Majestic, imperious, imposing – any number of lofty adjectives could apply to the vessel before you, the latest creation from Dutch boat builder Feadship: Project 714, a 262-foot superyacht hybrid vessel which was launched from the yard’s Aalsmeer facility in the Netherlands at the end of February. Just final outfitting and sea trials now stand between the present moment and the latest addition to the Feadship fleet taking to the seas.
Hampshire-based design studio RWD are the design visionaries behind Project 714’s seductively sculpted blue steel and aluminium silhouette. The naval architecture, meanwhile, is by Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects.
For all its majestic aesthetic punch though, Project 714 is more likely to get tongues wagging in the yachting community for its game-changing diesel-electric power system. Thanks to the Feadship Advanced Electrical Drive programme (the fruits of which can also be found aboard Feadship’s Obsidian vessel), this superyacht boasts 4.5 times more electrical storage capacity than the yard’s inaugural hybrid release, Savannah.
True to Feadship’s reputation, every detail in Project 714 has been meticulously crafted to ensure unparalleled aesthetic appeal and performance.
The impressive eco-creds don’t end there: as any boffin from the transport R&D community will tell you, making moving objects environmentally friendly is not just about fuel types and energy-burning efficiency but also reducing resistance to propulsion. As such, both momentum and steering in Project 714 are executed by two contra-rotating thrusters. The absence of old-school drive shafts and rudders massively reduces drag.
Add to that finely tuned pods and propellers that minimise vibration and maximise comfort on board – all techie guile derived from highly sophisticated computational fluid dynamics – and this vessel starts to look like a Flagship (lame pun intended) for Feadship’s commitment to innovation and sustainability. The company plans to deliver a net-zero superyacht by 2030 and came up with the world’s first ever hydrogen-powered superyacht, Project 821, last year – making Feadship Project 714 a serious statement of intent as well as a drool-worthy addition to the superyacht canon.
Not much, at the time of writing, has been revealed about what we can expect of Feadship Project 714’s interiors. However, given that guests aboard the Savannah can exchange banter in an onboard underwater lounge, whilst those wandering beneath the decks of Obsidian, fizzy in hand, may run into a secret staircase leading to a study and a sunken mingling zone, expectations will run high.
Find out more about Feadship yachts, HERE.
Author: Nick Scott
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