| Heesen 121 |  |
The Canadian owner of Man of Steel is not a comic book fan, and his
37-meter (121-foot) Heesen raised pilothouse is constructed of aluminum, not
steel. The name is a tongue-in-cheek reference— carried all the way through
to the yacht’s Superman crest logo (the "S" replaced by the family’s "Z" last
initial)—directed at the owner himself, a businessman who found success
manufacturing the ferrous metal. Detail elements throughout pay homage to steel,
from the extruded square-tube stairway handrails and wall sconce mounts to the
stainless steel joinery inlay. It is this attention to detail—in both design and
execution— that separates Man
of Steel from her three predecessors in Heesen’s
successful 37-meter series.
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Some 350 people gathered last October at Heesen’s yard in Oss,
Netherlands, to watch Man of
Steel slide down the ways. The crowd had barely departed
before she then moved to the North Sea for sea trials and almost as quickly out
to sea, making 12 knots on her way to the Canary Islands en route to the United
States on her own bottom. Eight-and-a-half days later she was safely tied off in
Fort Lauderdale.
"People seem surprised when we tell them that we made a transatlantic voyage
right out of the box," says captain Nigel Jenkins, "but this hull is tried
and tested, and we found that it lived up to our expectations. I’ve had 35-knot winds on her
nose and still powered through at 28 knots without any problems. When you have
that kind of confidence in a vessel, it inspires you, and that is this boat’s
biggest asset." Engineered by Heesen’s Bram Jongepier and designed by Omega
Architect’s Frank Laupman, the aluminum alloy semi-displacement hull and
superstructure is a modestly modified version of Heesen’s Lady Ingeborg. Launched
in 2004, Lady
Ingeborg won a 2005 ShowBoats Award in the category of
Best Semi-Displacement Yacht Under 40 Meters. While Seascape and
Let It Be—Hulls No. 2 and 3, respectively—showed continuous refinements to the
series, it was Man of
Steel that garnered the next ShowBoats International
Award nomination in the same under-40-meters category. The 37-meter series shows
a racy exterior, with the line of the superstructure descending forward to meet
the rising sheerline at the low-profile bow. The sleek look hides a full-beam
master forward of the main-deck galley amidships and an interior spacious enough
to rival many tri-decks.
But Man of
Steel received the honor of its nomination due to its
sophisticated and well-executed interior, designed by Omega and decorated by the
owner’s wife who, quite surprisingly, has no formal training in the field. While Seascape features a modern, pale palette and
Let It Be goes more traditional with high-gloss cherry joinery,
Man of Steel employs zebrano—a medium brown wood with a well-defined grain—and light
bamboo as a backdrop for textiles in rich chocolate and deep burgundy. Gold and
Chinese red add energy while olive and taupe keep it earthy and in check. Of course, it’s all tastefully united with metal details.
Stainless steel, brushed and polished, shows up again and again. The joinery
inlay is carried through both decks, as are the brushed metal cover plates and
rocker switches for the lights. In the dining area, minimalist leather chairs
feature artfully curved metal bases, and the lighting fixture uses extruded
stainless steel wires to form two rows of square sconces. (Square lampshades
fabricated from metal or metal mesh are a touch carried throughout the yacht.)
The silvery stuff is used for drawer and cabinet pulls, and for the lever
handles and hinges on the frosted glass doors that separate the dining area from
the hallway forward to the galley, pilothouse and master suite. The metal details support the décor’s modernist overtones. The
repetition of the square steel elements is softened by gentle curves seen in the
floor plan of the semicircular main salon, the sectional sofa with its
eye-shaped ottoman, the dining table and its arched-back chairs, the radial
built-ins in the staterooms and in other subtle applications on every deck.
Together these component parts strike a balance, forming a style that is
masculine but not oppressive.
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