On saturday, Feadship's newly launched 46.40-metre superyacht Kiss was christenend, in a ceremony that made the most of the Valentine’s Day spirit. The story behind Kiss, which is the first Feadship to be metallically painted, is linked in a number of ways to the 46.22-metre Feadship Como, which was launched in 2014.
Henk de Vries commented: “With yachts like Como and Kiss, we are effectively building a sporty type boat around our average size of over 15 years ago, but now with all the know-how and intelligence Feadship has developed,” De Vries explains. “This facilitates a clever approach to high-end production, one which remains entirely custom while keeping the costs of a Feadship of this size within the bounds of reason.”
Just 6 months after signing the contract for Como, designer Ed Dubois came to Feadship with another client. “Ed was highly appreciative of the way that the Feadship yards work with outside designers as well as the in-house naval architects at Feadship De Voogt,” De Vries continues. “Even though Como and Kiss have similar looks they are very different yachts. Most if not all yards would have taken a platform approach based on Como’s hull, offering the client a discount for the reduced amount of engineering. That’s not how Feadship does things."
“The owner of Kiss required a more conventional speed of 16 knots (Como is 19), so she has a different power plant. And while Como is a sports boat with an open top deck, Kiss has a complete master penthouse on the upper deck. This obviously added both volume and weight to the yacht, hence requiring a revised lines plan. Make no mistake, these are two different Feadships.”
The interior of the boat is from the boards of Redman Whiteley Dixon and features a stark, crisp look. Mark Whiteley and Toby Ecuyer started together, Toby and Douglas Hynd completed the design work. “They did a fantastic job on Kiss,” adds De Vries. “It is never easy to take over an interior design project once underway and, on behalf of Feadship, I would like to say how impressed we are again with RWD's work.”
