Right now Bolton is working on a new project involving a play of colored light between the dining table and vertical panels set around it. "I’m using glass mosaic inlays set in epoxy and covered with tempered glass, framing the edges in wood," she says. "A small company (in Seattle, Washington) called Norberry Tile produces them. I pick the colors I like, they mix them, and there it is, voilà: amber, aubergine, mother-of-pearl, metallic beige, white amber and orange."

While projecting the power of the yacht, tables also support fun, elegant living from formal dining to backgammon. Top photograph by Bannenberg/ Feadship De Vries. Bottom photograph by Sylvia Bolton. (Click images to enlarge)

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And on the sailing yacht Mirabella V, Allen designed a gaming table for the salon with a laser-perfected marquetry top and a reverse side for backgammon, chess and cards. The table also included individual compartments for storage of game pieces and secure drawers for when the yacht is in motion.

On projects such as Lady Moura and Olympia, choice of veneers is as key to the tables’ uniqueness as their engineering. English oak, sycamore, American walnut, cherry—there are 40 or 50 veneers Allen works with. "Linley’s very committed to using sustainable sources," she adds. "We haven’t used mahogany in years."

Let’s now return to architect John Anderson’s imaginary white room with the table insde that evokes everything about the vessel itself—or should. He maintains that Wally yachts are prime examples of the seamless correlation between a high-tech hull and the furnishings within. The tables on the 118 WallyPower, for example, are of the same carbon material used by Wally designer Luca Bassani since 1993 to build yachts. Originally developed for the aerospace industry, Bassani prefers carbon fiber for its lightness and strength, which for tables means the flexibility to be moved at will.

"On Tiketitan back in 1998, we built the first table in carbon with no legs," Bassani recalls. "It was suspended from the deck. Then in 1999 on Wally B we built those rolling tables, which could disappear to clear for living space; then on the 118 WallyPower [we built] carbon modules that could be, at the same time, tables and sofas. And on the Wally 80s, legs of titanium tubing support small, innovative tables in the cockpit. When the legs are in the down position, the tables become ‘pulpits,’ or elevated platforms, which give people something to hold on to as they walk through the area."

Bassani would surely appreciate the old Gothic dictum: Ars sine scientia nihil est; or, art without knowledge is nothing. In fact, knowledge of the cutting edge is a prerequisite for Anderson, Marshall and Bolton, as well as Linley’s Sarah Allen. In combination with their artistic gifts, they require "scientia" in spades, with every tool and substance at their disposal. Once in hand, they can truly project the unique power and modern technology of megayachts throughout every space, even in the most common of tables.

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