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Walk around any boat show and you’ll notice that yacht décor and interior design are evolving as fast as the underlying naval architecture. Influenced by both shifting tastes and new technology, yacht interior trends change every 3-8 years, which has repercussions on the sale of new vessels as well as the resale value of pre-owned yachts.
Interior designers experienced with marine applications must combine form and function seamlessly for the demanding environment. Space must be used effectively, weight is kept to a minimum and a boat usually takes much more wear and tear than a house. With the addition of large sunroofs, disappearing doorways and well-appointed flybridges, the line between the indoors and outdoors is blurred so materials must be as seaworthy as the crew.
Shelley DiCondina of Yacht Interiors by Shelley, frequently works with Hargrave Yachts where an interior project can take 16 months. Her designs must anticipate what will be stylish nearly a year and a half after she develops the concept and for the many years that the owners will enjoy their vessel. Textures, light, space planning, and the scale of furnishings must work in harmony, meaning serious décor is far beyond adding a few throw pillows. An awareness of trends is critical.
The most noticeable trend is in color. Clients are leaning toward neutrals—gray, black and mineral tones—that can be mixed and matched easily and use bold color only for small accents according to DiCondina. She speculates that people are using a neutral palette to create a calm respite with their décor and counteract their world of high-stress jobs, social discourse and shifting political environments. As in real estate today, gray is dominant but it’s often accented with soothing rose or coral ornaments.
In wood tones, walnut has popped up everywhere, whether on 100-foot superyachts or 50-foot production boats. Interpretation of the shade varies, but the trend is unmistakable. A stroll through new models at the 2016 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show also underscored the return to high-gloss finishes on paneling and cabinetry.
Color is heavily influenced by lighting, which is almost entirely LED-based. Thanks to technology, five shades of white are now available in LEDs, which is paramount since what works in a showroom may turn greenish or blue once aboard. Instead of ornate chandeliers, indirect lighting has become popular with light cords hidden behind valences and under furniture edges for a soft glow effect.
The use of natural or synthetic stone (think Silestone) is still de rigeur, but gone are the marbled colors, specs, flecks, and sparkle of yesterday’s slab granite. Instead, white and off-white countertops highlight a cleaner, sleeker aesthetic.
The amount of décor and the hiding of the details of functional spaces trend toward minimalism, an overused yet appropriate term. Stylish stainless-steel appliances are on both power and sailboats, but today these galley tools are hidden by cabinetry and camouflaged with both soft and hard surfaces, so you can hardly tell where meals are prepared. (Service galleys on crewed yachts are an exception, but even they are sleeker than before.) Televisions disappear into furniture or behind artwork, and even switches, outlets and charging ports have been hidden inside or below some other feature. Décor has become spare but innovative. DiCondina makes note of a six-foot band of walnut she added to a ceiling to add contrast. A single silver tree sculpture was added to tie the two together for a simple, elegant effect.
Fabrics are the workhorses of innovative décor, and with high-end textiles there is very little difference between indoor and outdoor materials. DiCondina’s expansive library of Sunbrella sample fabrics includes chenilles with pearl and beading accents that can be used for interiors and also withstand exterior exposure in the cockpit or on a sunpad.
A special nod goes to bedding; you will not find a bedspread on a stylish yacht today. Instead, quality linens, high thread count Egyptian cottons, duvets, and cashmere coverlets adorn the beds in master staterooms. Colors are often matched to wall coverings and stone surfaces in individual cabins. Even crew quarters on larger yachts are becoming increasingly posh with larger spaces, granite accents and flatscreen TVs.
Finally, functional décor is also about sound attenuation. “If you’ve ever had a vague sense of discomfort aboard but don’t know why, it may be due to fatigue from noise,” says Sylvia Bolton of Sylvia Bolton Design. She adds that noise can be managed on a new boat or added as aftermarket, which often gives an older boat a facelift. “Sound is carried by or bounced off of every boat surface from built-in cabinetry to those beautiful teak and holly cabin soles, and everything is always in some form of motion.”
