CEO, Feadship Royal Van Lent (and Feadship Director), Feadship
Escape from this Superyacht in your private submarine | Feadship Unveils
Designed with the life and style of an eco-conscious rock star in mind, Escape is a super-sleek 110-metre Feadship with a submarine and myCopter craft, an awesome atrium with moonpool and panoramic elevator, and a veritable solar system of green innovations. The ultimate escape yacht in every sense, in true James Bond style! There’s even room to grow your own vegetables.
Jan-Bart Verkuyl (CEO of Feadship) and Ruud Bakker (Senior Designer) talk frankly about this amazing Feadship design.
00:00 Feadship Brokers Course
01:08 Design process
02:02 Design reveal
02:50 Special features
03:37...
Transcript (25 segments)
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl0:00
My name is Jan-Bart Verkuyl, CEO at Feadship Royal Van Lent.
R
Ruud Bakker0:03
And my name is Ruud Bakker, Senior Designer at Feadship.
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl0:06
Today we're going to show you a wonderful design called Escape. Do you still remember the Brokers Course we held in 2014?
R
Ruud Bakker0:24
Yes, 2014 was a great year. It's a three-day programme in which we invite a number of yacht brokers to walk through our process, to see what custom yacht design is all about. It's quite an intense few days, working late nights with the whole team. It's a really challenging thing to do. The brokers came up with a very cool briefing actually. I remember that the most outstanding thing was they envisaged a very extravert rock star client who was also aware of the environment and wanted to grow his own herbs. The idea was to create a yacht so he could hide and escape from everything, and to secretly escape from his boat in a submarine.
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl1:08
How do you go about such a thing? You only have a limited amount of time, and there are so many requirements that have to be fitted in such a yacht. How do you make your choices?
R
Ruud Bakker1:16
When we get the briefing we brainstorm with the design team to determine what is cool and what we could use. We create a mood board for inspiration and then just get started. We have to hurry as we only get three days. And that mood board was then presented back to the brokers to get some direction. There are moments when we can share our progress. They get more excited; we make some adjustments and then move on. This was back in 2014 and there are features incorporated in this design which actually came into our yachts later on. It's still a very forward-looking design.
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl1:57
That's correct. So, Ruud, what was the design that eventually resulted from this exercise?
R
Ruud Bakker2:06
We came up with a proposal for a 110-metre yacht. Quite a big boat. Very low and sleek, because he is still a rock star. It should look modern. Lots of surfaces for solar panelling to save energy. The coolest feature of the layout is the huge atrium in the middle of the boat.
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl2:27
What was the idea behind the atrium?
R
Ruud Bakker2:29
A place where everyone, all the owner's family and friends, can come together. And do everything they like. The atrium extends into the boat all the way to the bottom, becoming a moon pool as well. A moon pool is actually having sea water inside the boat.
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl2:50
I think it's a stunning design. The middle area is where everyone would come together? Instead of the lounges like we normally see.
R
Ruud Bakker2:57
That's right. Another cool element was a couple of hatches in the bow that would open up, and a personal drone would come out. This meant you not only explore the sea but also go up in the air to sightsee remote areas.
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl3:14
From what I remember, there was also a greenhouse for growing herbs.
R
Ruud Bakker3:16
Yes, there's a greenhouse inside to grow his own vegetables. It may seem quite a contrast, but this rock star was quite a healthy guy.
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl3:33
With the design now created, I guess you have your personal favourite area?
R
Ruud Bakker3:37
The atrium is the coolest place to be. Not only because of the space – we've seen that before – but its multifunctionality.
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl3:48
In what ways is it multifunctional?
R
Ruud Bakker3:50
The moon pool, of course. You can dive into it and swim out of the boat. You can close the bottom to create a safe swimming pool for children. You can launch your sub through it. Then there's the slide and the big elevator coming down into the sea.
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl4:07
It's all very impressive. And a challenge for the yard too.
R
Ruud Bakker4:12
We like our challenges.
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl4:15
Looking back, I like how the brokers pushed us in a more eco-friendly direction. This is something we've been picking up and put a lot of energy in over recent years. This yacht would also be able to do some research. You can also use the submarine to explore the ocean. That's a direction I really like about this project. In yachting, clients push us to the limits – and when you go beyond, you get even better.
Now a question for you. This project is called Escape and includes a submarine and a drone. What sort of toy would you like to bring on your yacht? Ruud, what about you?
R
Ruud Bakker5:02
I'd go for the submersible as well. Or a toy that does not exist yet: where you can rise from the water and fly away. And what would you prefer?
J
Jan-Bart Verkuyl5:17
I'm an old-school boy. I'd like a nice little sailboat on my yacht.
Thank you for watching! Bye!