2 Arksen Yachts for Sale

Updated 7 October 2026 · By Hulls.io Editorial

About Arksen

Arksen is one of the newer names in British boatbuilding, and it describes itself as an adventure company rather than a conventional yard. Alongside its boats it sells overland vehicles, technical apparel and expeditions, but its core is a range of vessels designed for long-distance and remote cruising, from 8-metre RIBs to a 27-metre explorer yacht. The business is led by Jasper Smith, whom it names as its founder and chief executive. Companies House records show that Arksen Limited was incorporated in England on 9 November 2017, with its registered office in Haywards Heath; the company's own press material gives 2018 as its founding year.

Smith traces the idea to two voyages. In a note on the company's website, Smith writes that in 1994 he sailed Ardevora, a 55ft Ron Holland-designed ketch, from Hong Kong to Sitka in Alaska via Japan, Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands, a passage of seven months. Arksen itself, the company says, began in 2016, when Smith and his son Stormy were sailing off Greenland and were struck by the scale and fragility of the ice cap.

The flagship of the Explorer Series is the Arksen 85, which Arksen lists at 27.3 metres overall with a range of 7,000 nautical miles. Its naval architecture and exterior are by Humphreys Yacht Design and its interiors by Design Unlimited, and the hull and superstructure are aluminium with recycled content. The Arksen 85 is built for Arksen at Wight Shipyard on the Isle of Wight, which announced in October 2020 that construction of the first Arksen 85 had begun. The first to be delivered, Mamaluna, built as Project Pelagos, was handed over in December 2023 after sea trials in the Solent, and in March 2025 a third Arksen 85, to be built at Wight Shipyard, was offered for sale. Smaller Explorer models, the Arksen 75 and Arksen 65, sit below the 85, and Arksen says it has custom designs of up to 50 metres.

Below the explorer yachts are two newer families. The Adventure Series comprises the Arksen 55, which Arksen says is designed and built in Finland, and the 11.1-metre Arksen 35. The Discovery Series is Arksen's line of RIBs, built in the UK at the Ring Powercraft facility in Itchenor, West Sussex, which the Arksen group acquired and restructured in 2022. The first model, the 8-metre Arksen 8 — also called the Arksen Discovery 8 — made its global debut at the Southampton International Boat Show in September 2024. It is joined by the Arksen 10, a 10.8-metre D-RIB that Arksen says was conceived by its Custom Projects team, pitched as either a family boat or a superyacht chase boat and listed by Arksen with twin Suzuki DF325A outboards. In 2025 Arksen also introduced Arksen Pro, a division for commercial and defence vessels that includes Ring Powercraft.

Conservation is central to how Arksen presents itself. Smith founded 10% for the Ocean, a charity registered in England and Wales that encourages people and businesses to direct a tenth of their charitable giving to ocean research and recovery. Arksen encourages its owners to pledge part of each vessel's annual sea time to scientific or educational projects. Arksen and 10% for the Ocean are credited as co-producers of the 2025 documentary Ocean with David Attenborough, made by Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios.

Arksen is privately held. It says it is backed by institutional and private investors, and in April 2024 it opened a public investment round seeking £6 million of Series A capital through the Seedrs platform.