Although most new builds progress through their design and build cycles without major disruptions, there are exceptions. JeMaSa, a 164-foot (50-meter) motor yacht delivered by the Hakvoort shipyard early last year, is one such project, but unlike many that end badly, this one has a storybook ending.

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Nearly halfway through construction, the client made a decision to sell the boat, and the project passed into the hands of its current owner, an American who, although new to yacht ownership, had an entirely different set of criteria, none of which included a children’s enclave.

"I’m a curious guy and was interested in what it meant to own a boat versus chartering it. So, during the course of the charters, I’d spend quite a bit of time with the captains and talk to them about some of the issues of boat ownership and also some of the economics. I also had a friend who was in the process of building a boat here in the United States, and I chatted with him as well." But, explained the owner, it was a memorable charter that changed the direction from buying a boat on the brokerage market to becoming involved in a new build.

"One of the boats we had chartered was Campbell Bay. That was a wonderful experience, and the boat very much impressed us with the quality of the Hakvoort product, which we felt offered Dutch quality that measured up against the finest, while [representing] a little better value. It was measurably impressive and really was the nicest of the boats we had chartered, although we had chartered some nice boats.

"During my travels, I ended up dropping by and meeting the Hakvoorts and enjoying them, the feel of their operation, the family nature of it. I remember seeing this project under way, getting a look at the design of the boat and being really quite impressed with the overall design.

"Campbell Bay had a very generous upper deck, and that’s the way we like to live. This particular boat also had the same thing, actually [it was] a good deal larger. It was a big boat in volume, for its length…so it ended up being of interest and was tucked away in my memory."After looking at several Feadships on the brokerage market, the owner decided that helicopter operations would need to be appended to his list of requirements.

"A while later, we were in the process of negotiating to buy one of the [brokerage] boats and spent some time at the boat show. It turned out that I pulled back from the memory base what was going on with [the Hakvoort project]; I had kind of heard that the old owner…had some issues that compelled him to make a change, but I didn’t know whether it was feasible and what the economic terms would be—whether it would be in reach.

"It all kind of came together at the boat show two years ago. We found that it probably was going to work, and work at a price that was certainly more generous than anything I’d been thinking about in the [used] Feadship world. But it represented the potential to have all of the things I wanted in a boat, which was a good-volume, family kind of boat [that could handle] helicopter activity and that lent itself to having the toys not in your way all of the time. And…I loved the lines."

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With the deal done, the design team—with the addition of Barbara Barry, the owner’s Los Angeles–based interior designer—began working to transform the boat, which already had much of her interior installed. The first matter at hand was to rearrange the guest area of the cabin deck. A pair of VIP staterooms and a second pair of guest cabins were installed in place of the children’s cabins. A fifth cabin forward could be used by a pilot or nanny and, opposite to starboard, another cabin was reserved as a massage room that, thanks to a set of Pullman berths, could serve double duty as a sixth stateroom.

The original interior was executed in teak and had a contemporary Scandinavian feel with complex joinery details. The new mandate for Espen Øino, Reverberi and Barry was to create an interior that would have the look and feel of a beach cottage. The result was a design that, in the bridge-deck lounge, saw the installation of bulkhead panels coated in ivory eggshell lacquer and trimmed in naturally finished cherry and, in the main salon, a more contemporary setting that, like the lounge above, takes advantage of large expanses of glazing to extend the view and bring in copious amounts of natural light."Barbara’s team looked very closely—and in a very detailed way—at all of the touches," the owner said. "There were a lot of aspects to the old design that I am sure would have been elegant but were not our style, a lot more ornate detailing than was of interest to us."

He explained that Barry’s office simplified the moldings and joinery, and chose different finishes, adding, "they had an interior design capability, a drafting capability and a detailing capability that was done in concert with Michela and which was worked into Michela’s plans."

It is interesting to note that with a length that is nearly identical to Lady Marina, which Hakvoort delivered in 1994, JeMaSa has more than 8,800 cubic feet more volume. This translates into greater space throughout the boat and is especially noticeable in the crew accommodations, which are graced with a curved staircase of residential proportions that leads below from the cabin deck to a full-height deck and provides an impressive amount of extra storage in several spaces. (Click image to enlarge)

JeMaSa’s exterior styling represents a departure from the look generally associated with Hakvoort boats, most of which have been designed by either Diana Yacht Design or Pieter Beeldsnijder. In this instance, Espen Øino was responsible for the boat’s unique profile, which helps disguise the impressive volume of both the superstructure and hull while maximizing exterior space.

One of the yacht’s most interesting features centers on the launch system for the tenders. Stowed amidships on the port and starboard sides of the bridge deck, the tenders are partially hidden behind the superstructure’s sweeping fashion boards. In most installations of this kind, the placement of small boats in this area requires either a large door to open outboard and up or a hinged bulwark that folds outboard and down.

The solution aboard JeMaSa is clever. To launch a boat, a large section of the superstructure—comprising part of the fashion board and part of the bulwark—is attached to the ends of the two overhead cranes that are dedicated to that particular boat. Before the tender is lifted from its cradle, the superstructure panel is unlatched and shifts outboard a short distance to provide more room for the tender as it is manipulated. The tender is then lifted, and as it travels outboard over the water, the superstructure panel moves with it, leaving a clear opening; there are no hinged panels protruding from the hull that would require additional travel for the cranes.

The obvious benefit of stowing the tenders in this way is that it reserves the entire after section of the deck for use by the owners and guests. This works perfectly with JeMaSa’s interior arrangement and, true to the beach-cottage concept, provides an exterior "patio" that flows seamlessly from the airy bridge-deck lounge.

The sun deck is arranged with outdoor and indoor areas. The former is divided into a forward section with lounges, sun pads and a dining table, and an aft section that includes a large spa tub and a heli-deck that accommodates the yacht’s A-Star. The latter section is separated from the outdoor areas by floor-to-ceiling glass bulkheads and houses a gym and a dayhead that is fitted with a shower and a remarkable toilet that folds neatly away into the vanity.Another exterior lounge was integrated into the area just abaft the foredeck. It has a circular settee that faces a console on which a flat-panel television can be mounted and provides yet another space for passengers to enjoy.

"What we’ve found, and what our guests have found," said the owner, "is there are plenty of » places to be private. You don’t have to be on top of anybody; you can find your own wonderful place and wonderful space."

For easy access to the water, JeMaSa is fitted with an articulated transom door that converts into what has become known colloquially as a "beach." The teak-clad swim platform and its adjoining lounge deck are reached by an interior staircase from the aft deck that terminates in a garage that houses a collection of water toys.

Considering the exceptional design and finish of the boat, it is not surprising that the owner and his family are already hard at work enjoying her.

"We’re intending to do a world cruise. Whether it’ll be once or twice around we don’t know, but we’re at a stage in life where we’re curious to see some places we haven’t been and to dig a little deeper into some places we have been, where we’d like to spend more time.

"We plan to spend a fair amount of time aboard, but for nice, respectful people who want to go where we want to go, somebody can charter it from time to time."