years. The new Serenity, the third boat over 80 feet that
they’ve had, succeeds a 116 foot Lazzara of the same
name, which was not only a much liked family yacht
but also a successful charter yacht.
The adventure of building the new Serenity began
about four years ago. “I started to get the itch for a
bigger boat, something that could take us a little
further, to the Caribbean, more comfortably,” says
Heatley. The new Serenity needed to cater to a
fun-loving multi-generational family,
plus be an appealing option for people
looking to charter. In addition,
Heatley’s sister has limited mobility
and he wanted to ensure that all four
decks would be accessible to her.
With a mind bubbling with ideas, he
hired an architect to do a first concept
and began shopping for shipyards in
earnest. Eventually, circumstances
and a personal connection led him to
IAG, which was building the 140 foot
King Baby at the time, an ambitious
project that gave the relatively new
yacht builder credibility.
In IAG’s American representative at
the time, Doug Hoogs, a broker with
Atlantic Yacht & Ship, and designer
Evan K Marshall, Heatley found a
team willing to realize his ideas no
matter how unorthodox – for instance,
a wading pool on the sundeck.
“If they had not wanted to do that,
I’d have found somebody who would,”
says Heatley. But they had no intention
of denying him. Stretching the envelope was appealing
to the shipyard, which was then looking to make its
mark on the US market, and to Marshall, an
accomplished designer with an open mind.
Marshall recalls fondly his early meetings with
Heatley as they worked on the layout and drew the
yacht’s lines. “He sent me an image of a boat with a
reverse windshield and said ‘I really like the look of
that. What would it look like?’ So we modeled it up
quickly and we both thought, you know what, this is
cool. Let’s go for that,” says Marshall.
Designing Serenity was truly a collaborative effort,
with sketches going back and forth between client and
designer. “I have a portfolio full of them,” says Marshall,
who wanted to keep a family look with previous IAG
boats, particularly King Baby, which he had designed,
but was game to hear Heatley out.
“He is really an interesting guy, full of ideas and
willing to take some risk, which is always fun for aA
beautiful painting of a
swan is the focus of the
main deck dining room
on board the surprising
133 foot Serenity. It’s an
interesting symbol for the latest and most complex
yacht to emerge from the IAG shipyard, established in
Zhuhai, China, for less than a decade. Although there
is nothing unusual about a builder reaching higher
standards with each project, much credit for what was
achieved with IAG Yachts’ (now part of Sunbird) new
launch goes to Chris Heatley. The owner of a successful
commercial paint company based in Illinois, he’s been
handling decisions regarding his family’s boats forLeft:
One of three fixed
balconies on
Serenity, which were
the subject of many
conversations
between the owner
and designerLeft:
With a custom designed spa pool
with waterfall, a wading pool, a bar,
convertible table for outdoor dining
and lounging area, the sundeck
wants for nothingAbove and right:
One of several bars on board, this one
faces outward for better viewsWWW.BOATINTERNATIONAL.COM MAY 2017PHOTOGRPAHS: PREVIOUS SPREAD ATLANTIC YACHT AND SHIP. THIS SPREAD THIERRY DEHOVE; ATLANTIC YACHT AND SHIP0123456789124 1250123456789ART
PRODUCTION
CLIENT
SUBS
REPRO OP
VERSION
FEAT_Serenity, 2