First on the silence-is-golden list is carpeting. Since many engine rooms are situated under the salon, the underlayment is critical. Rubberized padding dampens vibration and deadens sound. For boats with hardwood flooring, DiCondina has used synthetic felt underlayment to dampen noise, and area rugs are a great way to break up hard spaces.
Walls and bulkheads can also be softened with fabric treatments. One contemporary go-to for Bolton is leather-covered panels that look modern but serve to keep things quiet. Hair-on-hide treatments with stamped or painted leather are popular as well, according to DiCondina.
Master staterooms often butt up to the engine room, which can be a specific noise challenge. Some architects place the head between the engine room and the stateroom, but if your boat isn’t laid out like that, adding soft materials will help. Putting a padded leather headboard on the master bed and adding fabric-covered acoustic headliners on the ceiling of cabins can do wonders. The best part is that these can be done in modular panels and changed out if damaged or when the décor needs to be refreshed.
DiCondina advises against making your boat a replica of your home, since your boat is a getaway and should be an inspired oasis designed to bring you together with nature. Letting the surroundings speak for themselves is always a good way to go.
By Zuzana Prochazka, Southern Boating Magazine January 2017
The first Coastal Craft splashed down in 1996 in the small coastal community of Gibsons in southwestern British Columbia, a 45-minute ferry ride from Vancouver, Canada. With a background in the marine service industry and commercial fishing, Coastal Craft president Jeff Rhodes knew that aluminum boats could take the constant pounding that vessels in the working fleet are subjected to, and they were also impervious to salt water corrosion. Initially, the vessels he built were for commercial use. Soon, however, recreational boaters discovered Coastal Craft’s tough, honest boats and wanted the same type but with a more traditional “yacht” finish. The Canadian builder obliged and produced elegantly built, well-finished, high-performance hulls that were stylish and beautiful yet did not sacrifice strength and durability. Victoria, Canada’s Gregory C. Marshall, Naval Architects Ltd., an award-winning megayacht design and engineering firm known worldwide, designed Coastal Craft’s Concord 65, the builder’s newest offering.
Coastal Craft also incorporated much of the latest marine technology into its vessels and was the first North American builder to install the Volvo IPS system into an aluminum hull. In fact, it developed a debris deflector installed in front of the forward-facing IPS system props. They were also one of the first builders to integrate an onboard sensor system that allows the unmanned boat to contact the owner by phone or computer with system updates. While these systems had been incorporated into multi-million dollar megayachts, Coastal Craft was the first builder to bring the feature to 40-foot production models. This Concord 65 is Hull No.3 of the design and has the most recently updated sensor system.
Built to Lloyds Rules, Marshall’s design yields a sophisticated hull that’s equally comfortable poking along at 9 knots or running flat out at nearly 33 knots. The hull features a fine, clean entry forward, and the hull bottom deadrise decreases from its sharpest at about midships to 12 degrees at the transom. The hull chine flats turn slightly downward, which improves directional control in turns, an important feature on vessels with pod drives. A pair of hull bottom running strakes provides additional directional stability. Coastal Craft builds each hull upright in a steel jig securely fastened to a reinforced concrete floor. Each piece of CNC-cut aluminum is securely fastened into the jig and then welded to its adjacent aluminum plate. This process reduces welding distortion and leads to a very fair hull, each of which is built identical to previous hulls in the same line.
Access to the vessel is over the integrated swim step and then up port or starboard curved stairs to the aft deck. From the swim step one can also enter, through a transom door, one of the best designed and laid out engine room spaces in any boat on the water. A watertight bulkhead door offers access to the full-beam master; the ensuite flaunts marble floors, walls and ceilings, and the in-floor radiant heating keeps toes toasty when cruising northern climes to enjoy fall colors. EnOcean lighting controls enable owners to set the mood. Two additional guest cabins belowdecks are standard as is an open laundry area with plenty of stowage. The optional layout includes a crew cabin.
