|
|
|
Designers use glass to make the great outdoors part of a yacht’s interior ambiance.
by Louis Postel
|
02/01/2008
|
"What a waste for everyone to be looking inward when there’s so
much to see out," he says. "And come to think of it, why does the captain always
get the million-dollar view, the one looking forward? Why are the owners looking
backward from the aft deck?" To him this seems like a puzzling injustice.
Top to bottom: Traditionally inspired portlights frame ocean
views, as opposed to leaving them wide open—an effect that some owners find too
vacuous. Top and middle photographs by Neil Rabinowitz. (Click images to enlarge)
To correct the situation, Sampson offers the Nereus concept, a
163-foot motorsailer with an ice-class steel hull. Modern, but with undertones
of gentlemanly Edwardian flair, Nereus’ prize feature is an all-glass,
three-level "winter garden" over the owner’s suite.
"In its lounge area you have a full panoramic view, and under
the glass roof you have the bedroom. Lying there with your head against the
mast, you look straight up at the night sky with the unfurled sail fluttering in
the breeze."
The owner’s winter garden, however, has not short-changed the
captain’s wheelhouse windows above. Instead of the usual forward slant, the
solar-controlled glazed glass slants back to cut down on glare like a racing
car.
"Of course," says Sampson, "on very sunny days there will
be some dazzle, which will be a good excuse for the captain to [don] his cool
pilot shades."
And how about the Nereus hull? Does it look equally cool, or
has Sampson’s winter garden and wheelhouse concept made it look strange?
It does look cool, but unlike anything you’ve seen before; so in that sense
it’s cool, but not classic, unless you want to call it a modern classic or a
classic in the making (if it’s built). The point is that on many levels Sampson
has answered the call for racecar sleekness inside and out, just as van der
Velden and others have done with more recognizable styles.
|
|
|
|
|
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Email This
Printer Friendly Version
Reprints & Permissions
Most Popular Searches