DECEMBER 2017almost empty, except for the two old Cats,” Williams
said when we spoke in early October. In addition to the
stabilizers and the new electronics in a bridge designed
in keeping with the boat’s older style, a new shore
power system was added. In the interior, a VIP
bathroom, the galley, the crew heads and the captain’s
cabin were all gutted, redesigned and rebuilt, again in
a way that respects the yacht’s heritage.
“We are taking care of all the underpinning that will
make her super safe, so what we really are doing is
stuffing her with the latest technology, but what my
husband and I love are the classic lines and the feel of
an older boat – one that has tons of character,” she says.
“There are a number of lovely yachts out there and
obviously huge ones, just gorgeous, but we wanted
something for us, for our family.”
François van Well from Rybovich, who for many
years was a director at Feadship, says, “It is rewarding
to work on a project that has history, with new owners
who recognize the legacy and carry on with it. The
owner is basically doing all the interior decoration and
design herself and she has a great sense of style. It’s a
pleasant, family oriented boat, open and airy. It’s that
family feel that really attracted us to the project.”
In addition to being a solid and graceful little ship,
Berildahas great interior volume for her length. “If you
wanted to rebuild this size boat today, you would have a
lot less interior space because the new regulations have
led walls to be thicker, etc,” Van Well says. “There is a
true benefit in restoring an older boat.”
Part of the extra space also has to do with what the
captain calls “the old-style hull shape” and the refit’s
improvements. For example, previous refits had added
layers of materials over the original fabric-covered
plywood overhead and the flooring. “We took apart
everything and brought it back to the steel and
aluminum, so we gained that overhead space back,” the
captain says. “There was a huge built-in cabinet that
took the entire length of the salon. We took that cabinet
out to re-veneer the wall to match the rest of the boat
and gained about 40 square feet of interior space, and
we pulled out all the old air handler units, put in new
ones and gained considerable interior volume.”
A good portion of the interior work went on during
the 14 months at the Front Street Shipyard, including
construction of the new on-deck master suite, a study
and a full-size wine locker. “Their cabinetry and
woodwork is amazing,” the captain says. “We made a
China cabinet that acts as a partition that divides the
salon and new main dining.”
A big part of the new design was to infuse the yacht
with a new personality that fits the owners’ way of life.
They had chartered many times before. “We did a lot
In addition to
preserving the
boat’s character,
Williams has
designed new pieces
to fit the spaces just
right. Still to come is
a new games piece
for the salonof fun things and decorated her as we wanted,” says
Williams, who has been picking out accessories and
finishes for the boat during their travels.
“Our goal is for it to be elegantly casual,” she says.
“My husband is a bit of wine nut, so we always have a
lovely cellar, antique ice buckets and fun things to add
to our pleasure and hopefully everyone else’s,” she says.
“We have every conceivable Christofle glass, Baccarat,
the whole gamut, but use it in a more casual way.”
In theory,Berildasleeps 12, but Williams says she’s
perfect for 10, unless there are small children. “We have
a Harry Potter room,” she says, “a cute little room. My
son slept in there and said, ‘mom, you have to put the
books in there’ and came back with a set of Harry
Potter books. So you see we have had a lot of laughs.”
The owners put their feet slowly into the water for
the charter side of things, making the trip to the islands
also an opportunity to hear feedback.
“We put in new ice machines and realized we had to
move things around to make her work especially well.
We put a little portable pizza oven on her next to the
barbecue. On lovely evenings, when it is not windy, we
set up a table made of black Tasmanian blackwood,
which has a bit of family history, on the upper deck
near the barbecue. Then it folds away so we set up an
outdoor movie screen... It is something to be up there
and have a big laugh with the movie in front of you,”
she says. “Hopefully people will be as happy as we are.”
They have several charters lined up, including two
weeks they donated for the Naples Wine Festival’s
charity auction, as well as a family holiday trip. There is
plenty of rosé andsandy beaches in their future.B