| Abeking & Rasmussen 190 |  |
When Texans John Eddie Williams and his wife Sheridan selected a
proven hull design from Abeking & Rasmussen, and a designer who previously
had worked in the space, it allowed them to concentrate on the yacht’s ambiance
and accoutrements in a way that makes for a study in understated elegance with
many contemporary touches.
"We wanted to build a boat and put all the things that we liked
in it," said John Eddie. Theirs is a simple desire that drives many of today’s
custom builds. At the time, the Williamses owned a 148-foot Feadship, the first
yacht to carry Sheridan’s name.
"We made the decision to build in Europe," John Eddie said.
"Then we looked at the shipyards and met the yard owners." Choosing the yard
came down to what felt right. | Click on the Specs tab at top to see complete list of resources. |
"Abeking & Rasmussen had the least corporate feel and the
best product," he continued. "We liked the owner, Hermann Schaedla, and felt we
would get personal attention from the yard."
Captain Keith Moore helped the Williamses select the
Feadship—originally launched in 1988—in 2001. They enjoyed the boat, but it got
them thinking about building bigger. Moore, who was the build captain for the
construction of the 190-foot (57.9-meter) Lady Sheridan, launched last
March, is still with the boat.
Top: The color of the ribbed-velvet sofa
and the geometric designs on the tufted club chairs set the theme between
the salon and the dining space. Makassar ebony mullions and trim round out the ambiance. Bottom: With hues reminiscent of the Texas plains, the dining room
is a formal space. The table, by Rodiek, is mahogany with Makassar
trim. (Click images to enlarge)
Moore and his team lived near the shipyard throughout the
25-month build, during which time the Williamses made 10 trips to the yard from
their Houston home. They are pleased with their choice and celebrated with the
largest launch party ever held at the yard, where 400 people enjoyed a Texas
barbecue, complete with cowboy hats. The anticipated personal touch was
confirmed when, halfway through the build, Schaedla invited Moore’s contingent
out to race go-karts.
"He beat us. Then he took us out for Mexican food," Moore
recalled.
The hull design from Abeking and Rasmussen had seen life
before, bearing the names Excellence III, Kwikumat and
Zenobia, and its reputation for stability is well proven. Going with
time-tested designs was a theme throughout the build and remains a mantra in the
vessel’s day-to-day operations.
"We didn’t take chances on the technology," said Moore. "We
wanted systems that were proven." The yacht also charters, so Moore said there
was no reason to take chances.
 For movie-viewing, the skylounge’s side
couches are moved back to provide a better angle. Plum subtly accents the décor.
Contrasted with the earth tones, it gives the room a "desert in bloom"
feel. (Click image to enlarge)
Having toured Excellence III and the Feadship Blue
Moon, they saw and liked Donald Starkey’s interior and exterior design work
and chose the Englishman to design Lady Sheridan. Starkey said they asked
for something conservative, yet sophisticated and gave him a free hand to
design. Conservative never has been this enticing.
Myriad personal elements give a yacht its unique ambiance.
Having owned her own interiors firm in Houston since 1978, Sheridan is no
stranger to matching fabrics and textures and selecting complementary art. She
also has a keen eye for spatial concepts. When the time came to develop the
yacht’s interior feel, she and Starkey spoke frequently.
Sheridan went with Starkey and André Jonker, Abeking’s project manager, to the Antolini stone yard in Verona, Italy, to select
stone slabs, which were then tagged and shipped to the fabrication facility in
Germany. This trip also yielded brown- and pink-hued mother-of-pearl mosaic, in
90-by-40-inch sheets. Feeling they were too beautiful to be left behind, she had
the sheets shipped to the yard with no specific use in mind. The mosaic pattern
was a natural fit when inlaid in the master bath’s water closet and shower,
contrasting nicely with the honey-colored miele onyx.
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