When you’ve built a 130-foot Broward and, subsequently, a 147-foot Hakvoort, and worked with coveted designers such as Andrew Winch, the question might arise: "What’s next?" Those in the yacht business might say, "Go bigger, and you could have a foldout beach club and a heliport and a submarine station…at least 60 meters."

The owners of the recently launched Perle Bleue did, in fact, plan to go for 60 meters—that is, a 60-meter interior budget per square meter for their new 38-meter motor yacht. This time they enlisted another superstar yacht designer, Donald Starkey, and once again Dutch yard Hakvoort, and the result is nothing less than spectacular. Many a luxury an owner or guest may want or expect aboard a larger yacht has been carefully considered and provided in the vessel’s span of 125 feet, and Starkey’s innovative interior is out of this world.

Like one of Holland’s finest paintings, Johannes Vermeer’s famous "Girl with a Pearl Earring," Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Bey’s own Dutch masterpiece takes her name and inspiration from the exquisite sea-based gem. In Gallic, Mrs. Bey’s name translates to mean "pearl." Coincidentally, the day the couple purchased the yacht, she happened to be wearing a unique set of blue pearls. A close friend suggested the namesake and voilà: Perle Bleue was off and running.

Perle Bleue’s French Moderne interior departs from the contemporary and traditional motifs found in the Beys’ previous yachts. (Click image to enlarge)

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Just shy of three years later, Perle Bleue crossed the Atlantic on her own bottom to debut at the boat show in Fort Lauderdale last October. She made the crossing in 18 days, enduring a week of 20-foot seas. When asked if she came on her own or via yacht transport, Mr. Bey answers:

"On her own, of course. If she didn’t, she would be for sale."

This reply sets a telling tone in regard to the level of workmanship provided aboard the vessel. The yacht was built to perform on all levels, and she lives up to the task.

Another evolution for motor yachts is the copious use of loose furniture in outdoor spaces rather than built-ins. Such exterior furnishings create a space with a more livable mood and are found in spades aboard this yacht. As Mr. Bey says, "When you get down to 38 meters, you have to be flexible."As such, many of the dining areas aboard have been designed to grow and change. On the aft deck, the square cocktail table for eight converts to a dining table for 10. Wrapping the base of the table is the same framed caning found on the side rails—an elegant detail that makes the space feel impeccably finished.

Previous design motifs for the Beys have included contemporary aboard Pegasus and traditional, which they crafted alongside Andrew Winch on Campbell Bay. This time around, French Moderne—a design period that ran parallel to Art Deco in America—was selected for the living spaces. In the main salon, deco-style furniture such as the armchairs and the aft port armoire support the theme. Much of the furniture was crafted in Italy and then installed on the yacht, which gives the feeling that they are separate pieces, not built-ins. The materials and textures of the floors transition pragmatically from hard (and easy to clean) leather near the aft doors, to carpeting in the middle social area, to hard leather again forward, below the tables. Reaching back to Mr. Bey’s comment on versatility, while the owners almost never dine indoors, the two forward game tables articulate around and lock into position with an additional leaf that creates another dining table for 10.

Part of the inherent and organic beauty of Perle Bleue is the consideration given to every natural material used on board. As opposed to a sensory overload of gilt, lacquer or accessories, woods, stones, leather and metals are employed in unique ways that surprise, but never overwhelm. A vivid example is in the main-deck powder room where Starkey installed a rare marble that runs two-thirds of the way up the walls and ends in a jagged break, where it is joined by a mirror that continues the rest of the way up the wall to the ceiling. The effect of the seam where stone meets mirror is reminiscent of a ridgeline. The space is finished with a hammered copper pedestal sink and a monochromatic wood checkerboard veneer on the door that matches the companionway treatment.

