feet. An interesting detail is that the timber came from oak-woods in Denmark, planted there 200 years ago by the VOC ( United East-India Company) with Dutch acorns.