The aft main deck is complete with a beautifully finished wood table and comfortably upholstered bench seating. With a couple of chairs or stools, four people can enjoy a sit-down dinner in the open air even when it’s raining or the sun is too hot; the deckhouse roof extends aft to keep guests protected. The aft deck area also houses a pair of joystick docking controls on both port and starboard sides. Port and starboard side decks offer easy access to the foredeck and are well secured by solidly fixed handrails and a bow pulpit. Teak decking under foot provides a non-skid surface.
The Concord 65’s sophisticated deckhouse interior is inviting, with excellent fit and finish throughout. Plenty of windows ensure an interior bathed in natural light, and the judicious use of wood, carpet, upholstery fabric, and color gives the vessel a visually warm, bright interior even on a dull day. Full 6′ 6″ headroom throughout adds to the feeling of spaciousness.
Electrically heated floors provide an even heat throughout the vessel, and the premium ventilation system keeps the boat smelling fresh and clean and also helps to keep mold and mildew at bay. A pop-up big screen TV with Bose sound system ensures great entertainment. The three-receiver satellite TV antenna allows different channels to be watched in each stateroom. The helm station is forward and to starboard and equipped with two individual Stidd helm seats. The skipper’s chair features a joystick control on the armrest that falls easily and naturally to hand. There are also dash-mounted holders for an iPad or iPhone, either of which can control most of the systems on the boat, yet all of the Concord 65’s sophisticated electronic and electrical systems can also be operated manually.
It is seldom that a marine writer gets to compare Hull No.3 with Hull No.1 of a boat line. Sometimes builders simply can’t be consistent from one hull to another even in the same line, but that’s not so with Coastal Craft. I dug out my Hull No.1 data for comparison and noted they have the same engines—a pair of Volvo Penta IPS 12-liter (780 cubic inch) 900-horsepower in-line sixes. From idle speed to wide-open throttle, including several displacement speeds, the rpms, speed and fuel burn of Hull No.3 was identical to the data I gathered on Hull No.1.
Coastal Craft’s Concord 65 is without a doubt one of the smoothest operating, quietest and most luxurious boats in this market segment. Its price is not insignificant, but it’s an excellent value when compared to similarly sized aluminum production vessels. The Concord 65 puts this Canadian builder in the same league as the top-tiered builders whose names have been known for many decades and are considered among the best in the world. That’s just one reason this yacht should be on your must-see list at the 2016 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
By Roger McAfee / ©Photography by Neil Rabinowitz, Southern Boating Magazine November 2016
SPECIFICATIONS
LOA: 66′ 9″
Beam: 16′ 11″
Draft: 5′ 0″
Weight: 85,000 lbs.
Fuel/Water: 1,000/220 U.S. gals.
Power: 2 x Volvo D13 @ 900-hp
Cruise/Top speed: 28.1/32.6 knots
MSRP: Contact representative
CONTACT:
DiMillos Yacht Sales
Five locations in Maine, Maryland and New York
(207) 773-7632
dimillosyachtsales.com
The Pershing 5X is the first of the X Generation with a focus on performance and innovation. The 5X (54’2″ LOA, 14’4″ beam) cockpit is protected on the sides by two aerodynamic wings that can be separated or joined to the salon thanks to a unique opening and closing system for the glass door and glazed surface. The main deck features a living room with a dining table, the helm station to starboard and a second forward lounge.
The lower deck has been designed around the spacious, full-beam ensuite master. In the prototype layout version, the VIP cabin is located forward and the dinette is in front of the galley. As an option, a guest cabin or a crew cabin accessible from the deckhouse can replace the dinette. pershing-yacht.com
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The sleek, full-coverage frame features subtle temples with metal accents. Both are polarized. MSRP $220; otiseyewear.com
