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Giant was the perfect name for the icebreaker Swiss owner Rene Herzog decided to convert into a luxury motoryacht. At a whopping 247 feet long, the vessel dwarfs most other yachts the way a Doberman pinscher towers over a Chihuahua .
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When the boat made her public debut in October at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, her classic interior styling and comfortably sized living spaces were all anybody could talk about. That is, anybody who wasn't already talking about lessons learned and putting them to use on the 203-foot Caruso , Herzog's next icebreaker conversion.
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“ Giant is probably one of the world's largest complete refits,” says John Misiag, principal of the eponymous Florida-based interior design company. “What's unique is the size of the vessel. When you're working on this large a scale, everything becomes a larger task. You're walking through a vessel during the construction, miles each day. It's not a few steps here and a few steps there.”
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Misiag said sheer volume was one of the biggest challenges he had to overcome in doing Giant 's interior design. Herzog wanted a classic look with spaces that wouldn't overwhelm the mere mortals aboard. Misiag translated that into spaces framed by ivory marble, mahogany paneling and wrought-iron railings—yet sized and furnished on a human scale.
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For example, the owner's deck (yes, it's almost an entire deck) is divided into rooms that make it feel like an upscale condominium, with a bar and living room instead of, say, an expansive sleeping area.
The same philosophy is being applied to Caruso , Misiag said. As machinery retooling continues in Canada , he and Herzog are thinking about ways to use volume to create even more interesting interior spaces.
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“One thing that's going to be unique is that we want to put a safe room on board,” Misiag says. “It would be the first that has it. I was on board Donald Trump's boat, and there were a lot of neat features there, like a panel moved out in the master stateroom and there was an escape hatch. Those things are fairly common, access to a room or an emergency exit behind a panel, but not a safe room.”
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He's talking about what moviegoers saw in the Jodie Foster thriller “Panic Room.” Systems would need to be incorporated, such as electronics and communications equipment—not small considerations when converting an old workhorse into a luxury yacht.
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In fact, those considerations play a huge part in all the accommodations areas, says John Attersley, senior surveyor with Quay Marine Associates in Nova Scotia , who is overseeing Caruso 's overhaul in Canada .
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Guests may not think about a surveyor's work when gushing about the beauty of an interior, but they certainly will have to live with any flaws.
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“A lot of conversion has to take place on the electrical system throughout the vessel, and new generators need to be put on board,” Attersley explains. “This is for air conditioning, watermakers—fresh water is one of the biggest challenges when converting from a commercial vessel to a luxury yacht. People want to do more laundry, showers. Baths are going on. On a commercial boat, people understand that fresh water is at a premium.”
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Another big concern is air conditioning, Attersley says.
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“A vessel like the Caruso has no system because she was designed to operate in northern latitudes,” he explains. “The main concern was heating, not cooling. That challenge involves having to fit a central air conditioning unit somewhere in the vessel, then running all the ductwork through the vessel to each of the cabins, then adding thermostat controls to the cabins. It's a matter of sitting down with the designer and the supplier and working out what sorts of air flow you have to provide to maintain the temperature, and how you're going to insulate the cabins, and the velocity of the air that's coming through the system.”
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The teamwork can really pay off, as it did aboard Giant . Air flow, for instance, has to go through something that works with the interior style. Aboard Giant , Misiag incorporated the registers right into the mahogany paneling. They're hardly visible.
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Air velocity is key to guest comfort, as well. Air that flows too quickly can be noisy—ruining any visual effects the interior designer has worked to achieve.
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“What's acceptable for a crew member on a cargo boat is not usually acceptable for somebody spending a bunch of money to be on this boat,” Attersley says. “You're operating in a different realm.”
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Kim Kavin, editor of www.CharterWave.com
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