DECEMBER 2017NOW AND ICE weren’t foremost on the minds
ofBerilda’s owners when they first laid their eyes
on a classic 126ft Feadship for sale in the north-
east US in 2015. “They had visions of sandy
beaches and rosé and it turned out to be rattle
guns and welding torches in Maine for a winter,”
says the yacht’s captain, Jacob Ewing.
What the new owners anticipated would be “a
paint job and a spruce up” on the pedigreed steel
yacht they had just purchased turned into the
first 14 month phase of a major multi-yard refit.
A second three month refit period took place
at the Rybovich yard in Palm Beach this year,
after a shakedown cruise from Maine to Grenada in 2017, during which
the owners got to enjoy their yacht and make plans for further updates.
A large chunk of the work was carried out at Front Street Shipyard in
Belfast, Maine, where the yacht had been hauled for the survey. Front Street
Shipyard is a relatively young yard with a new build division and several
refits to its credit. Although it was a long way for them to travel, Ewing says
the yacht’s owners liked the idea of keeping a small town employed. What
they did not expect was how longBerildawould remain in Maine.
The survey had overlooked issues deep within the older lady’s underbelly.
Brought on board to supervise the refit, Ewing had candid conversations
with the owners. Hull problems had been fixed with double plating in some
areas, “essentially a ‘Band-Aid.’ We replaced 30ft of steel at the stern,” says
Ewing, who sent samples of steel to match with the modern day metal.
Worst of all, the yacht was not safe to cruise. “There was no bilgeOpposite page:
Berilda has new teak
decks and varnish
but the refit has
preserved the patina
of time, at the
owners’ request.
Above: still to come
are the yacht’s
custom sail shades,
which will replace
the umbrellas