FEADSHIP DEBUTS A MASTER STROKE OF STYLING AND INNOVATION WITH PROJECT 826
Feadship shares its latest achievement: 80 metres of radical lines that mark a decisive departure from established superyacht aesthetics. Designed by renowned UK sailing yacht specialist Malcolm McKeon, Project 826’s low and clear profile is set to redefine the genre. Long and sleek, you will notice immediately her low freeboard and the uncluttered, flat foredeck. Her 80.00-metre graphite-coloured hull reveals a slight tumble home before the waterfall teak stern captures your attention. With just two decks above main, she is well-proportioned. Her silver superstructure floats atop full-height glass walls, their views scarcely interrupted by glass bulwarks and balustrades. Shiny black accent panels, teak decks, and warm, vertical teak strips accenting the superstructure create a special signature. If the way she looks as one with the water triggers thoughts of sailing yachts, that is no accident. McKeon has designed more than 200 yachts, 55 of them in the superyacht range, and most of them sailing yachts.
Taking a cue from his specialist knowledge of high-performance sailing yachts, the plumb bow is sharp and the hull slowly widens aft to reduce resistance and drag. The gentle curves of the windows and superstructure overhangs forward develop a pleasing tensionthat resolves in scooped, sculptural lines leading aft to the primary al fresco social areas.
The design’s key focus is maintaining a connection with the sea and sky, with walkaround main and upper decks providing seamless access fore and aft, and a winter garden that transforms from an interior to an exterior space by virtue of folding glass panels. The yacht delivers the luxury seaside lifestyle with a stunning main deck poolside lounge centred on a 6.37-metre pool. Steps descend under its curved glass bottom to the unprecedented environment of the beach club below.
Largest Feadship beach club ever at 165m2 Project 826 debuts the largest beach club on any Feadship to date. Her open- plan layout is on two levels: a recessed and cosy, low-slung lounge with casual seating and a bar dominates the centre. A few steps up, a wide perimeter level links massive, teak- covered hatches that fold out to become terraces 700mm over the sea. The beach club’s 180-degree view is almost seamless due to the lack of bulky hull structure framing the doors. Feadship met the design challenge to maximize the views and minimize blind spots by initiating innovative new design and engineering that houses the powerful gears for opening and closing the hatches within the doors themselves, instead of inside thick hull sections and stern pillars. The result is an openness of space that is a perfect match to the overall lightness of the profile. With dappled light filtering through the glass-bottom pool above, the beach club will be like an island oasis.
The generous beach club links to a watersports area, as well as fitness spaces and a massage room. To port and starboard, the gym areas combine cardio and weight training, with yoga on the starboard side and a cable machine with free weights to port. These spaces feature folding hull doors that open out into terraces, creating a dedicated area for sport and relaxation. The contemporary yet warm and relaxing interior décor is bym2atelier of Milan, Italy.
The bridge, captain’s cabin and ship’s office are farthest forward on the main deck with a full view of the touch-and-go helipad that doubles as a pickleball court with removable netting.
Supporting the brief for a yacht that blends with its environment, the yacht’s profile is elegant in its simplicity and free from gimmicks. Starlink flat receivers mean the mast is also free from bulky satellite communication domes, and the sundeck’s minimal hardtop follows the straight horizontal rooflines of the decks below. Rather than pillars, its support structure has been widened into walls sheltering a circular bar and seating area, finished in a metallic silver paint.
The theme of simplicity extends to the propulsion, which is diesel direct to shafts and propellers. Three Scania gensets in a soundproofed room provide auxiliary electrical power. Two large tenders are housed in a forward garage. “This yacht represents a new design chapter in the Feadship story, and the look is proving popular,” said Feadship Director Jan-Bart Verkuyl. “Achieving a profile this clean whilst accommodating the technical complexity of the stern architecture and the scale of thebeach club openings demanded a high level of engineering innovation. McKeon’s brief challenged us in the best possible way, and the response from the market suggests we have delivered something the industry has been waiting for.”
