Feadship Royal Dutch Shipyards has built several yachts that use glass in innovative ways. Glass structures in yachts like Venus and Hampshire II, however, only hinted at what the shipyard could do. The company's latest construction, Como, a 46.22-meter motor yacht, pushes those glass design concepts much further to create a master piece of aesthetics and engineering.
Supported by the Strength of Glass
When Feadship released its Future Feadship design in 2006, the company got an overwhelmingly positive response from the concept's glass observation area and fully glazed superstructure. In response, Feadship started testing glass to better understand how much weight the material could support without damage. After years of testing and calculations, the shipyard knew it could confidently include glass panels that acted as support as well as windows.
Como offered the perfect opportunity to put the research in action. Neville Crichton, the owner, is an experienced yachtsman who has built several ships with other companies. When he decided to purchase a custom yacht, Feadship suggested using as much glass as possible for a unique look and innovative structure.
Feadship created a glass superstructure that sits on top of metal. Most builders who have taken a slightly easier route by setting the glass superstructure in the metal. Feadship, however, wanted a continuous surface that would give the owner's stateroom uninterrupted views of the outside and create a continuous glass band than ran through the ship.