C
Blending tradition and innovation
Introducing C — a stunning blend of tradition and innovation. This exclusive concept design by Studio De Voogt showcases a design reflecting its 75-year heritage while incorporating cutting-edge technology and avant-garde ideas and is based on thorough research. Proposals generated by the designers are refined until they are not only dazzling but also buildable, ready to be incorporated as key elements in future Feadships, each aligned with our sustainability goal of achieving Net Zero impact.
Because tomorrow will be upon us before we know it, Feadship through its Knowledge & Innovation department and Studio De Voogt, is always focused on the future.
For more than a decade, designers, naval architects and engineering specialists at Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects have been presenting an annual concept design. Glowing with new ideas, they are certainly inspirational, as is their goal. But anyone can draw a fantasy. What sets Feadship concepts apart is the research behind them.
Combining today’s challenges for current custom yachts with constant reviews of emerging trends and technologies, Feadship stays ahead of the curve, driving change rather than simply reacting to it.
We could start building concept C tomorrow or incorporate any of her sparkling innovations in the design development of a full custom Feadship knowing they are truly functional and buildable. This commitment in resources and personnel is unprecedented.
Creating a brilliant experience... together
It has been 75 years since six Dutch companies joined forces in an association to market Dutch yacht building to America. Along the way, they leveraged their collective strength and ingenuity to build increasingly sophisticated yachts of high quality. In fact, it was the level of quality in their steel yachts that drove the business, winning them legions of fans. And when customers wanted lighter, faster boats of less draft, Feadship responded with the same quality in aluminium.
To honour this anniversary year of Feadship, the designers at Studio De Voogt adopted a diamond – the symbol of 75 years – as their inspiration, and a diamond’s attributes of light, transparency, rarity, beauty, and brilliance as their muse.
Diamonds are the only gem made of a single element, they are 99.95 percent pure carbon, created many miles deep in the earth a billion and more years ago. In the periodic table of the Earth’s elements, carbon is represented simply as ‘C’. This became the perfect name for a flawless, multi- faceted superyacht concept, sparkling with new ideas and ready to challenge the open sea.
Amsterdam and diamonds have been synonymous since the 17th century. To get a better sense of how the raw, diamond crystal structure is fashioned into the world’s most prized stone, the Studio De Voogt designers visited the diamond cutting and polishing rooms at Amsterdam’s House of Gassan.
Our mission with concept C is to create a design that shows a new, exciting way of connection and cooperation between the different main elements —hull, superstructure, glass — to evoke a sense of wonder and to celebrate setting the yacht-building standard for 75 years.
Bringing light into the centre of a yacht is a yacht design challenge Studio De Voogt has addressed before with concept designs Royale, Slice and Dunes. Concept design C tackles it at the core with not just a skylight but a prismatic dome that tops the superstructure. At the touch of a button, two panels separate to provide access to a remarkable forward facing sun deck and allow the yacht’s lift to become a surprising crow’s nest.
C’s centre of guest circulation rises four-stories to terminate in a prism-like structure on the sundeck nestled within the yacht’s mast. Its faceted glass top captures light, reflecting it throughout the interior just like its diamond inspiration. With stairs pushed outboard, a large open midships atrium between decks breaks from the status quo and add depth to the experience as well as the space. Not unlike an Arabic dar or a gallery, this dramatic central courtyard keeps interior decks visually and literally connected like a three-dimensional chess board.
Take the lift to the top and the skylight within the mast automatically opens, depositing you on a cosy sundeck.
One more tap of the button and the floor will raise higher still, becoming a crow’s nest with the ultimate view of C’s surroundings. It is possible.
“Why do we do it? The reason is simple: We are Feadship.”
A multifaceted view from the owners deck towards the double height cantilevered glass wall.
From a tender or a quay, C is designed to be entered via the beach club. At the same time sheltered and open, it makes a clever transition from life ashore to a new life afloat.
C’s centre of guest circulation rises through a broad four-story column where each deck splits by a half-level to eliminate long corridors and to encourage interaction between guests on different decks. The higher deck levels aft provide even greater views to the primary social/entertainment areas and enhance privacy when quayside. The yacht’s overall low profile is possible in equal measure due to the single-level engine room on the tank deck and because there is no bridge deck above the owner’s deck. C’s mission control is located on lower deck, first proposed on concept design Pure.
General arrangement
Sun deck
Owners deck
Main deck
Lower deck
Tank deck
Main Particulars
Propulsion
Accomodation
Studio De Voogt’s design philosophy: Always seeking for an elegant and dynamic look. This is achieved by incorporating a well-balanced superstructure on a hull in such a way that the visual centre point of gravity is positioned more aft.
C is defined by her overall length of 75 metres, honouring the 75 years of Feadship. Her long, low profile is marked by a flared bow – an homage to the late Frits de Voogt, former naval architect and Feadship Director. The super-structure is defined by a mix of concave and convex surfaces with faceted transitions. You’ll notice that domes and antennas are hidden below composite surfaces in the arch and rounded roof structures fore and aft.
Glass replaces much of C’s bulwarks to preserve views from inside and reinforce a connection with the sea. Chamfers create ever-changing shadows for interest rather than relying on static paint striping.
Long deck overhangs astern provide shade without resorting to temporary awnings that require crew attention and storage space. The reverse angles of the windows and sliding glass doors bring a dramatic reduction in heat loading and allow the interior to be cooled with much less effort and energy. The cantilevered overheads gain their support from internal beams and the structure is reinforced by angled pillars tied into the glass surrounds rather than unattractive support poles.
The beauty of electric propulsion units is a more flexible engine room arrangement. The yacht’s lay-out can offer luxury accommodation on high value locations, like the spacious beach club found on the lower deck of C. Open, unobstructed living spaces on main and upper decks such as C’s central court are easily arranged. Locating the command centre, ship’s offices and captain’s cabin below secures space for a duplex owner’s accommodation without adding an extra deck or moving any guest cabins below main.
The Knowledge & Innovation team at Feadship is proposing a passive energy generating system called ‘hammerhead’.
Imagine a pair of retractable fins deploying horizontally, one on each side of the fore section of the hull, projecting like its namesake shark. As the fins encounter wave motion, they swivel up and down. A permanent magnet rotative drive generator attached to the fin shaft captures the fin’s movement, harvesting and translating it to DC electrical energy to be stored in the batteries. Testing the theory with CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) modelling using wave and sailing statistics, analysis indicates that the yacht could harvest about 60-80kW in a very common 1-metre seaway. This free energy would cover about half of C’s hotel load.
But why have just one function when you can have two? When anchored, the same fins can be activated to help dampen the roll motions of the yacht. Probably these slim fins can even be used to tension the anchor chain, thereby avoiding the tendency of a yacht to ‘sail’ at anchor in shifting winds or an opposing current-to-wind situation.
