Feadship has discussed the practical potential of building its radical 86m Royale superyacht design in an interview with Boat International.
Each year, the prestigious Dutch yacht builder produces an outlandish Future Concept design for an imagined client. This year’s offering, Royale, is a glass-focussed 86m motor yacht design inspired by the new Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his Queen Máxima (every Future Concept is designed for a specific imagined client).
With a broad sweep of glass extending diagonally from the aft of the bridge deck to the lower deck at the bow, Royale certainly pushes the boundaries of yacht design. But off-the-wall – and often impractical – designs fly off drawing boards all year-round. It is the grounding in reality of Feadship’s Future Concepts that makes them stand out.
‘We are confident we can build all our concept designs,’ says Ronno Schouten, design manager at, Feadship’s Studio De Voogt. ‘Actually many of the innovations from our concepts have become reality. For example, the bow observation on (2006 Future Concept) X-Stream which became reality on Venus, or the underwater windows and (2010 Future Concept) Breathe propulsion, which are currently being applied on a new build.’
Indeed, Feadship’s creation of concept designs and the research and development activities of the yard are closely linked. ‘This year we presented the drive-through tender garage, which was the result of a long-term study into tender garages, save transfer from tenders to the yacht and the use of beach lounges,’ says Schouten.
‘Also on Feadship Royale was the use of large glass surfaces including the use of structural glass. Glass is a large part of our research since our concept model of X-Stream in 2006. Currently, we are not only able to build yachts with massive glass panes but also to use the glass as a structural part in the construction.
‘Everything we present is buildable and developed until we are confident enough to include it in any design,’ he adds.