“We really embraced the concept of having a beach house,” Tom Heyer, the owner’s representative, explained as I toured Harle. Indeed: The second F45 semicustom megayacht to launch from Feadship’s Royal Van Lent shipyard, Harle has a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere, right down to the saloon making guests feel at ease walking in wearing their bathing suits, a directive straight from the owner.
The recent winner of a Best Power design award from the International Superyacht Society, Harle is also her owner’s first yacht. The fact that the 45-meter (146’6”) boat is a series build certainly eliminated some of the stumbling blocks, particularly on the engineering and technical side, that first-time owners of fully custom yachts sometimes encounter. But Feadship still permits owners some customization of the F45 platform, and together the build and design teams and the owner’s team created a yacht that can entertain friends and family on an intimate scale one day, host a sit-down dinner for 30 people the next, all the while in a “very comfortable holiday home” atmosphere, in the owner’s words.
One of the things about the F45 concept that the owner really liked was the location of all four guest staterooms on the main deck. By eliminating a formal dining room and placing the galley below decks, Feadship was able to make this design work. Floor-to-ceiling windows make the rooms even more inviting, and twin beds can be pushed together to form queens. “Thanks to the fact that guests have their suites in such prime locations, with the same views as the lounge, they often retreat there to watch a movie, listen to some music, or read a book,” the owner explains. “And then we all come back together as a group, and you can see what an incredibly smart setup this is.” It’s also a popular concept among the charter set, treating all guests equally.
Whether charter guests or the owner’s family and friends take a cruise, the bridge-deck lounge and alfresco relaxation space just aft are, no doubt, equally popular. They can transform into a large indoor-outdoor area thanks to the inclusion of sliding windows and doors. The owner’s office, on the same level, can house extra guests when needed, or simply serve as additional relaxation space. Combine all of this with iPod docking stations and the ability to display upwards of 8,000 digitized artworks from masters such as Matisse, Monet, Picasso, and Van Gogh on the TV screens (features found throughout the yacht, in fact), and Harle serves up an entertaining day or evening.
As for the owner’s own enjoyment day or night, the master suite is a refreshing change of pace from that aboard most any megayacht–and yes, I mean this size or larger. Take a good look at this photo. The way Feadship designed the F45 series allows for a ceiling height of 3.2 meters (10’5”) and, heightening the sense of space and airy feel, a swath of a skylight spanning the bedroom and forward into the bath. It’s also a flexible suite, like most rooms aboard Harle. The bedroom and bath are essentially one space, separated by a central wall encompassing a partition screen and the bed’s headboard. Should the owner or charter guests want a more spa-like atmosphere–there’s a spa tub beneath the skylight in the bath–the partition lowers.
“Relaxing in the Jacuzzi, taking in the 360-degree seascape while cruising in beautiful spots such as the British Virgin Islands, you feel like you are sitting on top of the world,” the owner relates. “The open spaces and large windows reflect my lifestyle and taste, and Harle is a extraordinary place on which to relax or entertain.”
Here’s more of Harle, which is part of Feadship’s charter division fleet.
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