One of the highlights of the Feadship stand at the Monaco Yacht Show and Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (a.k.a. FLIBS) each year is the presentation of the Feadship Future Concept. Created by the De Voogt Naval Architects office, each Feadship Future Concept is exactly what the name conveys, a concept megayacht designed for a future client, but not so futuristic as to become unrooted from today’s proven technology. If you’re heading to FLIBS, set aside time to see the newest Feadship Future Concept model: the 282-foot (86-meter) Feadship Royale, envisioned for The Netherlands’ popular and youthful new king and queen.
If you’re familiar with Feadships, no doubt you’ll see nuances from a recent build, namely Venus, as well as last year’s Future Concept, Relativity, in the profile of Feadship Royale. They come in the extraordinary use of glass—full floor-to-ceiling expanses, far more than has ever been incorporated on a megayacht. Tanno Weeda, a senior designer at De Voogt Naval Architects who showed me the various aspects of the design, explains that the glass is both symbolic and aesthetic. It’s symbolic for the more open lives led by the newly crowned King Willem-Alexander and his wife, Queen Máxima (they have official Facebook pages, for example). The glass is also aesthetic, inspired by buildings; whether private residences or office structures, Weeda notes, buildings are increasingly showcasing glass walls. Technology and engineering have advanced to the point where De Voogt Naval Architects and Feadship feel secure that large-scale exterior glass walls can meet marine safety standards.
Since Feadship Royale, with a 45’9″ (14-meter) beam, is envisioned as an official reception platform, for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima to host other dignitaries, they and their guests can arrive in style. Feadship Royale features a drive-in tender bay. If you look closely, it’s actually a drive-through tender bay, extending the full beam of the megayacht. It includes a floodable bay and fold-down platforms to each side. Disembarking tenders will take place to the aft of the megayacht, where you can also spy an internal staircase. Those stairs will take the king and queen or other honored guests up over the engine room to the atrium-like reception space.
As for that reception space, it encompasses three decks, starting at the beach club, and is complete with a stage-like area as seen in the illustration here in the midst of the stairs. Picture other royals or heads of state arriving and being announced, then descending to the open saloon-like area. Then imagine King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima doing the same. It wouldn’t be far-fetched: In 1937, Feadship presented the 102-foot (31-meter) Piet Hein as a gift from the Dutch people to Princess Juliana, King Willem-Alexander’s grandmother, when she was getting married. (Piet Hein remains afloat today.)
Also not far-fetched, despite it sounding that way: glass floors in the atrium, to enhance the spacious feeling, and gangway-like foyers alongside the glass superstructure (above). The latter should further add to the sense of space, making visitors aboard the megayacht feel far more connected to the ocean environment. Of course, the arrangement also means far more natural light can enter Feadship Royale.
Let’s get back to the open personalities of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima again for a moment. Feadship Royale has this glass-walled family apartment for them, rising three decks. There’s a great lounge for the royals and their young children to gather together to relax, watch television, and more on the lowest level, featuring full-height glass walls. Another lounging space is directly above, again with glass walls. Tucked just aft, and therefore more private, are four staterooms, two being reserved for the children.
There are far more details to Feadship Royale, like an engine package that will meet clean-air requirements going into effect in 2020 and permit a 17-knot top end. Even with royalty at the megayacht’s core, the design is every bit suitable for a more (dare we say) common owner.
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