twasanunlikelypairing:Westport,whichturnsoutfour
modelsbetween 34 and 50 metreswithaprecisionrarely
seeninthesuperyachtworld,andHollyHunt,acompany
thatcustomdesignsandbuildscollectionsthatblurtheline
betweenfurnitureandart.Togethertheduocreatedwhat
shipyardpresidentDarylWakefieldcallsthemostradical
Westporttodate.
Yetitsyachtsaren’tmeanttobeunique–wordssuchasquality,
consistencyandreliabilitybetterfitthebuilder’sbusinessmodel.Owners
arecertainlyabletoputtheirstampontheinteriors,buttypicallywithin
thetimelineoftheefficient,fast-pacedbuildschedule.AsWakefieldonce
toldme:“It’sacaseofpickyoursongorgetelevatormusic.”Buttheowner
ofPepperXIIIaskedforasymphony–andWestportobliged.
Still,choosingtheChicago-baseddesigncompany,whichhadnever
pennedayacht,wascurious.Inadesignstatement,HollyHuntsaidshewas
“stunned”attherequest.Shewasinitiallydubiousabouttheendeavour,but
herseniorarchitectandinteriordesigneratthetime,NeilZuleta,was
certaintheycoulddoit.Afteracceptingthecommission,theywentona
fact-findingmissiontowhatisarguablythebestplaceintheworldtoabsorb
thenuancesandtrendsofsuperyachtinteriors:theMonacoYachtShow.
Theowner,along-timeHollyHuntshowroomclientandafanofthe
brand,gavethemtwomandates:first,thecolourpalettewastobeinspired
bytheWeimaranerdogbreed’scoat,andsecond,tohavefunintheprocess.
“Theydidnotwanttogiveusanydesignrestrictions.Theywantedus
tobecreativeandwewereallowedthefreedomtocomeupwithsomething
thatwastrulybeautiful,”Zuletasays.Forhimthiswaseye-opening,arare
giftfromaclientwhoappreciatesgooddesign.
AndhowdidallthiscreativityaffectWestport’sproductionschedule?“Dramatically,”Wakefieldanswersgood-naturedly.“Itisawhole
newboat.Theonlythingthat’soriginalistheshape,theenvelope
itself,buteverythinginsidehadtobecompletelyredesigned.”
Itwasnotaneasyprocess.“Huntdidn’tcalloutdetails,she
calledoutthelook,”Wakefieldsays,andsheleftittothe
shipyardtoworkouthowtheyweregoingtoachieveit.“Itwas
verymuchacollaborativeeffort.Wehadaverystrongteam
fromtheshipyardandinternallywehadateamthatwantedto
dogooddesign,”saysZuleta,whoisnowwitharchitecturefirm
Gensler.“Ifeltnoideaswereshutdown.Theywerealwaysopen
todiscoverandlookfurtherintosolutions.”AsforWestport,
Wakefieldsaysitwasagoodopportunityforthem.
TheprocesskeptLynnMeyer,whoworksinclientservices
forWestportandwasthelinkbetweendesignerandbuilder,
prettybusy.Attheonsetoftheproject,hesharedatipwiththe
landlubberdesignteam:“Aboatislikeahouse...inan
earthquake...24/7.”
TheteamfromHollyHuntapproachedthedesignfromaAbove:themainsaloonhasaresidentialfeelwiththeonusonhigh-end
finishes,boldcolours,sensualmaterialsandangularforms,whichcarries
onthroughtothecommandingguestseatingareainthewheelhouse(right)I
08 2019