Boat International US Edition – May 2019

boatinternational.com• 052019

PHOTOGRAPHY:

NEAL

FEAY;

ADAM

VOORHEES

intensely, because I went straight into

racing,” explains Rasmussen. “My family

had horses, so I grew up riding, but I

was always trying to find ways to get out

ontotheocean.”

Asurfersincechildhood,Rasmussen

realizedthattherewouldcomeapoint

whenthephysicaldemandsofripping

waves wouldbecome too much. A

supplierinvitedhimtocrewonhisJ/24,

andRasmussenwashooked.

“IhaveaJ/105calledFreeEnterprise,

whichIboughtbackin2001,”heenthuses.

“It’samuchbetterboatwithatiller,soI

converteditinthefirstyear,addingan

aluminumtillerthatweengineeredto

death.Weactuallyhadtoaddabunchof

weightbackinit,tomakeitlegaltorace.”

Truetoform,Rasmussenalsoreplaced

theboat’sstainless-steelgrabrailswith

precision-machinedaluminumonesthat

“fitbeautifullyintoyourhand,”andis

workingonanaluminumsteeringwheel,

whilehis“24fteasyparker”slipfeaturesa

beautifultexturedaluminumbathing

platform,alongside“variousbitsofthings

bakinginthesun.”Theboats,heexplains,

actasatestinggroundforNealFeay’s

numerousclientprojects.

“Thereareonlysomanymaterialsthat

workonaboat,andaluminum’salready

beenvetted,”Rasmussenexplains.“Even

Benettiisusingaluminumcleatsonits

productionboats,soit’saprovenquantity.

Andit’sincrediblyhard-wearing–that

tillerwemadebackin 2001 looksexactly

thesametodayasitdidonthedaywe

madeit.”Plusit’slighterthanstainless

steel.“Aswetransitionawayfromfossil

fuelsandtowardselectricboats,that

weightisgoingtobeabigdeal.”

Coloredaluminumalsoopensup

excitingnewopportunitiesonboard.

“Champagneisfantastic,andcoolish

tones–graysandblues–lookbrillianton

deck,”heexplains.Blackcangettoohot

tomakeitagoodoption,whilepink

shadesfadefaster.Ievenhaveapainting

doneinbluetonesofanodizedaluminum

sittinginmyhousebytheartistJohn

Millei,”Rasmussensays.“Mywifeand

Ihaveaseriousartproblem,soweinvited

awholeloadofartistsjusttocomeand

play in themedium. While they’re

developingtechniquesthatworkfortheir

art,we’relearningdifferentwaystomake

purely decorativepieces that work

commercially,andwhichdon’thave

aspirationsinthegallery.”

So,wheretobeginifyouwanttobring

aluminumintoyouryacht?Inadditionto

obviousareas–doorhandles,walls,grab

rails, bars, staircases – decorative

chandeliers,sconcesandlampscanbe

veryeffective.“Inherently,aluminumisa

greatreflector,”Rasmussensays.“Youcan

hideLEDssothatyoucan’tseethem,and

thelightisbouncingoffthemetaltogive

abeautifulsoftglow.”

NealFeayisalsolookingintocreating

superyachtspaceilings.They’rewell

placedtodoso,usingthecompany’s

previousexpertiseasahigh-endhi-fi

“Champagne-

coloredaluminum

isfantastic,and

coolishtones,

suchasgraysand

blues,lookbrilliant

ondeck”

Left: Free Enterprise, the

35ft J/105 that Rasmussen

bought in 2001. He added an

aluminum tiller – and then

had to add weight elsewhere

to comply with class

regulations. Above: a 2ft

Rasmussen salver with

rippling wave effect.

Right: the salver under

construction at Neal Feay

Studio in Santa Barbara

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