You’re looking at Ocean Mercury, the first Feadship SL39, built by Royal De Vries shipyard. The SL39 is a new 39-meter (128-foot) semicustom series for the long-time custom-yacht builder, with a twist: It offers owners the chance to customize the exterior styling.
One of the primary reasons Feadship created this series was to accommodate clients who wanted a “small” megayacht but who weren’t prepared to spend the time and money creating a boat from a blank sheet of paper. In fact, in its initial discussions about creating such a series back in 2002, Feadship realized that in the competitive megayacht market, it doesn’t make much financial sense to offer fully custom “small” megayachts compared to semicustom (read: cost-controlled) ones. So it envisioned a series offering owners a set platform of engineering and technical systems combined with mix-and-match interior “grids” (modules), with the additional ability to select their own interior designer for the decor. And while Feadship’s frequent partner De Voogt Naval Architects would oversee the aforementioned engineering, in an unprecedented move, the yard also decided to give owners the freedom to create a fully custom exterior profile with the design team.
In the case of Ocean Mercury, she looks very much like classic Feadships from the past. Inside, however, she certainly reflects her owner’s specific desires. Intended to be a family boat used for Med cruising, Ocean Mercury has four guest cabins, which can transform into two large VIP suites when so wanted. The decor, by Terence Disdale Designs, emphasizes bleached oak and plentiful light tones.
Delivery for the full-displacement, 14-knot cruiser is slated for December. Expect to see at least two more SL39s launch next year, one designed by Bannenberg Designs and the other by Fokkema, a Dutch interior-design firm which won a contest Feadship sponsored a few years ago.
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