As recently as the 1990s, the Royal Van Lent yard of Feadship bore the name C. van Lent en Zonen (C. Van Lent and Sons). The “C” was Cees van Lent (below), who earned renown for his design and boatbuilding skills. In fact, he continued designing even after taking over the yard in 1947, doing both through 1963. Just like others in his profession, van Lent had designs that remained on paper. Fast forward six decades, however, and one of those designs is afloat, in the hands of an existing Feadship owner. She’s the Feadship New Classic yacht, which is further a limited-edition series of six, with build slots available.

It all started rather innocently. To honor Royal Van Lent’s 175-year history last year, the shipyard team began looking through its extensive archives. The team especially wanted to honor Cees van Lent. Some of his yachts are still around today, such as Santa Maria, the most expensive Feadship of her era (below). “There, we uncovered something remarkable: a beautiful design by Cees that had never been built,” Jan-Bart Verkuyl, the CEO, explains. Specifically, it was a 1960s-era project colloquially considered a gentleman’s yacht.

Coincidentally, around the same time, a Feadship client visiting the yard expressed interest in acquiring and restoring a classic Feadship. Since he was born in the 1960s, he wanted something from that decade, for dayboat use near his home in Miami. The trouble was, though, that he couldn’t find anything fitting the bill. In him, Royal Van Lent found the perfect person to, as Verkyul puts it, “breathe new life” into Cees Van Lent’s design. “It’s our way of celebrating the past while bringing it into the present,” Verkyul says.

At nearly 79 feet (24 meters), the Feadship New Classic yacht bears a profile and naval architecture by De Voogt Naval Architects based on Cees Van Lent’s original hand sketches. The design studio further took inspiration from deliveries such as Santa Maria, along with yachts like Aljazi, a 66-footer (20-meter) from 1960 for the sheik of Bahrain. The Feadship New Classic yacht has similar transom tumblehome, for instance. But, for modern-day cruising, the studio modified the hull lines for Volvo Penta’s IPS system, allowing speeds upwards of 20 knots. This particularly was one of the desires for the client with the Miami home. Simultaneously, the IPS system’s compact configuration frees up usable creature-comfort space.

Therefore, the all-aluminum Feadship New Classic yacht can have three staterooms for six guests. The master suite sits forward of the dining area and galley, while two guest cabins sit aft. A nice touch in the master is an opening skylight, too. Wood paneling clads the walls, while teak lays underfoot. Out on deck, wrap-around seating hugs the aft bulwarks, with an opening partition amidships yielding access to a deploying swim platform. Of course, since modern cruisers love watertoys, stowage awaits beneath the deck. One crewmember has a cabin aboard beneath the saloon, though two can handle the yacht during trips.

The owner of the Feadship New Classic yacht pictured at top isn’t the only customer who treasures reviving the storied past. Feadship says it’s spoken with further clients, who are enthusiastic about the yacht’s blend of classic and contemporary design and engineering. Additionally, it’s considering offering hybrid propulsion to permit electric-mode docking convenience, among other benefits. Feadship still intends to keep the series limited to six hulls, but says that if more customers come forward, it can tap its archives once again for another nearly forgotten treasure. Finally, in another nod to past-meets-present, the Feadship apprentices are contributing to the construction of each yacht.
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More About the Feadship New Classic Yacht
LOA: 78’7” (23.95 meters)
Beam: 19’0” (5.8 meters)
Draft: 5’7” (1.7 meters)
Guests: 6 in 3 staterooms
Engines: 2/Volvo Pentas (horsepower not specified; hybrid option, too)
Range: not specified
Builder: Feadship
Stylist: De Voogt Naval Architects
Naval Architect: De Voogt Naval Architects
Interior Designer: De Voogt Naval Architects
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