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There are more than 700 motoryachts 100 feet or longer in the worldwide charter industry, experts say. That's a lot of competition, and it can be difficult to design a yacht whose interior stands out in the pack.
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The owner of the 173-foot Swedeship Passion knew this when he set about gutting his motoryacht and refitting her with an eye toward luring charter business. He not only wanted to create an interior that would meet the cruising desires of his family, which includes several children, but to design spaces that would be memorable selling points for potential charter clients.
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“He's chartered quite extensively,” says chief engineer Phil Ratcliffe, “so he took what bits and pieces he's liked everywhere he's been and incorporated them.” It took just under two years to complete the refit. Passion 's new aft deck is spectacular, as is the new mahogany interior by De Ruiter (crafted at the Dutch carpentry shop and shipped in sections for installation at Astilleros de Mallorca in Palma , Spain ).
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But the thing that really sets Passion 's interior apart—the thing that will be a surefire charter sales tool—is the brand-new boat deck arcade.
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“I've never seen one on any other yachts in the industry,” said David who represents Passion. “It's a childproof arcade—not too complicated, you don't need an hour or two to get started. You just need to press a button.”
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On other motoryachts in Passion 's class, the after portion of the boat deck's interior sometimes houses an owner's or VIP stateroom, or a gym, but in most cases the space is devoted to a sky lounge that tends to be a magnet for children and teenagers. While adults congregate in the formal dining area and saloon one deck down, younger guests can hang out in the sky lounge watching television and being noisy with laughter. |
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Passion takes the kid-friendly sky lounge idea further than other yachts. Amidships on the boat deck are full-size video games: Golden Tee, Ms. Pac-Man and Conquest, along with a large air hockey table. A full-service bar is abaft them; with the rest of the sky lounge extending aft to the more typical seating space and entertainment system with a 72-inch retractable plasma screen from NEC (it includes a Microsoft Xbox for video games there, too).
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While the arcade could easily have intruded on the elegant ambience, designer Felix Buytendijk and interior designer Arleen Dvorine worked together to maintain a sense of elegance throughout the yacht. The owner hired Buytendijk after having chartered another boat with his fingerprint: the 170-foot Schweers Jamaica Bay . “He asked for a similar interior,” Buytendijk says, “but a little less formal.”
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Dvorine collaborated with Buytendijk on layouts and woodwork details, and she chose fabrics and furniture based on work she had done for the owners in their homes ashore. “We made selections that were appropriate for a floating residence,” Dvorine says.
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For sofas, she went to Mattaliano in Italy . Club chairs came from Dessin Fournier. Fabrics varied, with orders from Coraggio and Neirman Weeks, among others.
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“We sent over everything that we thought would be appropriate, like little chunks of marble for each stateroom and they had to send us back samples for our approval from the boat yard in Mallorca ,” she recalls.
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The same thing happened with draperies and bedspreads. “Toward the end, when we were sending accessories, we probably packed 200 boxes of placemats and dishes and glasses and silver and bedding to go over.”
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The arcade and all that surrounds it are likely to bring not only personal happiness to the owners, but business success to the boat. At a base rate of $190,000 per week in the Caribbean ($195,000 in the Mediterranean ), Passion certainly is within the upper echelon of the charter industry, but her gaming area makes her unquestionably unique.
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Even for adult charter guests who want to satiate the child within, the arcade appears to be a smash hit.
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“I didn't realize how great it was until I really used it on a trip with other brokers,” LeGrand says. “It was raining, we were in the Caribbean , we'd all been on large yachts before, but we found ourselves all flocking like kids. We had the time of our lives.”
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Kim Kavin, editor of www.CharterWave.com
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