Feadship's New Concept Yacht

I'm presently at the Monaco Yacht Show, and yesterday I stopped by Feadship's display to see the model of its latest concept project. You're looking at F-Stream, a decidedly futuristic 55-meter yacht that reflects some innovative thinking on the part of the De Voogt design office, which designs and engineers each Feadship. (It's also the realization of the project Royal De Vries' president Henk De Vries told me about in our exclusive podcast over the summer.)

Out of all the cool features, such as hybrid propulsion and abundant use of glass, the one grabbing the most notice is "The Snug," a.k.a. the cozy sundeck. Why? Take a look at the illustration here: The roof opens or lowers, depending on the owner's mood. Talk about a twist on the ol' sunroof.

If you're at the show, you can see The Snug's roof open and close on the model every seven minutes.

Findings at Feadship

I'm presently overseas on a tour of a few shipyards in Holland and Germany, and I thought I'd share some news from my visit to the two Feadship yards today, Royal De Vries and Royal Van Lent.

Perhaps the biggest news is "small" news, specifically the 39- and 45-meter series projects each yard (respectively) has underway. While some people thought adding a semicustom series to each yard's offerings would be risky, it's not adversely affecting them. Royal De Vries has two SL39s (as the series is called) in production, with a third yacht expected to start next year. Royal Van Lent has the second and third launches in its F45 series sitting side by side in one of its build sheds. The first F45, Space, was delivered this summer and should be cruising the Med as you read this.

In fact, Feadship hopes to have the yacht on display at the upcoming Monaco Yacht Show. If negotiations with the owner are successful, you can expect to read my first impressions here.

PMY Podcasts

If you've poked around our Web site lately, you may have noticed we're now featuring podcasts. If you haven't, you're in for a treat. Simply enter "podcast" in the search box at the top of the homepage, and you'll see the lineup we have so far. (You can also download them from iTunes; search for "Power and Motoryacht.") There's my interview with Feadship's Henk De Vries about a new concept project Royal De Vries has in the works, and there's Capt. Bill Pike speaking with Volvo Penta's Clint Moore about a new facility the engine company is building to address the big-yacht and even megayacht markets.

In the next few weeks, we'll have even more. Those of you who enjoy reading "At Sea" will hear a recent column come to life, courtesy of Pike himself, and you'll hear Kim Kavin, our resident charter expert and owner/operator of Charterwave, give advice on how to find a reputable charter broker for your next on-the-water vacation.

Stay tuned!