Feadship Launch Neville Crichton's "Como"

Feadship have just launched the ultra mordern 46m (150ft) semi-displacement megayacht "Como", created for the highly experienced yachtsman Neville Crichton. He has previously built a large number of competitive sailing yachts in his native New Zealand and more recently owned a 41m (134ft) megayacht designed by Dubois Naval Architects and built by Alloy Yachts. Mr Crichton decided the time had come to commission an entirely custom superyacht. Hugely influenced by his ideas regarding design aesthetics and the lavish use of glass, the Como idea was born and put into motion.

"Having built many yachts in New Zealand, my choice of Feadship came after a careful and extensive examination of its expertise and facilities," comments Neville Crichton, who was made Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 for his services to yachting and business. "Once the decision to work with Feadship for the first time was made, I followed the construction process closely at all stages. I am pleased to be able to report that Feadship has exceeded my expectations (in particular the quality and finish of their workmanship) in all areas and working with them both professionally and personally has been an enjoyable experience, with a remarkable and unique superyacht as the end result."

 
She has a modern bow with a whaleback sheer, Como's exterior design is by Dubois Naval Architects reflects Neville's very specific ideas. She has extremely large windows in the hull and there is a great deal of glass in the superstructure. The glass in the superstructure is placed on top of the metal rather than being set into it, creating a continuous glass surface. These glazed side panels give spectacular uninterrupted views from the owner's stateroom.

Being a car importer and racing car driver, Mr Crichton's love of sporty designs is seen in features throughout the yacht such as the tumblehome in the superstructure and the angle in the wall of the superstructure, that generates a streamlined cockpit look resembling a racing car.

Como comprises of two and a half decks, an exception for Feadship in recent times when most projects have had four or five. The wheelhouse is slightly recessed into the main deck structure, showing the streamline of the design while creating a gigantic outside deck. This is a wonderful party area is also completely covered and surrounded by glass, which can be lowered to facilitate a nice breeze or raised to create a giant terrace protected from the elements.

The back end of the wheelhouse slopes down from the front into a control station for outdoor helming and the interior design from the designers Redman Whiteley Dixon is finished to an exceptionally high level with lots of dark timbers and a wide range of fascinating fine details.

"We are delighted to make our mark once again in this size range," commented Feadship director Henk de Vries at the launch of Como. "Feadship is not only about very large superyachts: we also pride ourselves on creating exceptionally well-honed objects on a more human scale. And, like all our yachts, everything has been totally customised to the client’s individual requirements. We have used the very latest technologies and developments to push the window – and the windows – on what is surely the most sophisticated forty-six metre superyacht in the world today."