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You
could say that Barbara Jean is an original re-creation, drawing
inspiration from previous Feadships but still very much a reflection of
her owner’s tastes. But even that doesn’t scratch the surface—literally—of
the story of this 185-footer from Feadship’s De Vries yard, for
it’s what you don’t see upon first glance that’s as
important as the things you do.
Having
purchased the 125-foot White Rabbit on the brokerage market a few
years ago and renaming her Lady Columbo, the owner was familiar
with Feadship. He’d also admired the style inside and out of three
De Vries deliveries, namely Rasselas, Aurora B, and Iroquois,
launched in 1994, 1992, and 1998, respectively. He drew inspiration from
all three, but particularly Rasselas, when he approached De Vries
to build Barbara Jean.
In working
with the yard and De Voogt Naval Architects, which designs most Feadships,
the owner conveyed a desire that the aluminum superstructure essentially
mimic that of Rasselas, embodying classic appeal while incorporating modern
elements like a midship tender placement on the bridge deck. While the
original plan was to create a hull about six and a half feet longer than
that of Rasselas, with a swim platform featuring a fighting chair,
the project grew another eight-plus feet mainly due to the inclusion of
two 22-foot Novuranias, which were larger than originally planned. The
extra length also resulted in a larger wheelhouse and capacious full-beam
master suite forward on the main deck.
Even
with the similarities, Barbara Jean breaks new design ground. Her
hull and superstructure aren’t just longer, they also embody many
more curves—softer ones, at that—than the yachts that inspired
her, as well as other recent Feadship deliveries. The lines of Barbara
Jean significantly taper and arc as they flow aft from the midship
engine room; the effect is most noticeable when the yacht is viewed from
above, such as from a helicopter or the wing controls. All of this combines
with a continuous sheerline to create an elongated appearance.
There’s
true design innovation when it comes to the sundeck. Even though Barbara
Jean’s owner liked the superstructure of Rasselas, he
didn’t want to incorporate her extended sundeck, which was designed
to shade the bridge deck’s aft portions. Instead, this 185-footer
features a clever slide-out panel, constructed of fiberglass and reinforced
with carbon fiber for weight savings, to provide shade. It’s not
the first time Feadship has employed fiberglass: Its masts are typically
constructed of FRP for weight savings as well.
Masts
are the bane of many a naval architect’s existence because the domes
and other equipment they support tend to clash with the rest of a yacht’s
design. While some yards and designers rake the mast to minimize such
contrast, Barbara Jean’s design and construction teams gave
hers a variety of angles and shapes that were difficult to fabricate,
even after they lofted the mast using a computer.
Another
innovative approach was used for the stern. Since the owner requested
a single entrance here, which is centered on Barbara Jean’s
transom, the design and construction teams had to come up with a way to
avoid adding a hatch for a passarelle or creating a drop-down transom,
since that would conflict with the owner’s desire for installing
a fighting chair. The solution: Two of the steps in the staircase fold
out via hydraulics so that the passarelle can deploy—no lines detract
from the stern’s overall appearance.
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