Feadship Sportfishing Yacht Catch Is a Real Catch Post-Refit

“Feadship” and “sportfishing” are two words that don’t go together. Nevertheless, Feadship has actually built a few custom sportfishermen over all these decades. Among the most famous was the 1984 delivery Gallant Lady, for the late American auto entrepreneur Jim Moran. This 87-footer (26-meter) subsequently has passed through further owners’ hands. Now, as the sportfishing yacht Catch, she’s newly emerged from winter work at Feadship’s Amsterdam facility.

Months-long refits like this one—Catch arrived at the shipyard last July—typically come with long tasks lists. Her age could have meant a significant work list, too. However, she underwent a 15-month, stripped-to-bare-metal refit stateside in 2005. Additionally, the owner who sold her to her current owner kept her in quite good shape. Therefore, the priorities became ensuring the megayacht accommodated a different way of enjoying the water.

Even that, though, didn’t come with fully defined punch list up front. Plus, the owner, who has had multiple Feadships, reached out when the Feadship Refit and Services team had a full house, according to Pier Posthuma de Boer, the division’s director. “We’re always proud when long-term clients bring their yachts back to us for refit work, so we adjusted our schedules,” he says.

The adjusting to accommodate the yacht began in earnest in July 2022, when she arrived. The owner arrived, too, to map out the plan, to start after summer holidays, with designer Adam Voorhees and his representative Peter Wilson of MCM. “The relationship worked so well because we already knew the owner’s team, and they were able to make decisions on the spot,” Patrick Dekker, one of the refit division project managers, explains.

Work took place both inside the yacht Catch as well as outside. Notably, the owner wanted to add a crew cabin, since only one was aboard. Both contain bunk berths too. The extra cabin came from repositioning the master suite’s wardrobe and eliminating a crane (whose components extended below deck). A number of other interior changes occurred as well, from the wheelhouse systems to other details. Outside, meanwhile, there’s a new teak caprail aft, new veneer on the aft main deck, new teak on the foredeck, and new varnishing on all the wood. Furthermore, the owner wanted the foredeck to double as a lounging area, so it gained an awning. Final touches include a better LED system.

With a reported top speed of 24 knots and of course a long history, the yacht Catch should prove she’s aptly named upon return to U.S. shores in a few weeks.

Adam Voorhees adamvoorhees.com

Feadship feadship.nl