With a continually expanding fleet of custom superyachts dotting the globe, it has become a bit cliché to say that each is a unique creation. It’s true, of course, but even so, there are still certain similarities in design, a sameness that stems from functionality. And so, most yachts are born. But most yachts Asean Lady is not.

Some would dismiss a 289-foot superyacht with an outrigger as folly, lumping it with true curiosities such as Cosmic Muffin, a "yacht" crafted from the fuselage of Howard Hughes’ one-time personal Boeing B-307 Stratoliner. Asean Lady, however, is anything but a one-off maritime oddity. Her exotic design was not just a whimsical ploy for attention, but a strategic choice based on sound principles of naval architecture by her iconoclastic builder-owner Brian Chang. (Click images to enlarge)

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"The idea of using an outrigger comes from our many yachting experiences around Indonesia over the past few decades," explains Chang on board the roomy 88-meter yacht. "I noticed that the local proas worked very well, even in relatively heavy swells.

"We’d be at anchor on our old boat [a traditional 154-foot monohull] in a secluded cove and the locals would approach us in small dugouts with bamboo outriggers, selling live seafood and fresh produce. While we’d be rocking significantly, the men on board the dugouts would be standing, going about their trade with total ease. Their platforms were remarkably stable – and I was envious."

As time went on, Chang’s thoughts returned more and more often to those stable canoes. Still, years passed before a set of sketches and plans for an outrigger yacht were created and detailed with the team from Ian Mitchell Design in New Zealand. (Click image to enlarge)

Chang, who owns Yantai Raffles Shipyard in Shandong, China, says his yard provided him a deep insight into design and construction possibilities. "Further," he adds, "I had the luxury of a sophisticated yard in a relatively secluded environment – according to the world of super-yachts, at least – so I could afford the time and privacy to create whatever I wanted."

But there were still doubters and detractors. "Trust me, it was debated then and it will continue to be debated forever. But I was convinced, so in 1999, I decided to go ahead. We were going to build the first outrigger superyacht and turn convention on its head," says Chang.In 2003, Asean Lady emerged, as unconventional as promised. She has since plied the waters in Southeast Asia, and gathering her fair share of comments along the way.

"When she was still in the yard, I had one visitor who spent two hours viewing the project," says Chang. "That evening at dinner he asked me, very seriously, ‘Are you building two yachts or one?’ Recently, another person remarked in a deadpan manner, ‘She’ll never sail straight; she’ll only go around and around.’"

Instead of rosewood, Chang chose red pine, usually readily available in the region, for most of the joinery. When suppliers ran short, she imported the rich-looking timber from Canada. (Click images to enlarge)

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