YACHT “OHEKA II”)

The luxury motor yacht “OHEKA II”) was built in the Lürssen Shipyard in Bremen in 1927. The name of the yacht comes from the first letters of the owner’s name: Otto Hermann Kahn (1867 – 1934), a Jewish banker who came from Germany and emigrated to the USA. There he lived in New York and was one of the most influential and respected bankers of his time. He is said to have used his yacht “OHEKA II”) in order to get to work from his home across the Hudson River. As the engine performance was extremely high, there was a rumour that Kahn was involved in smuggling trips. The yacht got the nickname “Rum Runner”). However, the suspicion was never confirmed.

The yacht was 22.5 m long and weighed 22.5 tons and was one of the largest yachts of the 1920s. It was very elegantly and luxuriously furnished. The skipper’s and navigator’s equipment were state-of-the-art, and in spite of the short journeys, there was no lack of luxurious furnishings. The “OHEKA II”) was driven by three Maybach engines and reached a maximum speed of 34 knots. Its speed was due to the special keel shape which all speedboats of the Lürssen Shipyard had. The keel was rounded from the bow to midships, and was flat at the stern. It was a further development of the keel shape of Italian speedboats. These were particularly fast when the sea was calm. But ships of the more recent building construction reached a particularly high speed even when the sea was rough.

Friedrich Lürssen founded the Lürssen Shipyard in Bremen in 1875. In cooperation with Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach he developed the first motor boats. Nowadays the family company is run by the fourth generation. In the meantime, Lürssen has its production in Bremen (Lemwerder and Vegesack), Bardenfleth, Wilhelmshaven and Schacht-Audorf. Over 13,000 ships have been built since the company was founded. Some of the most prominent customers of the Shipyard are Larry Ellison from Oracle and Paul Allen from Microsoft.