Feadship’s latest entry into the genre of explorer yachts slipped from her building hall in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands in May. At almost 80 meters, this steel hulled, high-volume yacht uses a 2-meter ice belt encircling the hull above and below the waterline to achieve a Bureau Veritas Young Ice 2 notation. Built for a repeat Feadship owner, the long-range yacht can easily fulfil his plan to transit the Northwest Passage and visit some of the most inhospitable places on earth.
Feadship Project 715, now named Valor, features a hybrid diesel-electric, solar, battery powered propulsion system developed through the Feadship Advanced Electrical Drive (FAED) program. Instead of main engines and auxiliary generators, the yacht draws propulsion energy and power for her household systems from four variable speed, ultra efficient generators linked to a DC power grid and a water-cooled 5.34-megawatt hour lithium-ion battery bank from Norway. That’s more than five times the electrical power supply of the 83.5-meter Savannah launched by Feadship in 2015.
A high efficiency solar cell array on the mast augments the highly efficient system with extra carbon-free energy. Valor can operate for up to 48 hours on battery power alone, with a zero-carbon footprint and ultra-quiet operation that allows visits to sensitive marine areas in zero emission mode. Valor will be trialed using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil BioFuel (HVO) reducing carbon emissions by up to 90 percent. Twin Schottel EcoPeller azimuthing thrusters will drive the yacht to a cruising speed of 11 knots with maximum of over 15 knots. The specifications include a symmetrical-thrust, Schottel Rim-Drive bow thruster. Designed with complementing stabilization systems from Quantum Marine Stabilizers that include the XT Fin stabilizers and MAGlift stabilizers.
The big contra-flow infinity pool and the starboard side tender door are some of the largest Feadship has ever built on an 80-meter yacht, giving Valor features of a much larger yacht. The styling as requested by the American owner included a mix of a battleship’s dreadnaught bow and a modern guided missile frigate’s silhouette with a splash of luxury yacht mixed in.
Chris Bottoms at Studio De Voogt did an amazing job of listening to the owner’s ideas and interpreting them, creating a bold, confident, and aesthetically pleasing exterior design.
“The owner had three directives,” says designer Chris Bottoms. “First, he requested something that ‘would be recognizable from outer space’ as a unique design and eschewed both the wedding cake and common curvaceous designs found on so many common yachts.
The generous upper decks are walk-around, and both the owner and bridge decks feature sections with widened bulwarks. While on the bridge deck, this feature serves the wing stations, and on the owner’s deck, it provides extra outdoor lounge space and room for a grass-filled relief station and shower for the owner’s three Golden Retrievers.
Although Valor is equipped for cold climates with heat exchangers that can recycle and capture latent energy to manage even severe Arctic conditions, the yacht features numerous places for large-scale outdoor entertaining in temperate zones.
The interior design by Bannenberg & Rowell (B&R) has exceeded the owner’s request for an uncompromising interior made of natural materials of wood, stone, metal and glass. B&R designed the main staircase, which is made up of 48,001 parts, including solid bronze and stone. The owner’s deck has a forward-facing stateroom gazing onto the helideck, al fresco lounging with a private Jacuzzi, a large ensuite dressing room, and an office.
Accommodations are for 14 in the owner’s party, which includes the owner’s suite. There are six guest suites on the main deck, the main lounge, covered outdoor dining and the spacious deck surrounding the 8.35 x 2.55-meter pool heated with latent and recycled energy.
On the owner’s deck is a sky lounge and formal dining area for 14 with sliding glass walls providing indoor or outdoor dining experiences. Another of the many outdoor entertaining spaces is aft of the gym on the bridge deck.
A second Jacuzzi and its encircling sun pads dominate the forward portion of the sundeck, while an additional informal outdoor dining area is aft. An elevator connects all six of the yacht’s decks, handy for those torn between the sundeck and the beach club and massage/beauty room aft on the lower deck. The beach club features oversize doors that fold down to open this space to views and breezes, while on the port side, the water toys, exercise equipment and dive gear will be displayed for guest use.
The interior style is deceptively simple at first glance, following the clean lines and chamfers of the exterior, but layered with high-quality finishes; wood, metal, glass and stonework. A mix of vintage, mid-century and custom new furnishings from premium vendors including George Nakashima, Linley, Pollaro and Silver Lining add unique character. Linley made bespoke billet titanium directors chairs for some of the exterior dining spaces.
The interior stone was personally selected at the yards in Italy. Even the main salon features two vertical stacks of the finest, American-made McIntosh stereo equipment, including one of their famous record players with a selection of reference albums. Valor is now in the final stages of outfitting and will soon begin sea trials. She will attend the Monaco Yacht Show this fall.
For more information: feadship.nl
