More of this Feature • Part 1: François Zuretti and J. Robert Scott • Hot Topics, Down the Ways
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Hot Topics
On Power & Motoryacht’s Megayachts forum), people are talking about: Feadship.

Why? Because Feadship’s De Vries and Royal Van Lent yards are in the process of developing two semicustom lines, a 35-meter series (115 feet) and a 43-meter series (141 feet).

According to Feadship chairman Hein Velema, some clients have asked for smaller yachts, but the price was higher than they wanted to spend. The new series will still be built of steel and aluminum, as the fully custom, larger Feadships are, but they will feature a price point 30 percent lower. And they will be constructed at De Vries’ and Royal Van Lent’s longtime facilities in Aalsmeer and Kaag Island, respectively.

Forum users are not entirely in favor of the idea. AndyLindy wondered if the move would hurt the image of the Feadship brand. “This has nothing to do with the quality, finish, and technical excellence of the individual yachts… A semicustom yacht is generally considered to be less exclusive than a full custom yacht, and maybe it would be a good idea to think twice before applying the Feadship label…” Christo303 posts, “I do have reservations to the whole semicustom idea because I’m afraid that it might somehow diminish their status as an absolute exclusive yacht.” However, after further review, he adds, “But hey, the guys running Feadship weren’t born yesterday, and if they decide to make an announcement like that in front of a crowd of reporters during a show like Monaco, then they probably have made their decision. And knowing the Dutch, it will have been a very carefully deliberated decision...”

It sure was—Henk DeVries, head of the DeVries shipyard, logged on to the forum and explained the decision in detail.

To see his posting, as well as the latest on this and other topics, visit the Megayachts forum at powerandmotoryacht.zeroforum.com.

Down the Ways
More news from the Feadship front: Like some of the other leading custom yacht builders, Feadship sees great promise in the 70- to 120-meter (230- to 393-foot) range, having recently finished Utopia and Ecstasea (233 feet and 282 feet, respectively). But its existing facilities in Holland cannot accommodate anything larger, plus bridge and lock restrictions represent additional barriers. That’s why Feadship has decided to upgrade two subsidiary facilities close to Rotterdam (and therefore bypass the above-mentioned barriers) to take on all construction for the larger vessels: the Papendrecht facility that De Vries owns, and the Merwede facility that Royal Van Lent uses. …Pelorus is in the midst of a six-month refit at Blohm + Voss. The yacht arrived at the German yard’s facility in late September for the installation of a new helicopter deck, changes to the mast and bathing platform, a full paint job, and, of special interest, the installation of four new stabilizers. While the yard didn’t specify which ones, a reliable source has informed us that they will be Quantum Marine’s zero-speed stabilizer fins, the largest ones created to date.

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