PHOTOS: Clint Jenkins
When you have 13 years of superyacht ownership experience, you know what does and doesn’t work in enhancing your leisure time. This, in turn, affords your design and build teams the chance to get creative with new solutions. All of this describes the owners of Lonian, who spent the past year keeping her a relatively guarded treasure. They’re now sharing select looks at how Lonian enhances their life at anchor.
Even in shielding her from much publicity, the owners did permit some fascinating early insider looks. A timelapse video of the build of Lonian, for example, garnered 2.5 million views on Feadship’s YouTube channel in just five months. (By the way, those YouTube views are at nearly 4.6 million.) That same video was our most popular one in 2018 as well.
The 285-foot (87-meter) megayacht is all about hanging on the hook. Similarly, the owners are laser-focused on playing all day on tenders and toys, plus accessing them (and returning onboard) easily and swiftly. Typically, swim platforms and/or beach clubs serve as boarding and disembarking points. While that occurs with Lonian, she has far more options. Twenty-two hatches, doors, and platforms open her up. In fact, the two VIP staterooms have balconies with sliding doors letting guests step straight from the tender into their accommodations. No deploying stairs needed, either. Telescopic booms permit the crew to attach the tenders to the platforms.
Another notable engineering achievement: the transom hatch and swim platform. When the owners and guests use the beach club, you won’t see an open transom hatch, or even a threshold. First, a teak-covered hatch in the swim platform opens. Next, the transom door slides down into the opening. Then, the teak hatch goes back in place, covering it. Feadship likens the operations to that of a convertible car. The shipyard may incorporate it on future builds, too.
Still on the subject of the beach club, wave action at anchor can mean water intrusion. Lonian’s three surrounding hatches are high enough to prevent this. Simultaneously, Feadship and Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design, responsible for styling, balanced the hull proportions to avoid raising the hull height, the latter a traditional solution.
The team needed a further solution for the owners’ request for a glass-bottomed pool atop the beach club. Specifically, the owners didn’t want to see the pool sides, either above or below decks. Therefore, the pool’s surface is about 20 inches (50 centimeters) above the deck, rimmed in teak. Guests can sit comfortably and dip their feet to cool off after sunning on the cabana-like lounges to either side. Additionally, they can dip their feet while enjoying a midnight movie. While not shown, an integrated screen sits at one end of the pool.
The owners have a private pool on their deck (at top). Since they enjoy cold plunges, especially after a workout, as much as hot soaks, its temperature ranges from 50 to 100 degrees (10 to 38 degrees Celsius). Accompanied by seating areas, and steps from sliding doors into their suite, it should get abundant use.
Clearly, with 15 crew cabins, a captain’s cabin, and six guest staterooms, Lonian has abundant spaces. We can’t show much, unfortunately. Regardless, she includes an indoor-outdoor gym (with equipment both enclosed and alfresco), and a main saloon eschewing pillar supports to better enjoy the views. These, and a glass elevator connecting five decks, all come from Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design. So, too, do her abundant access areas. For instance, since her main deck lacks side decks, the crew gets a below-decks corridor to move about unencumbered.
Finally, Lonian cruises with Hodor, a 216-foot (66-meter) support vessel. Hodor carries more toys, more equipment, and up to 20 crew. When you’re maximizing your fun the way these owners do, it just makes more sense.
Enjoy the gallery above on Lonian, including her striking stainless steel accents and 45-foot (13.8-meter) beam.
Feadship feadship.nl
Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design sinot.com
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