Surely one of the most inviting templates for pleasure yet to see the light of day, the swift and sleek ‘Project 3073’ is one of favourite designs in a cool series of video reports called Feadship Unveils.
Feadship only builds fully custom superyachts so each new creation launched from its four yards in the Netherlands is bound to be unique. Being so bespoke, all projects are the culmination of a long gestation period in the minds of the owners before they sit down with the experts at Feadship to start translating smart ideas into concrete form.
The Feadship Unveils series unlocked the archives on a few of these well-developed explorations and Project 3073 is an exceptional example. As you can see from these striking images, this seriously elegant all-aluminium 63-metre yacht exudes speed and length.
“The first meeting we had with the client was at one of the top boat shows six or seven years ago,” remembers Feadship director Henk de Vries. “He was a big fan of fast-looking motoryachts and keen to discuss how a Feadship ‘sports-boat’ might look like. Things swiftly progressed and during the initial design phase – which always starts with a blank piece of paper at Feadship – the boat grew from the original 60 metres to around 63 metres. This extended length added to the cool feel on what would be a powerful shallow-draught yacht.”
Feadship’s head of design Tanno Weeda also recalls enjoying brainstorming with the client on the project. “Together we drew a very characteristic look & feel, including a strong horizontal line that creates the base of the yacht and accentuates the design’s speed and length.
Another fascinating feature that adds a very strong visual element to the exterior profile is the giant swimming big pool on the foredeck. Having such a giant expanse of water on board means you have to take sloshing into account and this is just one of many pioneering projects that Feadship’s in-house R&D department are working to optimise.”
With its glass bottom forming part of the ceiling of the owner’s deck below, the pool would have an enormous impact on the interior ambiance too should a variant on Project 3073 be built in the future. The light radiating through onto the master stateroom will generate a spectacular and constantly evolving environment. Visual impact was also the purpose behind the proposed open connection between the bridge deck wheelhouse and main deck saloon, another visionary idea that deserves to move from rendering to reality.
Project 3073 went beyond offering a fresh take on how an exceptionally swift Feadship might look like. Significant development work went into ensuring she would be able to achieve speeds of up to 30 knots via a state-of-the-art propulsion system. The proposed solution was to deploy water jets underneath the boat rather than propellers, the benefits of which would be boosted by giving the yacht a very shallow draught (there are not many 300-footers in the global able to cruise in several feet of water in the way this beauty would).
For those of a more environmental mindset, this design would also be highly suitable for an ultra-efficient electric propulsion equivalent that would still be able to race along at 20-plus knots. Feadship has incorporated sustainability as a core tenant of its overall strategy and has been working with clients on all kinds green power alternatives to traditional diesel engines since launching the 84-metre Savannah in 2015, the world’s first hybrid luxury motoryacht.
Things have moved quickly since then and around half of all Feadships have some kind of hybrid propulsion set up, saving on emissions and running hours when sailing as well as fuel. Building Project 3073 fully in aluminium would be a great start to creating a new benchmark in eco-conscious cruising.