While the living areas are French Moderne, the master stateroom takes on another design directive: Indochine. For those well versed in world history, the design movements should not seem too far apart. French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954—a period that includes the realm of French Moderne or Art Deco. The Zen-like suite is tempered by elements such as lacquered night tables and a geometric terraced divider that smoothly make the transition from deco to Asian.

Though serene and quiet, the suite has many details. Bamboo veneers dominate the floor, while a low platform bed and shoji screen window treatments bring in the Orient. For bedside lighting, gold-leaf brackets that match the room divider support two hurricane lanterns. The fixtures are so dominant that the need for a headboard disappears. In its place is a special work of art—a stirring triptych commissioned by the Beys from an artist in Monnickendam, the village where Hakvoort is located. The subject of the three panels is the view from the bottom of the sea, looking up.

Past the divider is the dressing room with vanity and walk-in closet. Like the rest of the suite, the closet is calmly wrapped in whitewashed teak. Glass drawers allow you to see the perfectly folded contents they enclose. Something about it evokes a Louis Vuitton or Hermès boutique—the perfect atmosphere for a closet to replicate.

The bathroom, with its luxurious soaking tub and custom washbasins, is a tour de force of textured stones and finishes. They include Riven stone (or slate), Jerusalem stone and mother-of-pearl walls. The rain-shower room is floored in river rock. A final touch is the portlight, where a collage of materials and square and circular shapes frame the constantly changing view beyond.Guest accommodations on the lower deck are in suites named after the couple’s favorite St. Barth’s spots—Eden Rock, François Plantation and Isle de France. The central stairway leading down utilizes industrial copper piping as the handrail. This innovative use again highlights Starkey’s unusual treatment of ordinary materials. François Plantation was designed with visiting children in mind and features two single berths in an L-shape configuration and a Pullman. It also provides access from the crew’s quarters via a hidden door, so the crew can service this level easily and discreetly. As with the other guest bathrooms, a river-rock floor runs throughout the space from the shower straight through to the washroom.

The feeling on this level, especially in the identical queen-size cabins—Isle de France and Eden Rock—is colonial Caribbean, with some facets that seem very nautical. The sole is a reverse teak and holly, and all the walls are traditionally paneled with the exception of the window walls, which feature louvered plantation shutters. All the portlights aboard retain their highly polished stainless steel rims, a feature that reminds you that you’re aboard a yacht and not actually at a St. Barth’s resort. Rounding out the crisp and airy cabins are caned headboards and a raffia headliner.

LED up-lights illuminate the cracked-glass bar located to port on the sun deck. (Click image to enlarge)

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Side decks wrap the entire upper deck from the aft seating and dining area (heated with radiant heat in the headliner for New England cruising) to the Portuguese bridge, where another dining area is located and shaded by three overhead sail-like panels. A special consideration on this deck was using glass for the top 40 percent of all the coaming to provide uninterrupted views from the skylounge and aft deck. It dips down even farther aft for wave-watching. Hakvoort also pinned the glass from the inside of each stanchion rather than using the common metal plates that usually secure such glass panels.

With a 16-foot, teak-decked Castoldi tender tucked into the transom and a Sabre 38 or Intrepid usually towed behind, the top deck is free and clear for sun-soaked or shaded enjoyment. The space that lies below the shade of the radar arch was designed with a misting system to cool those coming in from the sun beds. Forward a spa pool-cum-water element features a Roman fountain and waterfall, in addition to "bubbles." At night, a cracked-glass bar is up-lit by LEDs, giving a green glow to the sprawling deck. A dayhead with Corian walls decorated in a moiré pattern is also provided. Loose furniture includes several oversize rattan chairs and ottomans that beckon quality time with a good magazine and a cold drink.

To use a beloved cliché, this third time has been a charm for experienced yacht owners the Beys. It is doubtful anyone with less experience could achieve all they did in the span of 125 feet. Here, aboard Hakvoort’s latest launch, high style, clean lines and the best of everything are neatly packaged into one of the year’s most memorable motor yachts.